Sebastian performed in front of a small crowd before he and best friend Tim Freeburn began their 500-kilometre trek from Wagga to Sydney to raise funds for the mental health program Open Parachute.

Residents gathered at the Riverside precinct before joining with the duo for the first kilometre of their walk.

With a target of walking 30 kilometres each day, Sebastian and Freeburn, who came up with the idea, were bracing for a tiring journey as they headed for Junee - the first stop on their trek back to Sydney.

"I'm not quite as well prepared as Tim, I think he's already done something like 4000 kilometres, I've probably done 30," Sebastian said.

The pair have already raised more than $600,000 for the program Open Parachute, which focuses on building psychological skills in school-aged children to help them address life's challenges.

Overall, the pair hope to raise $1 million to put more than 30,000 Australian children through the program.

Freeburn, a board member of the Sebastian Foundation, came up with the idea while the two were bonding over some tequila.

"Guy has always been saying he wanted to do something substantial - something where we can make a big impact," he said.

"We had one too many tequilas one night and I said we should walk from Wagga to Sydney.

"The Riverina was the first area to put the program into a school, Guy agreed and now I'm regretting it, but I'm looking forward to it.

"We will do it easy, we have each other to push each other."

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Open Parachute founder Dr Hayley Watson was also in Wagga for the event to send the pair on their way.

Having struggled with mental health as a child herself, to see a pop icon getting behind a cause she whole-heartedly believes in is "incredible".

"For me, personally, I struggled as a young person, I experienced some scary trauma when I was quite young and didn't really understand the impacts of that growing up and I buried it, as a lot of young people do," Dr Watson said.

"As an adult, as I started learning and processing all the subtle ways the trauma had impacted me, it was at that point I started finding myself and my purpose.

"I want young people to figure that out before they are an adult."

Dr Watson said it was vitally important to start the conversation early because every child would struggle at some point in their lives.

Wagga siblings Scarlet Harmer, 9, Ciaus Harmer, 10, and Isabella Harmer, 12, are real-life proof the program is making a difference.

"After Hayley interviewed me I felt better about other kids, how they felt, and helping them," Scarlet said.

For big brother Ciaus, the program showed him he wasn't the only one struggling.

"After Hayley interviewed me I felt it was easier for me to talk to people," he said.

Isabella said she liked that people were acknowledging that others were also "getting hurt" by mental health.

"I liked that we could talk about it," she said.

If you would like to make a contribution to the cause visit https://thesebastianfoundation.org/get-involved/step-change-for-mental-health/.

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