Local Footwear Distributor Inspired to Take on Challenge
A team of around 50 employees at Quedgeley-based footwear distributor, Gardiners, have taken on a challenge and begun fundraising and training to walk a large part of the Cotswold Way in aid of the Hollie Gazzard Trust.
The locally inspired footwear brand, designed and distributed at Gardiners, ‘Cotswold’, has chosen the Hollie Gazzard Trust to be their charity of the Year. The hiking, wellington and lifestyle brand takes its inspiration from the Cotswold Hills where the team will be taking on the challenge. The 15 mile on-foot journey includes some of the areas’ most delightful sights of interests including Broadway Tower, Hailes Abbey, Sudeley Castle, rolling hillsides and quintessentially English villages and towns. The employees will each be sporting a pair of waterproof trail and hill walking boots from the brand’s hiking range as they tackle the mixed terrains of the south-west’s countryside.
The Cotswold brand, established in 1973, also supports the Hollie Gazzard Trust by increasing knowledge of the personal safety device, the charity’s Hollie Guard app, particularly aiming to target lone walkers and hikers in rural areas through their media platforms. The Hollie Guard is a free app for smartphones designed to protect both men and women from possible danger. The Hollie Guard turns any smartphone into an advanced personal safety device at the touch of a button and is backed by Gloucestershire Police. The travelling journey feature allows users to notify friends, family and co-workers of movements and an email or text will be generated and sent to their emergency contacts when the journey has safely been completed.
Hayley Paget, Marketing Executive at Gardiners says, “The Hollie Gazzard Trust is a charity close to our hearts in the Cotswolds region. It is a pleasure to be involved in the great work that the trust achieves through our local footwear brand and to also help reach out to those people in rural areas that will be affected by the issues raised in the cause. It’s fantastic that so many of my colleagues have stepped forward to take on this challenge and I would like to say a personal thank you to everyone who has donated and supported us so far.”
She adds, “The Cotswold brand is followed on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by people with interests in outdoor pursuits. We all have a responsibility towards safety, whether it’s the correct hiking footwear or taking steps to ensure you are protected as you go about a journey. The Hollieguard is a fantastic step forward in personal safety and we want to reach out to our followers who are walking/hiking independently. This is why we’re backing the free app and promoting it to our viewers.”
During the sponsored walk, the Gardiners employees will be joined by Nick Gazzard and former Miss England finalist, Sophie Lydia Smith.
Nick Gazzard says, “I am delighted that Gardiners has chosen the Hollie Gazzard Trust as their charity of the year for 2017. I am excited to be joining the staff on their
Fundraising event on 19 July when they will be walking a section of the Cotswold Way from Broadway to Cleeve Hill to raise valuable funds for the Trust.”
Sophie Lydia Smith, Hollie Gazzard Trustee says, “I am delighted that Cotswold Brand have chosen the Hollie Gazzard Trust as their charity of the year and thank them on behalf of the Trustees. We are looking forward to supporting and joining Cotswold on their charity fundraising walk of the Cotswold Way, we hope to raise awareness as well as taking on a challenge and having fun.”
Gardiners staff will be walking 15 miles of the Cotswold Way on Wednesday 19th July 2017.
To keep up to date with the fundraising or to sponsor visit: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/CotswoldGardinersFootsure
To download the Hollie Guard visit: http://hollieguard.com/