A wonderful walk sees Mind fundraising hit over £17,000 and counting!
A lovely sunny day greeted the Cardgains’ contingent as they put their best feet forward in Sheffield yesterday, 27 June, for the annual charity challenge that had nothing grim about it at all!
The 41 card publishers, retailers and industry pals raising money for mental health charity Mind certainly agreed with the It’s Not Grim Up North! title as a fabulous day was had by all and the fundraising running total is already knocking on £17,186 plus gift aid donations.
There’s a £35,000 target set to match the buying group’s big birthday, and it had been mentioned that walkers could tackle the 17½mile route around Sheffield’s hills twice to hit a 35mile tally, but Cardgains md Penny Shaw laughed: “Funnily enough there were no doubles, although some did do a little extra here and there, and there were no mishaps on the day, which is great.”
Among the first back, completing the arduously hilly route in just over five hours, were Ollie Guise-Smith, from Cards & Gifts in nearby Dronfield, GCA membership and marketing coordinator Adriana Lovesy, UK Greetings’ Matt James, PG’s Warren Lomax, NQP’s Jenny Weare, Skylight Media’s Simon Pyrce and recently-retired industry stalwart Alan Holmes.
“What a day!” was the comment from Ian and Lorraine Bradley, of Rush Design, who even had the stats to go with their walk, having taken 5hrs 44mins to complete 18 miles – so there were a few wanders off piste – in 43,875 steps as they trekked round with retail buddies Andrea Pinder, of Presentation Barrowford, and Hugs & Kisses’ Caroline and Jon Ranwell from Tettenhall.
Ian added: “We had lots of laughs and several medicinal pints – and no benches were harmed during this operation!” jokily referencing his training mishap when a bench collapsed under him during a lunch stop.
And at last night’s celebratory meal at the start and finish point of the Hilton Doubletree Hotel, Penny said: “A huge well done to everybody for completing the Cardgains Charity Challenge 2024. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing some of Sheffield’s parks, gardens, green space and a few urban streets.
“I’m thrilled we have some newbies again this year, alongside some returners and a few veterans too – including me!”
She thanked the support team of Charles, Kev and Ged and t-shirt sponsors S66 Retailwear – pointing out the qr code on the design actually works so “wear it out and about, and people can scan you and go straight to the JustGiving page” to add to the current total that’s 49% of the £35,000 total target from the 21 groups, with further donations welcome here.
Penny added: “Today’s weather was kind to us and it’s cooled down a lot from earlier in the week – dare I say, it was perfect walking!
“It’s been an honour and a pleasure to walk with you all today, cheers to us – and hopefully you now agree it’s not grim up north!”
The list of everyone who signed up for the walk is: Abacus Cards, Darren Thomas, Steve Coulson; Barclays Bank, Tom Cawkwell; Cardgains, Helen McManus, Penny Shaw; Cards & Gifts Dronfield, Oliver Guise-Smith; Creative Sparrow, Hannah Curtis; Doodle Press, Chaye’lee McQuade; Alan Holmes; GCA, Adriana Lovesy; Gemar UK, Julie Dunham, Mark Drury; History & Heraldry, Louise Isherwood, Jamie Wilkins; House of Cards, Miles Robinson, Nigel Williamson, Tracy Murray, Naomi Light; Hugs & Kisses Tettenhall, Caroline Ranwell, Jon Ranwell; Jacksons CRS, Rob Jackson, Alison Baker, Claire Wilson; Nigel Quiney Publications, Carl Pledger, Jenny Weare; NW Card & Gift Agencies, Nigel Willcock; Paper Salad, Claire Williams, Ellie Woodlock; Pioneer, Anna Hickman, Rozane Barnard; Presentation Barrowford, Andrea Pinder; Progressive Greetings, Warren Lomax; Rainbow Designs, Helen Covell, Jayne Plackett; Rush Design, Lorraine Bradley, Ian Bradley; Skylight Media, Simon Pryce; Giftware Association, Alina Masood, Sarah Ward, Chris Workman; UK Greetings, Matthew James; Windles Group, Nicola Marshall; and Words ’N’ Wishes, Tony Cottrell.
