Thousands of pounds raised in fight to find cancer cures

Kind-hearted colleagues in Devon helped to raise more than £9,000 for babies, children and young people living with life-limiting conditions.

Tesco colleagues in areas such as Honiton, Seaton, Cullompton and Axminster raised the funds by completing a mammoth 15-mile sponsored walk from Bath Spa Railway Station to Millenium Square in Bristol.

Katie Palmer, store manager at the Glastonbury Superstore, said: “I was delighted to organise a charity walk in support of Children’s Hospice Southwest.

“With our stores spread across the South West region, this charity was a natural choice – allowing every store to get involved and support their local hospice.

“The lead-up to the event was filled with energy and enthusiasm, with in-store fundraising activities that brought our teams and customers together.

“We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our customers, whose donations helped us exceed our fundraising target. It’s a fantastic achievement that made every sore leg and blister worthwhile.

“The walk itself was a memorable day, filled with community spirit and support. Members of the public we passed along the route kindly contributed, adding to the uplifting atmosphere.

“I’m incredibly proud to have been part of this initiative and of what we accomplished together as a team.”

Twenty-three store managers joined members of Tesco’s senior regional retail team for the walk, setting off at 10am and reaching their Bristol destination by 6pm – raising £9,421.

Colleagues began with an early morning warm-up by Weymouth Pavilion before setting off on their trek along the south coast, with a lot of challenging terrain to overcome along the way.

Amy Smith, manager at the Keynsham store, said: “I was super-excited to get involved in the charity walk and for such an incredible local cause.

“I briefed my team and everyone was totally onboard from the start. My community champion Kim Burgess got to work, immediately creating posters to put up around the store, and a treadmill walkathon, a colleague cake sale and a colleague raffle, as well as donation buckets at the end of the tills, were organised in the lead-up to the walk. Everyone got involved with this and our store alone raised over £500, which I was so proud of.

“The day of the walk came round so quickly and before we knew it we had set off on the train to Bath with the sun shining down on us all. We had a quick photo opportunity and then we were off.

“Eight hours and 18 miles later we all arrived into Bristol City Centre still in good spirits and barely a blister in sight. It was a fantastic day out and realising halfway through that we had smashed our original target made it even better.”

Amanda Gallagher, Corporate Fundraiser at Children’s Hospice South West, said: “A huge thank-you to all the Tesco store managers who took on this challenge and raised not only an amazing amount, but so much awareness for Children’s Hospice South West by fundraising with their teams in stores across Bristol and Devon.

“The amount raised could pay for one of our nurses for almost two months, providing essential care to families going through the most unimaginable of times. So the biggest thank-you to the team for helping us to make the most of short and precious lives across the South West.”

For more information on how to fundraise for Cancer Research UK, go online at https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/