Staff at Hays Travel walked 18 miles from their Bury shop to Manchester Airport to raise money for a men’s mental health charity.
Five employees, including manager Louise Stewart who organised the event, began the trek at 7am on Sunday to fundraise for Andy’s Man Club, a male suicide prevention charity offering free peer-to-peer support groups for men over 18 throughout the UK.
Each year, the travel shop selects a local charity to support and this year, Andy’s Man Club were selected at random from a group of worthy charities.
Andy’s Man Club has two groups in the Bury area and arranges weekly meetings in over 150 locations across the UK.
The travel team was joined by one of its Bury members throughout their journey.
The walk took over eight hours to complete and all staff members made it to their final destination, a pub near the runway.
Louise was “proud as punch” of everyone involved but she emphasised their focus was on fundraising.
She said: “It’s not about us at the end of the day. It’s about raising money for such a great charity.”
The walk on Sunday also coincided with World Suicide Prevention Day, held this Tuesday.
The staff raised just under £700 through donations on their Just Giving page and they are continuing to support Andy’s Man Club through an in-store Christmas raffle.
Louise said: “We wanted to do our utmost to try and raise as much money as possible so that people know it’s OK to speak out.”
You can find more information about Andy’s Man Club and your nearest group on their website, www.andysmanclub.co.uk or their Instagram, @andysmanclubuk.
Feature image: Hays Travel Bury
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