Hairdressing team clock up 1,000 miles to raise almost £3k for Guide Dogs

A team of Leamington hairdressers have raised almost £3,000 for the Guide Dogs for the Blind by running over 1,000 miles between them in one month.
Team Indigo with trainee guide dog Titus at the Guide Dogs Training Centre in Leamington.Team Indigo with trainee guide dog Titus at the Guide Dogs Training Centre in Leamington.
Team Indigo with trainee guide dog Titus at the Guide Dogs Training Centre in Leamington.

Each of the colleagues at Indigo hair salon in Regent Street, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, took on the challenge of running 23 miles per week over a month-long period.

The hairdressing staff all took longer routes to work and pounded the streets on evenings and weekends - with a little friendly competition thrown in to help encourage them to clock up the miles. Those with dogs also appropriately got them involved in the exercise.

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As well as receiving generous sponsorships from the public, the team boosted their fundraising with a £1,000 donation from Indigo and a further £1,000 from Barclays. They also held a quiz night and raffle, with prizes donated from businesses based in the area.

The firm’s director Neil Hopkins said: “We wanted to use a local charity to help us celebrate the fantastic milestone of ten years. The Guide Dogs are local and we often see them with their trainers using various routes around Leamington. In total we covered 1,313 miles - absolutely smashing and what we set out to achieve.”

The team have also spent a day at the Guide Dogs Training Centre in Leamington, where they were taken on a tour and met some of the charity’s staff and guide dogs. Liz Gilbert, who works in fundraising at the charity, said: “People usually associate the charity with animals only, but not many people think of us as a human charity, so it was nice that this was recognised by the team at Indigo.”

The team at Indigo are still taking donations at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/indigohair

To find out more about the work, campaigns and research of Guide Dogs for the Blind - a national charity based in Leamington - visit www.guidedogs.org.uk