On your marks!
A 160-mile walk which aims to raise thousands of pounds for charity will leave from Derry this week.
By Ciaran O’Neill
Five senior members of staff at Sainsburys will set off on the walk to Newry from their Derry store on Friday.
The event, which has been dubbed the ‘Long Walk Home’, is aiming to raise a huge amount of money for the Simon community which provides accommodation and support for homeless people.
To see the five off, a special fun day will take place at the local Sainsburys store on Friday.
Among the activities will be an abseil, food sampling and activities for children.
A car boot sale was also at the quayside site yeaterday to raise money for the project.
David Loughlin, Store Manager at Sainsbury’s Strand Road, said: “This is really challenging undertaking for our five colleagues.
“They have put in an immense amount of training and preparation with the view to raising awareness of the growing number of people in Northern Ireland and across the UK who have no home to go to.
“In Derry alone 288 individuals approached Simon Community for help in 2007/8 to date while over 1,200 households in our area were presented as homeless to the Housing Executive in that same period.
“We really hope that the people of Derry will come out to support the Simon Community and wish the walkers well as they set off on their journey. There will be lots happening to entertain the whole family.”
Carol O’Bryan, Chief Executive of Simon Community, added: “The commitment shown, not only by the five generous individuals undertaking this challenging walk, but also from the thousands of Sainsbury’s staff and customers who have supported our work since last year, has already made a great difference to many of the individuals and families who come to us for help.
“Without the support we are receiving from Sainsbury’s, our ability to provide our services throughout Northern Ireland would be reduced.”
