Last Saturday, Boots colleagues set off on a journey of a lifetime to trek the Inca trail in Peru, hiking to the ‘Lost City of the Incas’ – Machu Picchu to raise over £115,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
The team of 26 colleagues from the Boots UK Support Office in Nottingham and Boots stores across the UK packed their bags ready to take on the five-day challenge. Together, they are climbing a total of 51 miles reaching heights of over 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) above sea level. Fundraising is an important part of the expedition, and the team have also undertaken an incredible community fundraising effort, together raising over £115,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support to help support those affected by cancer in the UK and make sure no one faces cancer alone.
In January last year, a team of 60 Boots colleagues from the Support Office in Nottingham and from stores across the UK raised £404,000 for the charity and took on the colossal challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, reaching the summit in eight days.
Una Kent, Director of Corporate Communications and CSR at Boots UK, and who has taken on both challenges, comments: “Cancer is often the toughest fight many people will ever face, so I know we are all really looking forward to doing our bit to help Macmillan Cancer Support to reach more people and to help make sure no one faces cancer alone. The climb will be a tough endurance challenge, but we have all been very busy knitting, cake baking, head shaving, and putting on fundraising events to make sure it is worth it. We are so incredibly grateful for all the support we have received from our communities; your donations really will make a huge difference.”
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Notes to editors
For more information, please contact Bethan Simmons on 0115 959 1188, or bethan.simmons@boots.co.uk.
About Boots UK
Boots UK (boots.com), the UK’s leading pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer, is part of the Retail Pharmacy International Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. With 2,511* stores in the UK, Boots UK is committed to providing exceptional customer and patient care, be the first choice for pharmacy and healthcare and offer innovative 'only at Boots' exclusive products such as the UK’s leading skincare brand No7, all delivered with the great value customers love. Created over 165 years ago, the Boots brand is still at the heart of the communities it serves.
*As at 31 May 2015 excluding equity method investments
About Macmillan Cancer Support
More than one in three of us will get cancer. For most of us it will be the toughest fight we ever face. And the feelings of isolation and loneliness that so many people experience make it even harder. But you don’t have to go through it alone. The Macmillan team is with you every step of the way.
We are the nurses and therapists helping you through treatment. The experts on the end of the phone. The advisers telling you which benefits you’re entitled to. The volunteers giving you a hand with the everyday things. The campaigners improving cancer care. The community there for you online, any time. The supporters who make it all possible.
Together, we are all Macmillan Cancer Support.
About the Macmillan Cancer Support and Boots UK partnership
Cancer is often the toughest fight many people will face. Boots UK and Macmillan Cancer Support are working together to ensure everyone affected by cancer, wherever they are in the UK, has access through Boots to the best cancer information and support in their local community.
Through the partnership, Boots is introducing bespoke training for its pharmacists, healthcare colleagues and No7 advisors to help deliver more ways for people affected by cancer to get information and support on the high street, in local communities and online. Boots colleagues and customers have already raised £6 million for Macmillan over three years. For more information, visit macmillan.org.uk/boots.