We know we are veery lucky to work in such a lovely industry; one that cares about others and doing what it can to help good causes.  Which is why this week, we thought we would highlight a couple of stories we have heard of our very own pushing themselves to the limit to do good in the name of charity…

It was with good reason that the telephones at the UK office of Italian luxury pram brand, Inglesina, was left unmanned for a day recently…David Samuel and his colleagues, Esther and Dale had snuck off to run the Paris Marathon – as you do!

David and his team of endurance runners trained for three months before running the marathon in under 3.5 hours, enjoying bright sunshine, despite one of the team suffering from an injury along the way.

Together they raised a fantastic 4-figure sum from sponsors (including Inglesina itself) for Sand Dams Worldwide which supports some of the world’s poorest people to transform their own lives through water and soil conservation in drylands and homeless charity St Basil’s.

“While Inglesina is a truly global brand, in France it has gained a solid reputation as a household name – as well as in Spain and Italy”, explains Jonathan Feingold, UK Director. “That’s why running the marathon in Paris was such a natural fit for David and his team – and as a business, we were delighted to sponsor them. It was lovely to see so many Inglesina prams and strollers lining the route, as there are now, across the world from the USA to South Korea and China!”

You can donate to David’s page here.

Meanwhile, Nursery Online’s Director, Kerry Haynes, is this week nursing sore feet (she counted 9 blisters in total!) after completing a gruelling one-day 54km hike around the coastline of the Isle of Wight! Together with a group of 8 friends from Hitchin, Herts, Kerry tackled the Isle of Wight Ultra Challenge on 30th April, raising money for Garden House Hospice in Letchworth who cared for her own father-in-law and family last year.  It was a tough challenge and the ground wasn’t very forgiving, due to the lack of rain recently, but the glorious sunshine and amazing views made up for it, and all 9 friends crossed (or more like hobbled over!) the finish line arm in arm at the end of a very tiring day.

You can donate to Kerry’s page here.