Don your funky footwear for a good cause

Rennie Grove Hospice Care’s Groovy Shoes Day first launched last year as a fun way to get its new name known in its local communities.

Rennie Grove Hospice Care was formerly Iain Rennie Hospice at Home before merging with Grove House in St Albans.

The first ever Groovy Shoes Day was a great success with fifteen schools supporting the initiative; local banks, shops and other businesses backing the campaign, people posting their ‘footies’ on Facebook and patients in the charity’s day hospice setting the standard for funky footwear.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding charities that combined to create Rennie Grove and even more people have pledged to take part.

Several schools took part in a ‘Design a Groovy Shoe’ competition earlier in the year and the winning design courtesy of seven-year-old Miranda Pointer from the SS Alban & Stephen Catholic Church School in St Albans has been used to promote the event.

A further 18 schools across Herts and Bucks have joined up to the scheme, along with six pubs and 12 local businesses.

The charity’s retail team have been busy decorating their shop windows with stunning shoe displays and have launched a shoe auction on ebay, with district managers Michelle Remice and Lisa Collinson vying for the highest total value from the 15 pairs of shoes they’ve each selected to sell.

Staff in the charity’s offices will also be paying their pound to put on their grooviest shoes for the day and hosting a Groovy Shoes quiz at Grove House at 7pm tonight.

Rennie Grove Director of Fundraising & Marketing, Gillian Barnett, said: “Now the name ‘Rennie Grove’ is well known locally but we wanted to continue with this initiative because it’s a fun and easy way to raise vital funds to reach more families affected by cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.”

It’s not too late to grab your grooviest shoes and make a contribution.

Don your funkiest footwear for the day in return for a donation to Rennie Grove.

You can text SHOE15 £1 to 70070 to make a £1 donation and a big difference to local families in need.