Two teams of Specsavers employees participated in the 2018 Coastrek fundraising hike in Melbourne last week, completing 43,000 steps over 30km in six hours with smiles and enthusiasm.
The reason why was simple – every step helped raise over $5,500 for The Fred Hollows Foundation, which works to end avoidable blindness by offering quality eye care to those in need.
The Specsavers teams, known as ‘SpecTrekkers’ and ‘SpecTrekkers 2.0’, consisted of eight hikers – Richard Couch (Head of Dispensing Advancement), Carla Alviano (Senior Legal Counsel), Sarah McInnes (Marketing Director), Duchesne Markham (Local Public Relations Manager), Cathy Rennie Matos (Head of Public Relations), Katie Philp (Dispensing Advancement Manager), Reah Armstrong (Head of Contact Lenses) and Bill Moir (Trading Director).
The event took place on Friday 25 May, with the route spanning the coastline, bush and bays between Koonya Beach and Point Nepean on the Mornington Peninsula. According to team members, while lowlights on the day included copious amounts of blisters, hip and knee pains, the highlights of dolphin and wallaby sightings plus the breathtaking views of the Mornington Coast more than made up for it.
“It was an honour to support Specsavers’ national charity of choice, The Fred Hollows Foundation, through the Coastrek event,” commented Duchesne. “The Fred Hollows Foundation works in more than 25 countries, helping to train and empower local eye doctors, nurses and health workers to create a sustainable system of care in the communities that need it most.”
Reah agreed: “The team would really like to thank all of our supporters for their generous donations to The Fred Hollows Foundation. From Specsavers store partners to friends and family and even some suppliers – you have given to a charity that will use your donations to impact the lives of thousands.”
Close to 2,400 hikers crossed the Coastrek finish line on Friday, raising over $1.6 million for The Foundation.
Donation lines will remain open until Sunday 3 June. If you would like to donate, please visit one of the following pages:
SpecTrekkers fundraising page
SpecTrekkers 2.0 fundraising page
SpecTrekkers and SpecTrekkers 2.0 at Coastrek 2018
