Shrewsbury Vision Express pair take the rough road for charity
A pair of work colleagues with an eye for fund-raising have taken to the road to raise a mountain of cash for MacMillan Cancer Support.
David Parkinson, 45, and Matthew Reynolds, 32, who both work at Pride Hill, Shrewsbury’s Vision Express store, have tackled the MacMillan 4X4 Driving Challenge for the third year in succession.
And this year the intrepid pair raised more than £2,000 taking their total over three years to in excess of £6,500.
And David, who is joint partner in the Pride Hill Vision Express franchise store and also works as the store’s optomologist, says they have already signed up to take part in the challenge next March.
He said: “It is tough but really enjoyable. I leave the driving to Matthew and I do the navigating. Basically it is a three-day test of navigational skills, observation, on and off road driving ability and endurance.
“Plus the challenge takes in both day and night conditions and is just for two people in one 4X4 vehicle. We have adopted MacMillan Cancer Support as our charity and fund-raise throughout the year.
“Our customers are really good and donate small amounts, via the collection tin on our counter, instead of paying for minor simple repairs to glasses. I’m really looking forward to next March for what will be our fourth 4X4 Challenge.”
Matthew, who works as the assistant laboratory manager at the Pride Hill store, says it’s important the two of them get on well as things sometimes get a little bit fraught in the car.
He said: “It’s not an easy challenge especially as tiredness sets in. This year we drove around 1,000 miles over the weekend and, although it’s fun, it is meant to be tough too.
“We only know the starting point and discover the route as the weekend progresses. And for night stops we either sleep in the vehicle or we are allowed to carry a tent.
“It’s not a race but it does become very competitive as you don’t want to miss any of the observational tests along the way as the points are added up at the end.
And Matthew added that they buy a second-hand 4X4 before each event and then sell it afterwards.
He said: “You have to supply your own vehicle. In the past we used a Land Rover Defender while this year we used a Suzuki Vitara. We buy a vehicle to use in the event and then sell it afterwards.
“We haven’t won an event yet but have come quite close so we’ll have to keep going. We do get a lot of support from other staff members who bake and sell cakes to support our fund-raising efforts.
“Thanks to everyone at Vision Express including our generous customers we have raised well over £6,500 in three years.”
Kevin Lockwood, Manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said: “This is a fantastic effort by David and Matt and it’s in aid of a really worthy charity that does so much good work.
“It sounds a really tough challenge and how David manages to read a map while being bumped about I have no idea – it would leave most of us feeling ill.”
