The Great Vending Run Together
By Andy Gurney, Sales Manager, MorVend
Hello fellow vending industry colleagues, I hope this finds you well. Can you spare me five minutes, so I can give you a heads up on the latest fund-raising initiative from EdUKaid? Thanks!
Like many of the most significant advances in human history, this one began in a pub; with a couple of mates having a few beers and putting the world to rights. From this chaos emerged an idea which refused to go away. Indeed, it became the principal talking point at the alcohol infused AVA Christmas lunch. The new year saw a flurry of zoom meetings, (no alcohol involved), and it became clear that a group of us shared a passion – I’d call it ‘an overwhelming desire’ – to so something that would make a difference in the world we live in by helping to change the lives of underprivileged children.
So, ladies and gentlemen of the trade, we’re proud to announce The Great Vending Run Together.
Since 2010, the vending industry, thanks to the incredibly successful Great Vending Get Together, has raised more than £250,000. It’s tidy sum and it has enabled EdUKaid to make dramatic improvements to the lives of over 50,000 disadvantaged children in one of the most inaccessible regions of Tanzania.
Here’s what The Great Vending Run Together is all about. On Monday, 22 September, Dan Somers of CPI, (Crane Payment Innovations), will set off at the double from Wilkes Vending in Wakefield, with the aim of arriving in Claverdon, Warwickshire, in time for the Great Vending Get Together 5 days later on the 26th. The total distance from Wilke’s car park to the Ardencote Manor Hotel is 132 miles. Spare a thought for Dan: that’s the equivalent of completing five Marathons in five days. Apparently – and here’s ma piece of useless information – it’s the same distance as if you laid or 350,000 vending machines on their backs, end to end. Not a lot of people know that…
Dan will be making some calls en-route, checking in at AVS HQ, East Midlands Vending; Coin a Drink and Refresh, providing a useful photo-opp for local papers who will be eager to share a good news story when, Heaven knows, they are thin on the ground, but The Great Vending Run Together is one of them.
So, to clarify:
Day 1: Wakefield to Sheffield 26 miles
Day 2: Sheffield to Long Eaton 39 miles
Day 3: Long Eaton to Tamworth 29 miles
Day 4: Tamworth to Coleshill 35 miles
Day 5: Coleshill to Ardencote 17 miles
Dan is aiming to be at Ardencote for 4.00pm on Friday 26th September. It would be fitting to recognise his incredible gesture by having as many people as possible turn up to show their support and admiration by running behind him on the last leg of the journey, so The Great Vending Run Together hero can cross the finish line in style. Think ‘Rocky’: We reckon Dan will have earned his moment of triumph.
We need your support to make The Great Vending Run Together a success, so if you can see yourself getting involved in some way – and there are loads of options, from sponsorship to joining Dan to run part of the course – all you have to do now is contact Dan Somers, Tim Varney or me, Andy Gurney. The e-mail links you need are below.
We’ve always felt that vending is an industry like no other, in which ‘competitors’ are also friends who share a common goal. So, let’s get together to make sure that Dan’s personal sacrifice is amply rewarded in the shape of a bumper contribution to the continuing work of EdUKaid.
Thanks for reading, see you down the road.
Andy Gurney
Dan Somers @ da***********@*****pi.com
Andy Gurney @ an**@********co.uk
Tim Varney @ ti********@***********ng.com
You can support Dan and The Great Vending Run Together by donating at Just Giving
