A group of travel agents from Hamilton have raised more than £1,000 for a local cancer charity after organising a sponsored walk.

The team from Hays Travel on Regent Way planned the walk, which took place on Sunday 7 June at Strathclyde Park in Motherwell, to raise money for Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust.

John Swinney, Scotland’s First Minister, had previously made a visit to the travel agency to show support for the team’s fundraising activities. He said: “Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust is a brilliant charity and it’s fantastic the team at Hays Travel are supporting them.”

The Hays Travel team were joined by friends, family and customers for the four-mile walk around Strathclyde Park in Motherwell on Sunday. Local Chapelhall Community Choir even came along to sing the team on their way.

Hays Travel Hamilton’s assistant manager, Amanda Harvie, played a big part in planning the fundraising.

She said: “It was great fun on the day and we raised £1,096.50 for an amazing local charity that provides an essential lifeline for many of our local community at a difficult time.”

As well as arranging the fundraising walk, Amanda contacted Rangers and Celtic football clubs, who both donated vouchers for tours of the stadiums and trophy rooms, and these have been gifted to drivers from the charity.

Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust is a charity helping cancer patients all over Lanarkshire by giving them free transport to and from hospital.

The charity’s CEO, Frank Roy, said: “That’s a fantastic amount you guys have raised. I don’t need to tell you how grateful we are for your efforts.”

Hays Travel is the UK’s largest independent travel agent, with branches across the UK – all committed to supporting their customers and the local communities they serve. 

Each Hays Travel branch is provided with a £500 budget to use for fundraising and charity work in their local area; £200 of this is to be used to fundraise for charities which support young people’s mental health, and the other £300 can be used for charities chosen by the branch.

In the last year, Hays Travel’s Local Community Partnership initiative across its retail network has donated almost £170,000 to local charities.