Wickes colleagues take on the pirate life for leading dementia research charity

It was like a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean at Wickes’ Cheltenham store, when colleagues donned eyepatches and built a ship out of pallets as part of a fundraising quest for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

While they did not sail the seven seas, the group – dressed like pirates – raced their boat around the carpark of the Tewkesbury Road store on Saturday, 21 July, counting up the distance as they went. Their efforts were in aid of Wickes’ How Far Can You Go event for the UK’s leading dementia research charity. Teams taking part across the company could rack up extra points for the creativity of their challenge, as well as the distance travelled, as they competed to claim a spot on Wickes’ How Far Can You Go leaderboard.

Colleagues from across the home improvement retailer were challenged to travel as far as they could between 21 – 28 July, by whatever means possible. Funds made throughout the week will be added to the total raised by Wickes for Alzheimer’s Research UK, which is more than £600,000 since last summer.

In Cheltenham, as well as contributing £2 to take part in the boat race, colleagues also raised money by charging to throw wet sponges at store manager Tom Maysey. Over the rest of the week, customers had the chance to get involved in the pirate-themed activities and support the cause, with a prize up for grabs for guessing how many coins are in a treasure chest in store. Overall, they raised nearly £700 for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Tom, 27, said:

“It was a great day and it was good to see everyone pull together for a fantastic cause. We had lots of fun and everyone enjoyed racing the pirate ship, as well as dressing up. As store manager, it was me who was placed in the stocks for the wet sponge throwing and most people wanted to have a go at that! Alzheimer’s Research UK is such an important charity and one I’m glad to be supporting. My girlfriend’s nan died from Alzheimer’s disease and it was really shocking to see the impact it had on the family.”

Kate Moss, Corporate Partnerships Officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:

“Well done to everyone at the Wickes’ Cheltenham store for their amazing fundraising efforts for our cause. It looks like everyone had a brilliant day and we were impressed by their take on the How Far Can You Go challenge. Thanks to their support, we are able to continue funding pioneering research that will lead us to the life-changing treatment for dementia and stop the devastation this condition causes to families like Tom’s.”