Hiking 24 miles of the Dava Way for suicide prevention charity Mikeysline
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A SMILE on their faces and not too many blisters – and more than £2000 banked for charity – was a good result for a Moray team after hiking more than 24 miles of the Dava Way.
Eight employees from Johnstons of Elgin raised £2020 for mental health charity Mikeysline, which provides support to people in distress.
The Moray and Highlands-based charity is Johnstons' charity of the year.
It was founded in late 2015 after a number of suicides in the Highland area. Suicide prevention and mental health awareness work is at the core of what they do, to break down the stigma associated with seeking support for emotional distress.
Mikeysline is looking to expand further into Moray by raising awareness of the support offered and how to access their text-based support.
The Dava Way walk on September 2 saw the team set off at 7am from Grantown to hike to Forres.
The eight were Darcie Stevenson, Annie Gray, Euan MacDonald, Karen Wiseman, Andrew Elcock, Bianca Vermaak and Dane Wedel.
After a cold start, the sun shone for the entire 24 miles and they finished in just over eight hours.
Darcie said: "We are totally overwhelmed with all the support and encouragement leading up to the walk and throughout the day.
"We raised an amazing total which will help Mikeysline continue to provide support for those in need and also help raise awareness of the cause in the Moray area."
Annie said: "Raising funds for a charity such as Mikeysline is a no-brainer. The work they do is incredibly important, and being such a small charity, helping support them seemed like the right thing to do."
And Bianca added: "I knew 24 miles would be tough, but I decided to take on the challenge as it is a cause that is close to me and I wanted to support towards awareness that we all need someone to talk to."
