Dave Fairclough and Gary Marshall that own and operate the very successful Automech Garage and Service Centre on Liverpool Road in Cadishead, very generously agreed to let their premises be used a drop-off point for the Shoe Aid Charity supported by the Rotary Club of Irlam.

But they were pleasantly surprised by just how well the appeal has gone with literally hundreds of pairs of all kinds of footwear donated to the good cause. Including a brilliant donation of dozens of pairs of new ‘Croc’, ‘O’Neill’ and other branded sandals from Gary’s brother Peter Marshall who owns and runs a surf and beachwear shop ‘Marshalls’ in Perranporth, Cornwall.
The Rotary Club of Irlam of which both Gary and past President Dave are active members, have been actively supporting this fantastic opportunity to dispose of unwanted footwear, whilst supporting the Shoe Aid Charity.

Shoe Aid collects and redistributes unused, used and unwanted footwear throughout the UK and World. The charity is working with some of the largest organisations in the UK to reduce shoe poverty and to reduce the negative impact on the environment.
Since 2010 Shoe Aid UK has distributed more than 1 million shoes to 15 countries worldwide including the UK. It provides footwear to people who are in desperate need and prevents tons of discarded shoes being sent as waste to the landfill every week. It is estimated that two million shoes are thrown into landfill every week. On average, one pair of shoes takes 100 years to biodegrade.

Around 4 million children in the UK have to wear ill-fitting shoes that not only causes foot problems in later life but can negatively affect their academic and sporting performance, and self-esteem. 200,000 homeless people in the UK do not have sufficient footwear, resulting in significant cases of trench foot in cities across the country. Not having the correct footwear to attend job interviews can seriously impact their chances of obtaining employment and affect their self-esteem. There are around 1.5 billion People worldwide.

Gary and Dave who are pictured with just some of the donated footwear said, “We were overwhelmed with the generosity of local people. This is a great charity that helps people of all ages not just in the UK but around the World as well. A big thank you to all those that have dropped off footwear at Automech and supporting our Rotary Club during these difficult times.”