Shaw and NorthLink staff to give it wellie

STAFF from Shaw Marketing and Design’s Shetland office are kicking off the Yellow Wellie Relay from Lerwick to Edinburgh tomorrow.

The relay, which will raise vital funds for the RNLI, will involve the transportation of a yellow wellie between their two offices – a distance of around 375 miles.

The staff will walk the short distance from their Lerwick office to the RNLI station at the Old Tolbooth where lifeboat coxswain, Bruce Leask, will have the privilege of being the first RNLI representative to sign the wellie before it makes its journey south. Shaw staff will then make their way to the ferry terminal at Holmsgarth for the wellie’s boat trip to Aberdeen, courtesy of NorthLink Ferries.

Shaw Marketing and Design staff – along with families, friends and clients – will be carrying the wellie on its epic journey, visiting all the RNLI stations on the route and having the wellie signed by an RNLI representative at each station.

The relay, which began on Wednesday and will end on Sunday, will feature a range of transport, mainly foot but also bike, canoe and boat. The only motorised transport used will be the ferry from Lerwick to Aberdeen, as NorthLink Ferries is supporting the relay by providing four return journeys for Shaw’s Shetland team.

Team members from Shetland will be involved in the wellie’s transportation as far as Montrose and also down the Fife coast. Shaw deputy managing director Isabel Johnson said: “We have been working with the RNLI on their yellow wellie campaign and our staff were very keen to support the fundraising effort.

“The RNLI has challenged the creative industries to raise funds in a creative way, and our response is the Yellow Wellie Relay, which in addition to getting our staff out and about in Scotland during the next few weeks, will also link our two offices in an incredible journey.

“We are doing the relay over a series of weekends so that our service to clients is uninterrupted, and indeed we are hoping that a few of them will join us on our way.”

Ms Johnson said the RNLI was a very appropriate charity for the company to be supporting.

“A high proportion of our staff live by the sea and very much appreciate the vital service that the RNLI provides to coastal communities. Our team have certainly risen to this challenge and we hope to raise far in excess of the £1,000 target set by the RNLI.”

The group is appealing for further support for the relay. If anyone would like to participate at any stage or provide sponsorship, they can contact Shaw on (01595) 692465 or by e-mail at shetland@shaw-online.com A yellow wellie blog is being created to record the wellie’s exploits during its journey. This can be found at http://shawyellowwellie.blogspot.com