Last year, Big Issue vendor Garry trekked 190 miles to fundraise for The Big Issue Foundation and raised an incredible £495. This year, he is taking on an even bigger challenge and is trekking from Land’s End to John O’Groats. We are incredibly grateful that Garry has chosen to give back to TBIF by embarking on this 1,150 mile trek. You can sponsor Garry here, and help us continue working with more vendors like him.
Garry has been selling The Big Issue for 18 months since losing his job as a foreman of construction sites in Aberdeenshire. Garry found himself sleeping rough and in need of an income, this is when he turned to the Big Issue.
Alongside selling the magazine, Garry has been actively engaged with the Big Issue Foundation. Our service brokers in Bristol helped Garry to get a copy of his birth certificate in order to reactivate his bank account. With somewhere safe to store his income he was able to accept part-time employment at The Bristol Post handing out newspapers. This was a great opportunity for Garry to build his CV and employability skills.
Garry has also attended a First Aid course with The British Red Cross and is now a qualified first aider. This came in useful when a Mini collided with a moped near his Big Issue pitch. Gary used his rucksack to fill the gap between the moped and the car, preventing the victim from any further back injury.
“I saw that there was a gap between the car and the moped so I was scared of the woman suffering a back injury. My rucksack was big enough to fill the gap so I put it under the woman to support her while another homeless man helped keep her neck still until the emergency services arrived.”
Garry’s trek will begin on Tuesday 31st July and he hopes to arrive by Tuesday 9th October.
