10:15am Thursday 11th March 2010
By Kirsty McCormack
Employees and supporters of the National Animal Welfare Trust left their fears and their shoes behind them as they walked on fire to raise money for the animal charity.
The sponsored fire walk, organised by animal care leader Tania Mazzoni, took place in the car park of the Ramada Watford hotel last night (Wednesday).
Many spectators gathered around to cheer on the 27 participants, who wore customised t-shirts representing their NAWT canine and feline friends.
After a fundraising meeting in December last year, the NAWT team agreed that a fire walk would be a great and unusual way to raise funds for the charity.
Setting themselves a target of £3,000, the team was delighted to announce that they in fact raised a total of £5,700.
Clare Williams, centre manager at NAWT Watford in Tylers Way, and fire walk participant, was exceptionally pleased with how the event turned out.
She said: “The fire walk was brilliant fun and it’s been a lovely team-building exercise because everyone has supported each other and we had a great turn out of spectators which was really helpful."
“Standing on the cold gravel floor and then suddenly walking on fire definitely felt weird,” describes Ricky D’Ercole, animal care assistant at NAWT.
“It wasn’t painful at all but you could definitely feel the warmth and as we were told not to hang around on the 500 degree heat, we definitely kept that in mind.”
The group of participants were briefed beforehand in a two-hour seminar with fire walking experts of the company Time4Change and emerged confident, cheering and in the right frame of mind.
Asked if they would do it again, Clare said: “Yes definitely. It was something different and very exciting to do.
“It’s been interesting to raise sponsorships as well because people are shocked when you tell them that you’re actually going to walk on fire.”
For more information on NAWT, visit www.nawt.org.uk or www.facebook.com/nationalanimalwelfaretrust.
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