Famous Families Deichmann x Barnardo’s Press Release

Europe’s biggest footwear retailer Deichmann has teamed up with some of the UK’s best-loved famous faces and their families to launch its ‘Best Foot Forward’ charity campaign and school shoe donation scheme. Throughout summer, Deichmann will be supporting leading children’s charity Barnardo’s to help disadvantaged families across the UK and raise awareness on shoe poverty ahead of the new school term in September. The brand has set up its UK-first school shoe donation scheme to provide a brand-new pair of school shoes to 1,000 children across the UK and has donated £50,000 to Barnardo’s to give to underprivileged schools across its network and will also support a number of fundraising activities throughout the summer.

Recreating the nostalgic first day at school family photo to help raise awareness and bring the campaign to life, celebrities include: Mummy Diaries star Samantha Faiers, her partner Paul Knightely and their children Paul & Rosie; and I’m A Celebrity & X Factor contestant Jake Quickenden, his partner Sophie Church, stepson Freddie and newborn Leo. Both families, including parents, are wearing Deichmann shoes from its latest collections. With family at its heart, the campaign is shot by leading fashion photographer Harleymoon Kemp, daughter of musician and actor, Martin Kemp & singer Shirlie Kemp. By capturing a moment in time that will resonate with families across the UK, the campaign hopes to raise awareness and encourage members of the public to create their own ‘Door Step Portraits’ and take part in the exciting fundraising activities planned over summer, including Barnardo’s ‘The Big Toddle’ sponsored walk in June and the 300,000 Steps Challenge.

EDITOR’S NOTES

DEICHMANN
German family-owned retail giant Deichmann has been a global market leader for value footwear and accessories for women, men and children since 1913. Famed for its price guarantee on leading brand names, including adidas, Fila, Nike and Skechers and headline collaborations with A-listers Rita Ora, Halle Berry, Ellie Goulding and Cindy Crawford, Deichmann promises quality footwear at unbeatable prices for all the family. Deichmann has stores in 31 countries across the globe. The brand will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in the UK this year and now has over 100 stores nationwide. Its UK flagships are in Westfield London and Westfield Stratford. As a company, Deichmann strives to marry fashion with quality and affordability, using a convenient ‘rack-room’ (help yourself) style shop layout to keep its margins low and pass the savings onto the customer.
www.deichmann.com

BEST FOOT FORWARD
Deichmann has been announced as the headline sponsor for one of Barnardo’s flagship fundraising events, ‘The Big Toddle’ sponsored walk from June 28th – July 4th and will also support the ‘Barnardo’s 300,000 Steps Challenge’, encouraging families to help raise money and ensure every child goes back to school in September feeling confident and supported. The brand has launched its UK-first school shoe donation scheme, providing 1,000 children a brand-new pair of school shoes across, and has also donating £50,000 directly to Barnardo’s, to distribute to its services supporting children in need across the UK. In 2019-20 Barnardo’s supported more than 358,000 children, young people, parents and carers through more than 800 services.

BARNARDO’S
Last year around 350,000 children, young people, parents and carers were supported by Barnardo’s through more than 800 services across the UK, such as young carers, care leavers, foster carers and adoptive parents, training and skills or parenting classes. We work to support vulnerable children in the UK and every year we help thousands of families to build a better future. But we cannot do it without you. Visit www.barnardos.org.uk to find out how you can get involved. Registered charity No. 216250 and SC037605. Follow Barnardo’s media team on Twitter @BarnardosNews.

THE BIG TODDLE
The Big Toddle is a short sponsored walk for under 5s. This year, after almost a year stuck indoors, it is so much more than that. It is an opportunity to focus on the incredible experiences we can give our little ones, to see the joy they can find in the rustle of leaves and the splatter of boots in puddles. It is a chance to stop worrying about dirty clothes and muddy faces, and simply have buffaloads of fun. For Barnardo’s, the health and safety of our supporters is completely paramount. This year, getting involved with the Big Toddle is easier than ever before. We have two incredible Safari-themed ways that little feet can make a massive difference in 2021:

1. Toddle Together – with your nursery, playgroup or friends. You can choose the date, location and distance of your Big Toddle and we will provide you with all the fundraising assets.

2. Home Safari – due to the current situation, you can also take part in the Toddle at home and we will provide you with an ideas pack on how to get started.
   Participants will be able to sign up to take part in The Big Toddle by visiting: https://www.barnardos.org.uk/bigtoddle

300,000 STEPS CHALLENGE
The 300,000 steps challenge has been offered by Barnardo’s as a virtual event for the past 11 months, having adapted to fit a virtual world where IRL events have been cancelled. Of all the virtual challenges offered to supporters, it has been the most popular offering and has, until this point been run as an off the shelf product to be done at any time. The 300,000 steps has worked well as it ties in well with the 300,000 service users that Barnardo’s supports each year. The challenge is to walk 300,000 steps over the course of 30 days (this is equivalent to 10,000 steps a day). You can take part on your own or combine the steps as a team! Exercise has shown to reduce stress, improve your mood and release endorphins. So, we want to encourage people to get walking and help raise funds so we can be there for every child that needs us. The challenge is free to sign up to but we are encouraging participants to raise £50 to support our work with vulnerable children.
Participants will be able to sign up to take part in the 300,000 step Challenge by visiting: https://www.barnardos.org.uk/300000-step-challenge