THERE will be a spring in the step of charity fundraisers this Friday as the inaugural Groovy Shoes Day hits its stride to raise cash for a charity dedicated to caring for the seriously ill.

People across Bucks have been busy decorating and jazzing up their shoes ready to wear on the day which is designed to help spread the word about the Rennie Grove Hospice Care charity and the work that it does.

Schools, businesses, community groups, patients and the general public have all been encouraged to get involved by wearing bright, wacky, odd, stylish or just simply groovy shoes in return for a small donation to the charity.

Penny Crosswell, Rennie Grove Community Fundraising Manager, said: "We are all really excited that Rennie Groovy Shoes Day is nearly here and we can’t wait to see what everyone will be wearing on their feet.

"Our specialist nurses walk an average of 12,000 steps a day providing local patients with hospice care in their own homes across Herts and Bucks so we thought it was fitting to have a day that focused on shoes and encouraged people to step up to help us care for even more patients in the future."

Among the schools taking part are Chalfonts Community College in Chalfont St Peter; Alfriston School in Beaconsfield; Monks Risborough C of E Primary School in Monks Risborough; Wye Valley School in Bourne End and Bledlow Ridge School in Bledlow Ridge.

Nationwide branches across Buckinghamshire are also supporting the day and staff will be showing off their pimped up footwear and collecting money on the charity’s behalf.

The Boot in Chinnor Road, Beldlow Ridge, will be having coffee, cake and groovy shoes to help support the event. In the evening the pub will also be selling two cocktails, the groovy mule and gin slingback, with a donation from each drink sold going to the charity.

Raffle tickets costing £1 each are also available to buy from our charity shops, so please pop along to your local shop to support the event.

Penny added: "We’d love to see what groovy creations you come up with.

"Forget ‘selfies’, we want to see your ‘footies’ posted on our Facebook page. And don’t forget to share them with your friends so they can get involved too."

Participants in the day are being urged to make their donation by using a unique Text to Donate number. We have recommended a minimum donation of £1 for people taking part in Rennie Groovy Shoes Day. All you need to do is: Text the code RGSD14 followed by £1 to 70070.

The money raised on the day will help the charity to care for more than 2,500 local patients and families in the next year.