News
Travis Tribute Trek 2016
Fri 26th February 2016
The Rangers Charity Foundation is delighted to be a beneficiary of fundraising champion Scott Cunningham’s latest endeavour – the Travis Tribute Trek 2016. Scott, who was awarded an MBE in 2012 for his charity work, will walk the 96 mile West Highland way over a 7 day period with his guide dog Milo to raise funds for the Foundation’s Armed Forces Partnership and Guide Dogs.
The Travis Tribute Trek will start in Milngavie on 2 April 2016 and past and present sporting personalities and celebrities from the world of entertainment will also take part in the walk, as well as Q&A sessions each evening along the route. Former Rangers players Dave McPherson, Stuart McCall, Hugh Burns and Jimmy Nicholl will be lending their support, as well as Rangers TV commentator Tom Miller.
The trek takes place In memory of Scott’s record breaking guide dog, Travis, who sadly passed away last year. Travis was the first Guide Dog to complete the Pennine way and the West Highland Way in both directions and was also the first guide dog to reach the summit of Ben Nevis. Travis was also awarded an honorary MBE and is the only guide dog to have been awarded an honorary Green Beret from the Royal Marines.
“The Travis Tribute Trek is about celebrating the life of a legend,” said Scott. “We’ll be raising funds for two amazing charities close to my heart who have helped me massively since losing his sight in 1993 – Guide Dogs and the Rangers Charity Foundation.”
Scott’s personal story has inspired many. After initially struggling to cope with sight loss, Scott changed his life around, thanks to the faithful guide dogs by his side.
“With the support and encouragement of Guide Dogs, and my first guide dog Ike, I started to get out and about independently, going to the shops, to the dentist, and building up my confidence,” he explained.
“I became determined to show people what a blind or partially sighted person can achieve. With my second guide dog Travis, I trekked all 96 miles of the West Highland Way. We also tackled the Pennine Way and Ben Nevis, raising £160,000 for Guide Dogs. It was then a massive personal honour to be awarded an MBE by the Queen.
“But I only ever had one goal in mind – to encourage other blind and partially sighted people to lead a confident, independent life, just like I do – now with my third guide dog, Milo. Travis was a massive part of that and he brought so many people together which has led to Team Milo’s Miles being such an amazing success, I felt that the trek along the West Highland way would be a fitting tribute to the legend!”
To find out how you can support Scott and his endeavours, or if you are interesting in taking part in the trek, check out his website at www.legendstrek.co.uk or you can e-mail Scott at Scott@travistrek.co.uk. You can also support the Travis Tribute Trek via the Virgin Money Giving page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/travistrek.
To find out more about the Rangers Charity Foundation’s Armed Forces Partnership, which Scott’s fundraising is supporting, click here.
