An Iveco Eurocargo drove into Studio 1 at the BBC’s Television Centre in London on Monday, 20 November, delivering thousands of pairs of shoes during the live broadcast of children’s television programme Blue Peter.
The Eurocargo was on an important mission for The Blue Peter Shoe Biz Appeal, which was launched earlier this month and is being run in conjunction with UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, which has been chosen as the official charity partner of this year’s annual BBC Blue Peter appeal.
Supplied from Iveco’s demonstrator fleet, the Eurocargo was loaned to transport the first load of shoes to be collected by Blue Peter viewers, who have been asked to collect pairs of second-hand shoes and deposit them at ‘Shoe Biz’ collection points in participating schools, Clarks shoe shops and BBC regional radio stations around the country.
The unwanted shoes, slippers and boots will be recycled by Greenstar and converted into cash for the appeal, which will raise funds for children affected by HIV and AIDS in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world.
Money raised through the appeal will create and expand UNICEF’s ‘Children’s Corners’ initiative. Children’s Corners are buildings and spaces within Malawian communities that provide children affected by HIV and AIDS with a safe haven where they are given food, medicines and the chance to learn and play.
For those children unable to access Children’s Corners, a dedicated team of Community Care Visitors deliver medical care and emotional and practical support to children at home. The appeal aims to collect at least 500,000 shoes – enough to transform the lives of tens of thousands of Malawian children.