The 2016 #CoastalConvoy Rally Route

Just two more sleeps… until the 2016 Pink Car Rally, a #CoastalConvoy travelling from Southend-on-Sea to Hunstanton.  I was delighted to have been interviewed this week by NorthNorfolkRadio.  I’m hoping that the interview will find some more Pink Car owners who might like to join the rally.  This is where we will be… and when…

10th & 11th September

The route and where to find us – although we’ll be hard to miss!
Please note, due to the number of miles we will be travelling, all times are approximate, but we will aim to keep everyone informed of our progress via our Pink Car Rally Facebook page & our Twitter accounts @pinkcarrally and @saligray so please ‘follow’ to catch our tweets.

Saturday 10th September – Leg 1

Southend-on-Sea to Lowestoft

9/9.30am       Arrive Southend on Sea – City Beach, Marine Parade, SS1 2EJ (approx. postcode)
10.30am         Depart Southend on the A127/A12
11.45/12noon Arrive Colchester – B&Q carpark, Lightship Way, CO2 8FR
1pm                 Depart Colchester on the A12/A1214
1.45/2pm        Arrive Ipswich – Treehouse Children’s Hospice IP3 8NS
3pm                 Depart Ipswich on the A1214/A12
4.30/4.45pm   Arrive Lowestoft – ASDA Superstore carpark, off Horn Hill, NR33 0PX
5.30pm            End of day 1 of the rally

Overnight stay and Pinkie Dinner in Lowestoft

Sunday 11th September – Leg 2

Great Yarmouth to Hunstanton

9/9.30am         Arrive Great Yarmouth – Tesco Southtown NR31 0DW
10.30am           Depart Great Yarmouth on the A149
11.45/12noon  Arrive Cromer – Tesco Sherinham NR26 8RY
1pm                  Leave Cromer on the A149
2.30/2.45pm   Arrive Hunstanton – Tesco Superstore, Southend Road, PE36 5AR
3.30pm             End of day 2 of the rally

Raising awareness of, and funds for, the Little Princess Trust charity.
Raising funds for ‘real hair’ wigs for children and young adults.
Find us on Facebook  More information can be found on our website

 

 

 

 

 

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#CoastalConvoy East Anglia 10/11th September 2016

A week today, the Pink Car Rally will be in East Anglia raising awareness of, and funds for, the Little Princess Trust. The 9th annual rally will leave Southend-on-Sea at 10.30am on Saturday 10th September and head for Colchester, where the B&Q Store has kindly offered its car-park for a pit-stop. We should arrive around 11.45/12noon and we’ll be there until 1pm, when we’ll be heading off to the Treehouse Hospice in Ipswich, for a private visit. The Little Princess Trust gives ‘real-hair’ wigs to children and young adults who lose their own hair, primarily through chemotherapy, so each year we visit a children’s hospital or hospice, so that poorly children can enjoy our pink cars. Sometimes during these visits we meet children who have received (or are about to receive) wigs from the charity, which is particularly poignant. The rally will leave the hospice at 3pm and head to the Asda Superstore in Lowestoft, another lovely store which is supporting the rally by allowing us to use their car-park to end ‘Day 1’ of the two-day event. We should arrive at around 4.30/4.45pm and we will remain there until approx. 5.30pm when we will head off for a ‘Pinkie Dinner’ before retiring to a local hotel for the night.

Day 2 of this year’s Pink Car Rally will start from Tesco Great Yarmouth, a super-friendly store where the Community Champion, Hayley, has not only made us feel very welcome to start the rally from their car-park, but has also been actively promoting our forthcoming visit! What a star – thank you Hayley! The pink cars will arrive at Tesco between 9am and 9.30am in preparation for a 10.30am start. From Great Yarmouth, the rally will head to Cromer before a pit-stop at Tesco Sheringham from 12noon until 1pm, when they will make their way to Hunstanton – the final destination for the 2016 Pink Car Rally – arriving around 2.30/2.45pm. We are still waiting to see who will accommodate our cars in Hunstanton for our final rally stop, but if you want to see us whilst we are there, we will be posting updates on our Pink Car Rally Facebook page and Twitter account, so do follow us on social media to avoid disappointment. We will also try to advise you of any delays along the way, so please read the ‘Posts by others’ on our Facebook page too. If you see us along the route, please give us a wave, flash your lights and toot your horn! If you manage to take any photos, and you share them on social media, do share them with us too – we would love to see them.

If you’re reading this blog post and you have (or someone you know has) a pink car, it’s not too late to join the rally. Please email pinkcarrally@me.com for more details. You are welcome to join part of the rally, or the whole rally, as long as your car paintwork is 80% pink.

Ways to support the Pink Car Rally:-
To make a donation, please head to our JustGiving Team page and select one of the Team Members to donate to their page.
To help us to find more Pink Cars to join the rally, please share this blog post.
To help us to raise awareness of the Rally & the Little Princess Trust, please like and share our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and RT our Tweets.
If you work (or know anyone who works) in the media, please ask them to cover the Pink Car Rally.

Thank you…
Sali x

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“Kiss-Me-Quick-I’m-On-The-Pink-Car-Rally”

“Kiss Me Quick” will be the 2015 rallying cry, as the Pink Procession heads #Coast2Coast on a #SeasideSpecial:-

Blackpool to Scarborough Fair – 5^th & 6^th September.

Yes my dear readers, we’re off again…. the 8th annual Pink Car Rally will be parading in a pretty pink procession across Britain, on a #SeasideSpecial – #Coast2Coast #Blackpool2ScarboroughFair #SoManyHashtags  #SoMuchExcitement!

The rally raises awareness of, and funds for, the Little Princess Trust charity, which gives ‘real hair’ wigs to children and young adults in the UK and Ireland who lose their hair, primarily through cancer treatment.

Pink Cars will be popping up all over Blackpool on the weekend of the #BigSwitchOn and I have to say that we are already overly excited! I’m wondering whether we will be able to entice any ‘celebrities’ into our cars, for some pink publicity photos? Especially with The Vamps being the headline act on the Friday evening!  I might just start a Facebook campaign to see whether we can persuade them to participate in some pink publicity for a very good cause.

The official start of the 8th Annual Pink Car Rally will be at 10.30am on Saturday 5th September, with the Pinkies starting to gather from 9am in St John’s Square, Blackpool and we’re hoping that lots of people will come to see our pretty pink cars, which will be dressed-up for the occasion!! (As will we!)  Sunglasses may be required (rose-tinted of course) because our shiny cars are dazzlingly bright – rather like the illuminations themselves!

From Blackpool, we will head to Leeds Children’s Hospital, so that the young patients on the oncology ward can see our pink cars, before heading towards York where we will make a ‘final stop’ of the day at Monks Cross Shopping Centre, providing the press and the public with another opportunity to pop along to ‘pap’ the Pinkies!

Day 2 of the rally will see the Pinkies gathering at the Clifton Moor Shopping Park, York (exact car-park to be confirmed – although I doubt anyone could miss us!) from 9.30am for the official start of the rally at 10.30am.  Look out for us on the A64 as we head towards Scarborough, where we will drive past the train station before turning right and heading out of Scarborough, over the Valley Bridge, on the A165 towards Filey.  We should arrive at Scarborough Fair at around 1pm. . We would LOVE to see you there! We’ll be in the car-park…. you really can’t miss us! Well – our cars will be in the car-park! We might have slipped inside to see the fabulous #Wurlitzers and to enjoy some well earned refreshments!

“Are YOU going to Scarborough Fair?”

Click here for the 2015 Route

If you (or any of your friends/family) have a Pink Car and you would like to take part in the rally, please comment below.

If you are unable to come to the rally, but would like to make a donation, here is our JustGivingTeam link

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Pink Progress and an appeal for help! 2014 Pink Car Rally update

It’s exactly 240 days since my last blog post. Why the long delay? I was hoping to write blog updates about the progress of the 2014 rally, but until a few weeks ago no progress had been made. In September, a ‘save the date’ announcement (7th & 8th September) was made and in October I had created an outline route and contacted the two ‘major’ comfort/media stops, seeking permission to use their car-parks. Frustratingly, it took until July for one to agree and the other still hasn’t said yes or no! I must take responsibility for some of this. I run my own business and I am a single parent to three young adults, so rally planning is done in my ‘free time’, which is usually in the evenings…. leaving me unable to make lots of badgering phone calls in office hours and at a disadvantage to large charities with dedicated fundraising teams.

During a recent business meeting with someone from the area local to the proposed rally route, I was asked how the rally was progressing. When I explained the ‘challenges, he brought google maps up on his computer and suggested an alternative venue in the area. Initially enquiries didn’t hold out much hope, but I’m forever the optimist and so I emailed a heartfelt request and, to my delight (and great relief) it was met with a resounding ‘yes’, so I’m in the process of finalising the route which should be announced in the next few days.

One of my frustrations with the Pink Car Rally initiative is the lack of national media support. Another is my inability to attract a major celebrity. The rally has enormous potential, but without these two key elements, I fear it may never reach it. Never has this been more evident than in the comparison between our rally and Chris Evans’ FAB1 initiative. How many people, new to the rally, know that in 2012 the Pink Car Rally travelled from John O’Groats to Land’s End, over six days, raising over £16k for the Little Princess Trust charity, which gives ‘real hair’ wigs to children and young people who have lost their own hair, primarily through chemotherapy? The national media didn’t want the story without a ‘hook’ although we were well supported by regional newspapers, social media and local radio. We targeted Chris Evans, because of his love of cars, but the BBC stated that we were not one of their ‘chosen’ charities, so couldn’t help! In 2013 Chris Evans created the FAB1 initiative, travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats to a huge fanfare and media frenzy. The national media couldn’t get enough of the story. I travelled to Cribbs Causeway to see him and his entourage and was rewarded with a smile and a wave. Later, when he passed Blossom on the motorway, he pointed, smiled and waved again. Hopefully he saw the Pink Car Rally website address on the side of my car! I do love Chris Evans and have enormous respect for what he has achieved, but I’m sure you – like me – can see the irony.

So here I am in August, just a few weeks away from the 7th annual Pink Car Rally, praying that we can get enough media interest to swell the number of pink participants at this late stage. And you, dear reader, can help us by sharing this blog far and wide, RT’ing our tweets and ‘liking and sharing’ our Facebook page. If you happen to know a celebrity, please, please, encourage them to support us.

One organisation has been particularly supportive of the Pink Car Rally this year. I met Motorhappy on Twitter and they have been absolutely amazing… to the point that they turned Twitter pink for a day!  I can’t tell you how #Motorhappy that made me! 

I would just like to finish this blog post by saying a massive THANK YOU to Motorhappy and everyone else who has supported the rally. We have over 3000 likes on our Facebook page, from over 40 countries. Between my Twitter account and the Pink Car Rally Twitter account, we have nearly 3000 followers. We appreciate each and every ‘share’ and RT. Thank you.

Pink pit stop during 2013 rally

 

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The Festive Fair at Old Down Manor was full of surprises…. and not just Christmas ones…

I perhaps should confess that I had never heard of Old Down Manor a few weeks ago! But then Blossom’s friend Candy the Pink Hyundai changed her Facebook profile photo to one showing her parked outside a fabulous venue – Old Down Manor.

So, I googled Old Down and read all about the Manor, the Country Park, the Bistro, the Cafe and their forthcoming Christmas Fair.  It all sounded so fabulous, that I took Blossom down to Tockington (South Glos) to find out more. Well lunch was a massive success – you probably saw my tweet? I loved the tiny Pigmy Kids and the Manor House looked amazing – at least it did from the outside! I enquired about the Christmas Fair, explaining about the Pink Car Rally Charity Calendars and they kindly squeezed me in!

Blossom was gleaming when we left this morning and positively preening by the time we pulled up at the Manor House. After unloading all things pink, I parked her in prime position in the carpark, so she could show-off all day. I laid out my pink wares and took the opportunity to look at all of the other stands, before the event started. They were absolutely amazing! I had been placed opposite Barefoot Portraits at the far end of the room, and I have to say that watching the photographer at work was absolutely magical! Mandy managed to engage with each and every child and evoked the biggest beaming smiles I have ever seen. She must be totally exhausted!

Promoting the rally at Old Down Manor

I spent most of the day asking people who approached my display whether they knew about the Pink Car Rally…. “No”… Needless to say, they do now! Then the pink tide turned, when a couple said “Yes – you were at Bradley Stoke last year”. We were indeed!!! We had a comfort stop there, during ‘The Big One’ – our epic End2End Pink Car Rally. They made my day…. but then it got better…. people were giving me donations, buying calendars, someone mentioned they had some hair to donate, someone else mentioned that they knew a teenager who might like one of our wigs, I met a lovely wig maker and had a big chat with her…… and the pink icing on the cake???? I met the lovely Gemma….. who recently received one of our wigs!!!!! Hello again Gemma 🙂 What a wonderful day!  I was quite sorry to pack my pink things away – I didn’t want to leave! I returned to find Blossom being admired by two beautiful girls, who were having their photos taken next to her. She looked very happy indeed and had had a lovely day too – her friend Candy had been and they had managed to spend some time together.

I have been home long enough to count the money raised today and to my surprise (and delight) it totals £79 – so big thanks to all who contributed 🙂

So…. the Festive Fair at Old Down Manor really was full of surprises….. and not just Christmas ones…..

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I’m looking for a Pink Car, for the 1st Prize in our Special Pink Raffle – please can you help me to find one?

I’m busy planning the 2014 Pink Car Rally Fundraising Campaign and I have decided that we need a Pink Car, as 1st  prize in our Special Pink Raffle.  Now, I realise it’s a BIG ASK, but my glass is ALWAYS half-full…. so all I have to do now, is to find a company which has a kind heart, values what we are trying to achieve, loves the work of the Little Princess Trust Charity.. and ‘hey presto’ –  decides to present us with a Pink Car to raffle!

Now… let me just turn my hat around and look at it from the other perspective. Being both a volunteer and a business coach enables me to look at a situation from both sides.  The first consideration to any commercial company is the ‘what’s in it for me?’ factor. Sadly, the simple fact that they are helping a charity doesn’t cut the muster! I understand that. I also realise that most commercial companies seem to prefer to donate to the ‘huge’ charities… which of course gives them good press coverage, recognition and appreciation from the public, to name but a few ‘benefits’.  

However, I would argue the case for a small charity, where such a donation could make an incredible impact – the benefits to the donor company could be greater than they could possibly imagine.  For example, I use every possible minute of my spare time to promote the Pink Car Rally, and any business which ‘helps and supports’ us is thanked very publicly.  The best illustration of this is the story of the Pink National Express Coach:-

In 2009 I entered National Express’s ‘Bling My Coach’ competition, whereby people were invited to design a livery for one of their coaches and say where they would take the coach, if they won the competition.  I was one of 5 finalists, whose designs went to public vote.  My design was pink and incorporated the Little Princess Trust Charity’s logo, together with the Pink Car Rally website address. The public voted and soon the two front-runners were Action for Children and the Pink Car Rally and believe me, we were ‘neck and neck’.  It was incredibly stressful!  Now, if you look at the Action for Children website, you can see that even in 2009 their annual report mentioned 12,000+ volunteers and supporters (huge voting potential) and ‘millions of pounds’ raised through fundraising.  The Little Princess Trust, at this time, might just have recruited its first paid staff member!  And the volunteers could probably be counted on 4 hands! Fearsome competition and yet we won! So how on earth did we do it? Sheer determination and the power of social networking! The coach was duly wrapped pink and joined the 2010 Pink Car Rally, carrying pink passengers.  It became part of the main National Express fleet, owned by their franchisee Yeomans Travel, Hereford, and could regularly be seen on the Hereford, Gloucester, Cheltenham, London route and in fact, was only recently ‘unwrapped’.  National Express and Yeomans Travel kindly continued to support the rally for another two years, by entering the pink coach in the 2011 rally and in two legs of The Big One – the 2012 End2End rally.

The coach became a much-photographed, travelling advertisement for both the charity and the rally.  Needless to say, we were incredibly grateful to National Express and thanked them publicly, many times.  In addition, we mentioned the National Express Pink Coach in every press release, during every radio interview, on our Facebook page, on Twitter, on Linked-in, whilst giving our ‘charity talks’, during networking events….. at any and every conceivable opportunity.  In 2011, the Head of Media for National Express told me that their stats showed that we had generated an unsurpassed level of publicity for them.

So…. I’m looking for a Pink Car, for the 1st Prize in our Special Pink Raffle.  Please can you help me to find one?  And if anyone should ask you “what’s in it for us” you will be able to tell them “more than you could possibly imagine.”

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