Edgware and Barnet shoppers get massage for Sport Relief (From Times Series)

Edgware and Barnet shoppers get massage for Sport Relief

8:50am Monday 22nd March 2010 in

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CUSTOMERS received relaxing massages at supermarkets in Edgware and Barnet to raise £450 for Sport Relief on Friday and Saturday.

The Sainsbury’s stores in the Broadwalk Centre and East Barnet Road called in mobile treatment service Vitalise Me to offer customers back and neck rubs for a small donation towards the charity.

Therapists were strategically placed by the entrance of the stores to lure shoppers as they entered and exited, with suggested donations of £3 or £5 for five or ten minute sessions.

Happy customer Dhirajlal Shah, 65, said: “It was excellent. The person who did it was an expert. I saw what they were doing, and then I noticed that they were doing it for a good cause, so I was looking forward to it.

“My muscles are now relaxed and I feel light. She has removed some of my weight.”

Edgware deputy store manager, Mark Hedison, admitted he was “tempted” to have a go after seeing people unwind.

Mr Hedison said: “The chairs have been full all day and hopefully the customers donated a lot of money for a massage. The customers have been very generous, and indeed so has the rest of the country on the whole.

“We can see the benefits Sport Relief and what they do, and we can see where the money goes.”

The project is a repeat of a successful link-up between the two companies for Comic Relief last year.

Yogita Lakhani, director of Vitalise Me, said: “It has always been our criteria to give back to the community. It’s about give and take. Life is a pointless existence if you don’t give.”

She added: “Sports Relief is a good cause. It helps young people not only abroad but in the UK as well, which I think is important.”