Megan Fairley and Dave Bettis spend their weekends raising money for charities, including Gumboot Friday and Life Matters, by taking donations from people who want to park in the chocolate factory’s former carpark when the Otago Farmers Market is on.
Yesterday, the pair headed out at 6am on a 42km walk from the Royal Albatross Centre in Harington Point around the harbour to Port Chalmers in gumboots to raise money for Gumboot Friday.
The event is an annual fundraiser for mental health, in which people take part in activities while wearing gumboots.
A little over halfway into the walk, at the Dunedin Railway Station, Mr Bettis said his boots had still not come off.
"I haven’t taken them off, because I don’t think they will get back on.
"Lots of people have been stopping and asking about the gumboots. That’s been great."
The walk took the pair about 10 hours, with a few breaks.
Ms Fairley said preparation for the walk was a "wee walk last weekend".
"It was just a little walk, only around 20 minutes, and that was it.
"Us Cadbury people, we just go out there and get it done."
Raising money for mental health was near and dear to the ex-employees’ hearts, following their experiences and death of a former colleague after the Cadbury closure.
Mental health affected everyone, Ms Fairley said.
She did not think people understood the wider impacts.
"Mike King sent out an email last month talking about the kids and how they are impacted by what their parents are bringing home, like with workplace bullying and mistreatment.
"They bring it home, and you can’t help but have the kids see it and become part of that as well."
