App aimed at promoting wellbeing, community and charity
An entrepreneur who had to rethink her lifestyle following illness, has developed an app to encourage people to walk more and help others at the same time.
Hil Mines of Holmes Chapel found the combination of convalescence and the Covid-19 lockdown was the perfect time to develop her idea.
So together with her business partner Tess Caven, she launched trundl, a membership app designed to get people out and about in the fresh air. When users press ‘Go trundling’ on the app it helps trundl donate to charity giving added motivation and raising the feelgood factor.
Hil, who previously ran her own telecoms business, had always been sporty and enjoyed being outdoors but a health condition changed everything.
‘I woke one morning having lost the feeling in my thumb and arm and a diagnosis of a compressed spinal cord followed,’ she said. 'Hip dysplasia also constrained my physical exercise, but getting outdoors was central to my rehabilitation. I could no longer run, but the feeling of achievement through walking was immense.’
Hil likes to spend time walking in Macclesfield Forest, along the canal network and around Shakerley Mere at Lostock Gralam.
‘Having never married and with no children, I felt determined to leave a legacy,’ she said, ' I am back to good health but having physical challenges definitely shaped the app.’
Users pay a small monthly subscription (currently £3.99) but can redeem value through brand partner offers via the app.
In turn, trundl promises to donate at least 10 per cent of income to partner charities including Dogs for Autism and UK National Parks Foundation. Walkers can feel connected through this virtual community.
Hil said: ‘I’d love trundl to become the UK’s leading non-competitive walking community. One that motivates and rewards differently through the act of giving to charity.
‘At the end of the day, it’s not how far or how fast you go. For those that can’t or don’t want to be motivated by leader boards and ‘first over the line’ incentives, it’s ultimately the sense of achievement you gain from knowing you’re doing some good with every trundl that makes it worth putting your shoes on and getting active outdoors.
‘The long-term trundl dream is to donate significant funds to important charity causes and build a thriving community of generous, active, and rewarded trundlrs.’
