Muddy puddles call as Inframax gives gumboots to Stratford preschoolers

Chris Clarke and Mal Taunt from Inframax, called in to see the children at BestStart Stratford last week, bringing a gift of gumboots with them.

Chloe Beaven loves jumping in muddy puddles and now, thanks to construction company Inframax, the Stratford four year old can do just that while keeping her feet nice and dry.

Chris Clarke, contract manager for Inframax, says the company held a focus group meeting looking at ways they could help their community.

"We were asked to come up with some ideas, and Mal Taunt who works in our office suggested we do something for some of the local preschoolers."

BestStart Stratford was chosen as some staff had a connection to the early childhood centre, says Chris.

"We gave them a call to see what we could do to help."

Tammy Woodward, centre manager at BestStart Stratford, says when she was asked if there was anything they needed for the centre's children , gumboots immediately sprang to mind.

"Wet weather can really put a stop to some of the fun things we do here, as if the children don't have gumboots with them, we can't take them for walks over much of winter. Having 20 pairs of gumboots at the centre now means we can take the children out and continue exploring our town no matter the weather."

Chris says when Tammy asked for gumboots, his team were delighted to help.

"We all know Stratford can have plenty of wet days, and we also know kids love puddles, so this was a way for us to help the kids have fun no matter the weather."

Mal says when it came to buying and logo printing the gumboots, the Inframax team bought them locally.

"Obviously we support local businesses, so we got them from Farmlands, using Abstract Signs for the printing. We chose a quality brand, Redbands, as we wanted them to last the kids for many winters to come."

Tammy says the gift of gumboots doesn't just benefit the youngsters wearing them.

"Our centre vision is based on being at the heart of community learning. One of the things we do around this is take the children to visit the residents at Marire and Maryann rest homes where they show the residents what they have been doing at BestStart and read with them. Previously, we have had to miss some of these visits because of rain, now we won't so the residents will have their little friends visit them more regularly."

With 20 pairs of gumboots to try on and test out, the children at BestStart Stratford were very excited when Inframax visited them last Tuesday. Despite the sunny weather, the gumboot box was quickly emptied by children keen to put a pair on.

Despite the excitement, manners were still remembered.

Summing up her friends' excitement, Nayana Morgan (4), said "thank you Inframax, we can play in the rain now".