Woman launches charity calendar with pictures of abandoned trolleys

A woman from Perth has launched one of this year’s most unusual Christmas gifts with a 2022 calendar of abandoned trolleys.

Design graduate Cherie Gilruth first noticed the amount of trolleys in the town during the first lockdown in early 2020.

The 35-year-old started documenting them while on her daily walks and kicked off a hobby that has grown into an Instagram page with over 2000 followers and a second calendar on the shelves in time for Christmas.

All money raised from from sales of the calendar will go towards Lighthouse suicide prevention charity in Perth and the Cherie calls it “a suitably bleak gift for Christmas 2021″.

She said: “During the first lockdown when I was going on my daily walk, I began to notice just how many abandoned trolleys there were dotted about.

“I started taking photos and videos of them and posting them to my Instagram stories. This led to my followers sending me pictures of trolleys where they were. With permission from the photographers, I made a fun calendar from the images.”

“Edinburgh photographer Colin Lindsay got in touch with me about my calendar and suggested I start an Instagram page about it.

“I now have over 2200 followers, and I get sent pictures of abandoned trolleys every day.

“I have followers from all over the world and have been sent more than 30 pics in one day!

“From the back of that I decided to do it again. Colin is going to be selling them locally in Edinburgh for charity too.”

Cherie graduated from The Duncan of Jordanstone School of Art and Design in 2020 with an honours degree in Product Design.

She said: “Lockdown hit in my honours year. As I also worked as a carer, I ended up having to work every day.

“While at uni, myself and other students started a society helping poverty charities in and around Dundee. We collected clothes in winter and raised money every year. I still wanted to do something last year to help people in need.”

“Last year I chose to help Perth Foodbank as I could see people struggling after Christmas, and I raised £430.

“This year I’m raising for The Lighthouse for Perth, as I lost my stepbrother to suicide a few years ago, then my friend last year. Suicide is endemic right now and The Lighthouse do such a great job to help those in crisis situations.”