Agents Do Charity - sleeping out and stepping up...

There’s no stopping our industry’s good works, which this week range from sleeping out in aid of the homeless to running laps of central London.

We enjoy giving publicity to those agents who work so hard for others, so please drop us a line at press@estateagenttoday.co.uk for an honourable mention.

In the meantime - this week’s update...

Centrepoint: The MyLondonHome staff are digging out their sleeping bags to face the cold temperatures of a November night by joining the Sleep Out at the Old Truman Brewery on November 12. It’s an event held by Centrepoint, a charity devoted to helping the young homeless.

Andrew Griffith, managing director of MyLondonHome, has agreed to join the Sleep Out with the team if £1,000 is raised from just employee donations alone.

The firm is also offering for every property listed with MyLondonHome, both sales and lettings until November 13, a donation of £100 to Centrepoint; and for every tenant housed by the same date, a donation of £50. 

You can donate on https://sleepout2015-londonotb.everydayhero.com/uk/mylondonhome

Operation Smile: Chris White, founder of Ideal Homes Portugal, is generously donating £3,000 in support of Operation Smile at this evening’s Bannatyne Fundraising Ball at the Bannatyne Spa Hotel in Hastings.

Operation Smile is an international children's medical charity, working with a team of dedicated medical volunteers who provide safe, effective reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate. 

Chris says: "I was introduced to this charity by Duncan Bannatyne (a client of Ideal Homes Portugal) and have been incredibly impressed by the work being done by teams of medical volunteers throughout the world. Operation Smile runs projects in 60 countries, with people selflessly giving their time to better the lives of children.

"In many cultures, having a child with a cleft lip is viewed as a source of shame and can lead to the whole family feeling isolated. Operation Smile can change all of that, bringing happiness to a child and their family for just £150. It is truly a life-changing charity."

Anyone who wishes to donate to this fabulous charity can visit the Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/The-Bannatyne-Charitable-Trust/.

LandAid: Cluttons embarked on an intercompany fundraising challenge which saw more than 40 agents running laps around central London to raise in excess of £3,300 for Landaid on October 29. 

The peer-to-peer battle saw five teams hit the pavement covering more than 31 miles – the equivalent of 1.2 marathons. The Hyde Park branch took home first place honours, completing the challenge in just under four hours.

The relay path saw agents running from branch to branch, beginning at Tower Bridge then on to Blackheath, Clapham, Belgravia, Chelsea, Holland Park, Hyde Park, St Johns Wood, Islington, Wapping and finally back to Tower Bridge. 

“We’ve all heard of agents chasing deals from other agents but this was our own agents chasing the clocks to claim bragging rights. We had marathon and ultra-marathon runners as well as the ‘I-only-run-for-buses’ runners so it made an interesting, fun fundraising activity. This is all part of the Cluttons-wide commitment to raise £250,000 within 12-months for charities as part of our 250th anniversary year” says Matt Allen, global marketing and business development director.

Further donations can be made at: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/cluttons250/202034

Wheldrake Village Hall: An anonymous donor has challenged York businesses to help save the stricken Wheldrake Village Hall and Churchills Estate Agents have come up with the cash.

The roof of the hall is visibly failing and with a long term weather forecast predicting heavy snow villagers are racing against the clock to raise the cash for an expensive rebuild.

It will include a new roof structure, ceilings and associated electrical work. It's hoped to have all work completed and the building re-opened by the late Summer of  next year.