Agents Do Charity - the Willy Wonka edition...

Hello and welcome to this week’s celebration of the industry’s fund-raising activities.

Remember it’s easy to get publicity and additional support for your good work; just let us know on press@estateagenttoday.co.uk and we’ll give you an honourable mention.

Now, we start this week on a distinctly sweet note...

Martin House Children's Hospice: Staff from Yorkshire agency Linley & Simpson have a sweet taste for adventure with a Willy Wonka theme as they prepare for their latest challenge - making a splash in one of the UK’s top dragon boat races.

Under the team name Linley & Simpson’s Golden Ticket, staff from the firm’s North and West Yorkshire branch network will take to the waters at Roundhay Park in Leeds to raise money for Martin House Children's Hospice.

The team hoping to paddle power their way to victory include Joe Gilman, Mark Christopher, Neil McGroarty, Hannah Craven, Jane Judge, Lottie Jordens-Harris, Mark Sheridan, Matthew Beardow and Alex Atkinson.

In keeping with the theme, as an added sweetener, the company is handing out 500 special chocolate bars to visitors to the family event – with the chance to unwrap one of 10 prizes that will be on offer. 

The Boston Spa-based hospice is Linley & Simpson’s chosen charity, ensuring it benefits from continuous and long-term support. It costs £18,500 a day for the hospice to survive and continue its unique work supporting hundreds of children and their families, and the independent agency is hoping to raise that amount – and more – through a year of fund-raisers.

Staff have already volunteered to race over an inflatable obstacle course; take part in a 64 mile bike ride; put their best feet forward for a “Strictly Get Dancing” competition; perform a sky dive; and brave a sponsored haircut

The Willy Wonka event on May 20 celebrates the 11th anniversary of dragon boat racing taking part on the park's iconic lake. It is a unique corporate team-building event and family fun day, all in aid of Martin House.

Emily Wilkinson, who heads up the agency’s charity and community projects, says: “Thanks to the inspiration and hard work of all staff, we have already raised over £50,000 for the hospice in fun and innovative ways that have promoted teamwork and teambuilding.”

Anyone wishing to help the team make a splash in its fund-raising efforts for Martin House can pledge their support here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/linleyandsimpsonsupportmartinhouse.

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First Step: How appropriate that a charity with that name should get support from Beresfords’ area manager Jason Smith via his great run in last month’s London Marathon. 

Beresfords has supported the charity since First Step's early days and is keen to give the charity a boost as the organisation reaches its 30th milestone, whilst Beresford celebrates its 50th.

Jason explains: "I've wanted to do the London Marathon for years, but have been slightly daunted by the prospect of running just over 26 miles, but it was for an extremely good cause, so I trained hard and completed the course in a very respectable four hours and 16 minutes.”

First Step began in October 1988 in response to a plea from some parents of young children based in Hornchurch, Essex, with special needs and/or disabilities. 

Since that time, the charity has evolved to provide a range of sessions and services. First Step currently works with over 100 pre-school children, and their families, offering education services, support, information and encouragement.

Jason has so far raised nearly £1,200 - and you can give here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jasonrunningforfirststep.

Projekt 42: Buccleuch Property is raising much needed funds for Projekt 42, a mental health charity based in Edinburgh, through its annual event, the Buccleuch Property Challenge.

Taking place on September 7 at Drumlanrig Castle, Dumfries and Galloway, the challenge is a six-hour non-stop adventure race, which sees around 75 teams from across the property industry compete to raise money for charity.

Providing the ultimate team-building day out, the challenge invites teams of three to compete in a range of outdoor pursuits, from running, to mountain biking, kayaking, orienteering. There’s also a range of surprise tasks on the day to keep participants on their toes, with previous events including zorbing and sumo wrestling.

A test of fitness, stamina and mental capacity, the Challenge has raised over £115,000 for charity since its inception in 2006.

This year will see Projekt 42, a social enterprise aiming to tackle poor mental health through an innovative programme of health, wellbeing and fitness services, benefit from money raised through the sporting event to create a new gym in Edinburgh.

David Peck, Managing Director at Buccleuch Property, says: “This year we’re aiming to raise at least £10,000 for Projekt 42, and I can’t wait to see the difference this makes for the charity and their new centre.” 

Previous charity partners include Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, Ovarian Cancer, Childline and It’s Good 2 Give.

For more information on the Buccleuch Property Challenge, or to submit your team, visit www.buccleuchproperty.com.

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Variety, the Children’s Charity: The 27th annual PROPS Awards Lunch, one of the industry’s key fundraising events, has raised £350,000 for Variety, the Children’s Charity. 

The glittering ceremony was hosted by Martin Bayfield, the former rugby union player.

The PROPS awards have generated over £10m for the charity and 2,000 powered wheelchairs for disabled children across the UK since 1992. 

The coveted Lifetime Achievement Award was won by Paul White, chairman of Frogmore Real Estate Partners for his five-decades of service to the property sector. Other winners included Dexters, who won the Residential Agent of the Year Award; Land Securities Group plc & The Crown Estate for their work on the Westgate Oxford; and Pocket Living Ltd., who took home the Residential Developer of the Year Award. 

Neil Sinclair, ‘the PROPS’ chair, says: “I want to thank all the attendees for their generosity at the 27th PROPS awards and congratulate our winners. The funds raised at the annual PROPS lunch allow Variety to help disabled and disadvantaged children across the UK make the most of their childhood. We are deeply grateful for the generosity all our donors who help improve the lives of some of the most disadvantaged people in society.”

Duncan Syers, Chief Barker of Variety, the Children’s Charity, said: “I am incredibly grateful for all the donations made at the PROPS Awards Lunch. £350,000 is an incredible amount of money raised. Thanks to the industry’s generosity, we will help improve the lives of disabled and disadvantaged children up and down the country.”

Variety was established in the UK in 1949. Since then, more than £270 million has been raised by the charity, funding over 5,500 Sunshine Coaches, custom-made wheelchairs and helping thousands of children affected by ill-health, disability and disadvantage. 

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Our Lady of the Angels School: Saunders & Lingard estate agency, covering the  Torbay and Teignbridge areas of south Devon, is supporting this primary school in Torquay as it raises funds to develop a children’s garden.

The school aim to reach a target of £1,500 to purchase and erect a garden shed suitable to store all the children’s gardening tools, to replace worn out fencing boards, to buy top soil to fill the troughs, seeds, hand tools, and to buy picket fencing.

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Agents Giving / ESTAS Text Donations: And finally this week, a special thank you from Agents Giving for the amazing support to the text donations for ESTA18 70070 which raised a staggering £1,560 in aid of charity.

The winner of the one night stay Bed & Breakfast in the Grosvenor Hotel in London is lucky Darren Diggins of Diggins & Co.