Agents Do Charity - inspired by Three Lions...

The dream may be over but the return to reality can at least be staged in the spirit of an England team that lifted national spirits and earned international admiration.

So that World Cup spirit can apply to all the good work done by our industry’s fund-raisers, too. We’d like to play a small by publicising your good work - just keep us informed, please, by emailing press@estateagenttoday.co.uk and we’ll do the rest.

Now, on with this week’s show...

Agents Giving Grants: The Agents Giving grant fund helps towards the set up costs of your fundraising event, so more of the money you raise goes to your chosen charity.

The second round of grant funding is still available and grant requests should be made in advance of your fundraising event and we will also help promote your event. 

Many agents and their supported charities have already benefited from the fund - for example... 

Mark Crampton Smith at College & County helped organise ‘Agents for the Community’ on July 1 at Oxford carnival day.  Twenty- two lettings and sales agents were challenged to raise £20k from public donations to help Cowley Road Works a charity which provides programmes of cultural activity and engagement events. Their grant went towards branded t-shirts for the day...

Libby Jackson of Henry Simms Estate Agents in Heanor, Derbyshire helped organise a local fun day in May with bouncy castle, stalls and a raffle in aid of the Priory Celtic whites under 10’s football team. They raised funds for football kits, training equipment and clothing.  Their grant went towards the cost of the football kits...

Daniel Stephenson of Venture Properties organises an annual ‘Tour De Branch’, this year’s charity cycle ride will be on 5th August.  This is a 41-mile bike ride from Chester-Le-Street to Darlington, stopping at other offices in Durham, Crook and Bishop Auckland.  This year they are raising money for a cause close to many people - the Alzheimer's Society.  Their grant went towards the riders’ shirts...

Peter Knight, Chairman of Agents Giving comments: “The Agents Giving grant fund is helping agents with their event set up costs, meaning that more of the money raised at your events goes directly to your chosen charity or cause”.

Any requests should be made via a registration form on the Agents Giving website;  https://agentsgiving.org/the-agents-giving-grant-fund To apply for a grant you must be fundraising for UK registered charities.

For more information on The Agents Giving Grant Fund, please contact Agents Giving – Tel: 01372 370895 / or info@agentsgiving.org / or visit the website at www.agentsgiving.org 

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Magic Moments: The Cardiff-based estate agency chain Darlows has raised more than £8,000 for a children’s charity by holding a ball in the city.

The group, which has 14 branches across Wales, held the Red Carpet Summer Ball to raise funds Magic Moments, which was set up in 1998 by the then-chairman of Darlows’ parent company, Spicerhaart.

The charity is dedicated to helping children from supported hospices and their families.

The event was attended by 191 people, including Darlows staff, customers, people from other local businesses and some of the Magic Moments families.

“It is absolutely incredible” says Darlows’ regional partner, Gareth Brackin. 

“We started with a red carpet reception, then I spoke a bit about the charity and the wonderful things they do, including taking terminally ill children and their families as well as bereaved families on annual trips to Disneyland Paris.

“This really helped people understand what a wonderful and worthwhile charity Magic Moments is and encouraged everyone to give generously!”

The hotel also kindly pledged 10 per cent of bar sales - this should total well above £8,000.

The event was such a huge success that Gareth is already planning to hold another ball next year, with a provisional date of June 29 - more details from lisa.haycock@darlows.co.uk.

Fine & Country Foundation/Caritas Ile Maurice: Olivia Bathfield and Paul Schwab from Fine & Country Mauritius last week ran the Dodo Trail, one of the most intense 10km races in the world, to raise money for homelessness. The route featured some of Mauritius’s most breath-taking views, including an amazing rainbow at the top of the mountains.

Caritas Ile Maurice was one of 17 homeless charities across the world to receive funding from foundation’s grant programme in spring 2018. The grant scheme was a huge success and gave more than £60,000 to homeless charities and projects.

The Fine & Country Foundation will reopen their grant programme in October for registered homeless charities to apply for up to £15,000 of funding. For more information and to apply, please visit www.fineandcountryfoundation.com.

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Fine & Country Foundation/Northampton Hope Centre: This was another of the 17 charities to receive funding from the foundation. 

In this case, a £3,000 grant will fund two sheds for this gardening project. The site is a recreational area of service users and a place for them to learn about horticulture from a professional gardener. Service users can learn and develop new skills and gain qualifications to help them obtain work placements and full-time employment. 

“I’ve seen a number of homeless charities and the Hope Centre was the most uplifting charity I have visited. The gardening project is a huge success and we cannot wait to see the first tomatoes this summer” says Charlotte Schofield, Fine & Country Foundation co-ordinator. 

The psychological benefits of gardening and having a private outdoor space are significant. Many service users at the Hope Centre, and within all homeless charities, suffer from variety of mental illnesses.