Agents Do Charity - Dance moves and donations

Agents have been celebrating some of the top fundraising exploits of the past 12 months but the activity continues.

Remember, if you have charitable exploits you want the rest of the industry to know about, email press@estateagenttoday.co.uk, or contact us on social media, and we’ll do the rest.

Agents Giving: Property professionals gathered for the annual Agents Giving Charity Ball last week to name the industry’s top fundraisers and of course for a bit of dancing.

Sponsored by Callwell and supported by Nurtur and Atlas Display, the event was held at The Epsom Downs Racecourse last Friday and celebrated the outstanding fundraising efforts of the property industry as well as showcasing the industry’s dancing talent with the Strictly Agents Dancing Competition.

The Strictly Agents dancers were Kristjan Byfield of Base Property and The Depositary, Katy Poore of Thomas Morris, Danielle Lanthier of Paramount, Suzanna Mavity of Acaboom, Natasha Sugarman from Drivers & Norris, Manuela Daniels from Thomas Morris, Bernadette Sheridan of PayProp, Jason Kelly from X1 Lettings, John Young from Drivers & Norris and Robert May of Rummage Property.

Each participant raised money for their own chosen charity.

Bernadette’s star turn raised more than £670 via GivenGain, PayProp’s sister online fundraising site.

According to the British Red Cross, that’s enough to provide the men, women and children driven from their homes by the Russian invasion with 22 £10 hygiene kits and 15 £30 chlorine tablets. Bernadette’s campaign is still accepting donations until 1 August – plenty of time to support her goal to assist the people of Ukraine.

She said: “I was inspired to fundraise for the Red Cross by the incredible work they’re doing in Ukraine.

“I’ve been hosting a Ukrainian refugee since May and the Red Cross have been so helpful and supportive from the start. Helping them in return is totally worth a little embarrassment in front of my friends and colleagues.”

You can watch some of Bernadette's performance by clicking here.

The winner of the Agents Giving glitterball trophy was Danielle Lanthier from Paramount.

As well as the prestigious glitterball, Danielle was also awarded £250 prize money donated by Relocation Agent Network.

She said: “I’m thrilled and humbled to have won Agents do Strictly - I still can't believe it.

“It was a rollercoaster of an experience and I’m so thankful to have been a part of it. The win is great, but I think the best thing I've taken out of this is having faced the fear of getting up in front of hundreds of people to perform. Now that it's done - I'd do it again in a heartbeat.”

- Read about Kristjan Byfield’s dancing exploits in our latest PropTech Today column.

The Fundraising Champions winners were also named by host for the evening Jason Bradbury.

Paramount and Alan Batt Estate Agents won the joint Best Company Fundraising, sponsored by National Home Move.

Paramount and Dawsons were joint winners for Best Team Fundraising awards, sponsored by Stephen J Brown Consultancy in memory of his wife Sam Brown.

The Best Individual Fundraising award, sponsored by The Property Franchise Group, was shared by Naomi Webborn of Dawsons and Suzanna Mavity, from Acaboom.

Pygott & Crone were crowned Best Social Media Campaign, sponsored by J P Gardner & Associates for their 100km industry wide walk for Dementia.

Best Community Fundraising, sponsored by Zoopla, was awarded to Fife Properties and Thomas Morris.

The Best Fundraising Campaign, sponsored by PayProp, was awarded to Stephen J Brown Consultancy for his ongoing computers for school’s campaign.

X1 Lettings were triumphant in the Best Creative category, sponsored by The ValPal Network, and Luke St Clair of Knightsbridge Estates took home the award for Special Fundraising, sponsored by deverellsmith.

Suppliers to the industry were also recognized with Estate Agent Content being successful in the Best Industry Supplier Fundraising category, sponsored by Mint Insurance Brokers ltd.

A special industry award for Outstanding Contribution sponsored by Propertymark was won by Katy Poore of Thomas Morris for her relentless drive to support charity and local community with her determination to help make a big difference with everything she does.

Katy said: “I’m genuinely overwhelmed to win this award and am so honoured given the amount everyone does within our industry”.

The Corporate Social Responsibility award, sponsored by ESTAS, was won by Thomas Morris for its approach to corporate social responsibility as well as charitable work.

David Newnes, chairman of Agents Giving, said: “The Agents Giving Ball was an opportunity for the industry to come together for a night of glamour and celebration.

“We would like to thank our sponsors, supporters, donators, partners, and guests for a wonderful evening and especially our Strictly Agents Dancers who were truly sensational”.

Auctioneer for the evening SDL Property Auctions’ Andrew Parker also helped raise £18,500 in the charity auction.

- See the Agents Giving Fundraising Champions Awards 2022 Winners

- Meet the Strictly Agents Dancers 

Dacre, Son & Hartley: Away from Agents Giving, other firms were also busy raising funds.

Yorkshire agent Dacre, Son & Hartley was among sponsors of Wharfedale’s first ever Colour Rush Fun Run.

It was organised by Ilkley Grammar School’s PTA and sponsored by several local businesses including Dacre, Son & Hartley, raising £3,777 for the school.

The event saw 325 participants, aged between five and 75, running around Ilkley Grammar School’s playing fields.

Everyone started the race wearing pristine white T-shirts sponsored by Dacre, Son & Hartley, but immediately after passing through a fabulous balloon arch created by Balloon World of Addingham, the runners began getting blasted with brightly coloured powder paint.

Caroline Grice-Ellis, from Ilkley Grammar School’s PTA, said: “This was a special day for everyone associated with Ilkley Grammar School. The money raised will help to ensure that there is support throughout the school for anyone experiencing mental health issues. By the end of this academic year, one in three members of the school’s staff will hold the Mental Health First Aid qualification, against a national target of one in ten.

“The school’s creative arts department will also benefit, and the money has already paid for the installation of new specialised lighting in its main theatre space. The support we received from pupils, parents, the Wharfedale community and local businesses was phenomenal, and we’ve already started planning the Ilkley Colour Rush Fun Run again for 2023.”

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley, added: “This was a fun, exciting and family friendly event that raised thousands of pounds for the school. As an Ilkley headquartered business, we were honoured to sponsor it. There’s no doubt it will make a genuine difference to students and staff at Ilkley Grammar School, as well as our local community.”