Agents Do Charity - a charitable start to the new year

Plenty of inspirational examples of fundraising activities by agents and property professionals have been coming in from the end of 2022.

Whatever cause you are supporting this year, we would love to help.

Just send details (and images and videos too, please) to press@estateagenttoday.co.uk and we will let the industry know - and perhaps win some more funds for you.

Berriman Eaton: Regional estate agency Berriman Eaton has revealed several charitable exploits achieved by staff during the festive period.

Staff at its offices in Bridgnorth, Tettenhall, Wombourne and Worcester took part in a reverse advent calendar last month to support their communities.

Every employee was encouraged to volunteer, raise money, or reach out to local groups to see how they could help, with almost 25 different activities already completed.

This included more than £5,000 in donations, directors taking part in sleigh rides and managing director Andy Roberts preparing meals at Friends of Di’s Kitchen in Wolverhampton.

Caroline Eaton, director of Berriman Eaton, said: “The cost of living crisis is impacting so many people and we wanted to turn the traditional advent calendar approach on its head, by encouraging our staff to support charities or community groups where they live.

“The response was fantastic with so much money raised and donated to causes, including Together at Christmas, which made sure nobody had to celebrate the festive period alone, Bridgnorth Food Bank, Cash for Kids and West Midlands Air Ambulance.

“Part of our job is to understand communities, in order to sell and rent homes within them, so it felt right to giving something back.

“The reverse advent calendar is the latest part of ‘BE in the Community’ story and follows a free printing service we did for parents and children during the pandemic, collection for food banks and our backing of Sponsored Breaks, the latter giving free breaks to people who need it most using a specially modified campervan.”

Ella Coleman, sales negotiator for the brand, has been one of the main organisers behind the campaign.

She added: “This is the first time we’ve done it and I think everyone agrees that it has been an overwhelming success. It’s something we are all keen to replicate this year and maybe make it even bigger and better.”

Chestertons: In just one month, London estate agency Chestertons has collected almost 4,000 coats for the charity Calling London to help vulnerable Londoners through the winter months. 

The coat drive took place from 21 October to 22 November and helped generate over 6,000 coats in total.

To boost the outcome and generate awareness of the campaign, Chestertons turned each of its high street branches into donation points and worked with clients, staff, local community groups and businesses. 

This year, the branches had to work particularly hard to secure donations as the cost of living crisis resulted in many people not buying new coats and therefore not wanting to part with their old ones.
 
To further maximise collections, Chestertons’ branches also worked with local schools such as Mill Hill School, Holy Cross and Halstow Primary School who raised hundreds of additional coats. 

Many Chestertons employees, including the agency’s newly appointed chief executive John Ennis, volunteered over the final campaign weekend to sort the donations ready for distribution to charities. 

The donations have now been distributed to over 30 charities and shelters across the capital, including Crisis at Christmas, Little Village, Smartworks, Suited & Booted, Hestia and several food banks across the capital.

Giles Milner, marketing director and a trustee of The Chestertons Foundation, said: “It’s wonderful to see all of the innovative ideas and approaches that Chestertons employees come up with to raise more and more coats every year for our Calling London Coat Drive. 

“We are very pleased to have collected so many coats and I’m enormously thankful to all of Chestertons’ staff, clients, friends - and the local communities we worked with - for their generosity.”

Frances Manthos, founder of Calling London, added: “With the cost of living crisis and rising energy bills impacting on so many households, the need for donations has been particularly high this year. The support of Chestertons, its clients, suppliers, and business partners has been extraordinary and will make an immense difference to so many people in need.”

iamproperty: Proptech firm iamproperty has revealed it raised £15.364 from charitable activities last year.

The money has been donated to Tiny Lives Trust, which supports premature and sick newborn babies and their families.

The funds were raised through a series of events including a family fun day, a charity boxing match, the Great North Run and a sponsored golf day.

In June, employees gathered with their family and friends to enjoy their annual Family Fun Day at Newcastle Racecourse which raised £3,471.16 for the charity.

Ellen Gration, business development manager, then took to the ring for a charity boxing match, in aid of Tiny Lives Trust, winning the competition and raising £700.95.

Teammates Rob Wallace, Hope Killick, Dan Milne and David Simms, took part in the Great North Run, with the starting line not far from iamproperty’s HQ in Newcastle. Sponsorships saw them raise a total of £1,267.

The group then teed off on its annual charity Golf Day, inviting Partner Agents and team members to join them on the course. Following a successful day of golf, they added £8,079 to the fundraising pot.

Following the golf day, Jamie Cooke, managing director of iamproperty, said: “We are so proud of our team for helping to raise money and awareness for Tiny Lives Trust. It’s a challenging time as we’re all facing increasing costs, so we appreciate the generosity of our team and our Partner Agents more than ever.

“A huge thank you goes out to our four GNR runners, agents and partners who joined the golf day and everyone who donated to our chosen charity. The money we raise will go a long way in making a difference to the lives of babies and families that need the support.”

iamproperty has pledged to continue its support for the Tiny Lives Trust throughout 2023.

New Year honours: Congratulations to David Nesbit, owner of the Nesbits agency in Portsmouth, who was made an OBE for his charitable work in the New Years Honours List.

Andy Hill, founder and group chief Executive of  housebuilder The Hill Group, also received an OBE for services to affordable housing.

The company has a track record delivering a wide range of affordable and mixed tenure developments, which represent around half of the group’s overall portfolio. 

In 2019, to mark the company’s 20th anniversary, Andy launched ‘Foundation 200’, a £15m charitable programme to donate 200 purpose-built modular homes to local authorities and homeless charities, providing safe, secure accommodation to people who would otherwise be homeless.

Andy said: “It is a great honour to be recognised in the first New Year Honours List under the reign of His Majesty King Charles III. 

“Housebuilding has been my lifelong passion and throughout my career I have truly believed that well designed, well constructed homes and neighbourhoods can be transformational to people’s lives. This is especially true in the affordable housing space where I take great pride in the estate regeneration and affordable housing projects that The Hill Group has undertaken alongside our partners."