Agents Do Charity - on the cards

Welcome to this week’s Agents Do Charity, our chance to salute those who do so much to help others.

If your agency is doing a little charitable something which we should bring to the attention of the industry, please email press@estateagenttoday.co.uk - and we’ll do the rest! 

Nicol & Co: A creative junior school pupil has won Nicol & Co’s Christmas card competition for 2023 with her cute angel, festive tree and church design.

The intricate creation by eight-year-old Hollie, who goes to Malvern Parish School, has beaten scores of others to win the prize offered by the leading Worcestershire estate agents.

Hollie will receive a £300 donation for her school’s library, along with 30 copies of the card for her own family’s use and a Santa’s sack of goodies worth £50.

Matt Nicol, managing director Nicol & Co, which has branches in Droitwich, Malvern and Worcester, explained that each year the estate agents asks local children to design their company Christmas card.

The competition ran throughout late November and early December, with the company’s Facebook followers deciding on the winner via their online approvals.

He said: “Once again, it was great to see all the colourful entries that we received, and we all had wonderful fun watching our Facebook followers decide on the best with their ‘likes’ and ‘shares’.

“I enjoyed watching how Hollie’s design won the day as it was such a carefully thought out card.

“She is obviously a very talented little artist and it’s just the kind of colourful design we were hoping for.

“We are delighted that Hollie gets to enjoy a prize for herself, and that Malvern Parish School can now invest in some new books for all its children.”

Agents Giving: Industry charity Agents Giving is calling for property professionals with talent to audition for its charity ball show line up next summer.  

It is seeking video auditions for agents to showcase their talents.

The charity is looking for 10-15 acts in total.

So, whether your talent is singing, dancing, music, comedy, magic, or a variety now is your time to shine.

Agents Got Talent will be held on Friday 12 July 2024 at the Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey.

Simply send the Agents Giving talent team a clip of your talent and if successful you could showcase yourself in front of hundreds of your industry peers. Clips must be less than two minutes long, just fill out the audition form on the Agents Giving website and upload your video. Successful acts will be required to fundraise for Agents Giving.

Upload your audition at: https://agentsgiving.org/agents-got-talent/
 

Principle Estate Management: Property band Principle Estate Management has raised £1,000 for the British Red Cross, the company’s chosen charity for the 2022 to 2023 financial year.

Meanwhile, the Alzheimer's Society has been selected as Principle’s next chosen charity for the company’s new financial year.

Andrew Cleverley, service charge team leader at Principle, said:  “Principle works with people, not just properties, and this means that one of our most important company commitments is to positively impact on the lives of those in our communities every day.

“We are proud to have raised £1,000 for the British Red Cross through various events such as pub quizzes, a Valentine's Day raffle, a car boot sale, and Principle’s World Food Day.

“This is a charity that everyone here at Principle and many of those we work with feel is doing incredibly hard work in today’s world that’s so badly impacted by wars and climate change.

“Our new charity for the 2023 to 24 financial year has been chosen because so many people in the local communities we serve are either related to or know someone who has been affected by this terrible illness.

“We are determined to raise even more money to help the critical work done by the Alzheimer's Society.”

David Wilson Homes: Swale Foodbank recently received a £500 donation from local housebuilder David Wilson Homes, which is behind a local Applegate Park development in Borden.

Natalie Perry, sales and marketing director for David Wilson Kent, said: “We believe that no one should have to use a food bank but unfortunately with the alarming rising cost of living, food prices seem to be the worst affected area leaving people with no choice.

“It has been a pleasure working with Swale Foodbank who not only provide a food bank service, but provide advice to those in need in the Swale area. It is places like this which make a community over Christmas, and we are proud to support those who work tirelessly to make a difference in their local area.”

Esther, project manager, from Swale Foodbank, added: “We would like to thank David Wilson Kent for their generous donation. With the winter season fast approaching, the cost-of-living impacts people’s livelihoods more than ever, resulting in more people utilising our foodbanks, so this donation could not have come at a better time and will aid our efforts in supporting the community. We encourage anyone to reach out if they are in need of any support, or even just for a chat - we are always here to help.”

Variety: The inaugural Variety North West PROPs Awards took place earlier this month as eight property professionals and organisations were celebrated for their outstanding achievements in the property industry. 

The event raised more than £200,000 for Variety, the children’s charity and was hosted by England and British Lions rugby legend Martin Bayfield at the Hilton Hotel Deansgate.

Home Bargains founder Tom Morris and George Downing, chairman of the Downing Group, stunned the audience of property professionals with on the spot donations of £50,000 each to purchase two new Variety Sunshine Coaches.

Later in the evening, Mark Goldberg, commercial chief executive of Together pledged to purchase an additional Sunshine Coach to support the charity.

Will Ainscough of Wain Group was highly commended with the Special Recognition Award for his outstanding contributions to the property industry, earning him recognition as one of the most influential figures in the North West

Will has continually supported disabled and disadvantaged children and through his presence within the industry has supported community initiatives and local causes. He was also instrumental in obtaining planning permission for the UK's largest regeneration project; Future Carrington.

Will, who said his success was down to staying humble and determined, commented: “I’ve been very fortunate to have such valuable leadership and guidance from my father throughout my career, but without doubt we wouldn’t be where we are today without all the tireless efforts of all involved in the business.”

Other individual winners on the night included Anthony Mellor of B8RE who was crowned Agent Of The Year for completing an impressive 35 letting transactions in 2023 which notably included the transaction of Unit 6 Rivington Court, and Debra Cooper of Hill Dickinson (Professional Adviser Of The Year) for an outstanding contribution to the property industry since joining the firm in April 2023.

Lyn Staunton, development director for Variety, added: “We’re absolutely delighted with the outcome of the first ever North West iteration of the PROPs awards, we already can’t wait for next year.

“We received a diverse selection of entries for each category and it proved to be a really hard judging process. We’re really proud to be able to finally announce the winners and see the joy on so many peoples faces after all the hard work they have put in this year.

“I am blown away by the donations, this incredible amount of support will go a long way in ensuring we can continue to help fund more specialist equipment for disadvantaged children in the area.”