Belvoir Lettings raises over £10K for Macmillan Cancer Support

Belvoir smashes £10,000 fundraising goal for Macmillan

Belvoir, one of the UK’s largest specialist residential lettings agencies, is delighted to announce that generous franchise owners have broken through the £10,000 fundraising barrier for Macmillan Cancer Support - a clear five months ahead of schedule.

The latest figures reveal a total of £10,861, and with many offices still planning fundraising events this total is expected to grow further.

Reena Patel, marketing manager for Belvoir says: “We are thrilled and very proud that Belvoir franchise owners have achieved so much in just seven months. This is the first time that Belvoir has aligned itself with a national charity and our campaign launched with a Go Green Day on 1st February, 2011. We initially gave ourselves one year to raise £10,000 for Macmillan, which is an amazing charity, as it provides so much help and support to cancer victims, carers, families and friends.

“As well as helping Macmillan we wanted to involve Belvoir franchise owners in a campaign that would really unite the group and give us a common goal to work towards. I am delighted that Belvoir franchise owners and staff have risen to the challenge, undertaking a wide range of fundraising events, including sky dives, sponsored bike rides, charity golf competitions and generously matching landlord contributions on a pound for pound basis. This achievement is even more remarkable when you consider that many Belvoir offices also support charities in their local community.

“Ellie Wallis from the franchise support team at Central Office deserves huge thanks and recognition for all the work she has done in coordinating the project and motivating offices. We still have many fundraising events planned and it will be very interesting to see the eventual total that Belvoir raises on 1st February, 2012.”

Gemma Shaw, fundraising manager at Macmillan said: “I am over whelmed at the fantastic amount of money raised by Belvoir Lettings. From bike rides to golf days, from Go Green Days to sky dives - you really have surpassed yourselves.

“This huge amount of money will truly make a difference to those people who hear the words: ‘I’m sorry, you have cancer’. The money you have raised could be spent in a number of ways, however one example could be that £9,387 will run our CancerLine (0808 808 00 00) for a working week dealing with, on average, 760 calls and emails from people affected by cancer, providing them with essential information, practical and emotional support.

“Each and every penny raised really does make difference at Macmillan and a heartfelt thank you from me on behalf of all of us at the charity.”

Belvoir Lettings launched their Macmillan campaign on February 1st with a highly successful Go Green Day.

Since then many members of the Belvoir network have organised events and completed amazing fundraising challenges. Highlights of the campaign so far have included:

• Reena Patel, Belvoir marketing manager successfully completed a sponsored silence.
• Ian Maclean, head of franchise support embarked on a sponsored weight loss.
• Glenn Broadwell and his team from Belvoir Leeds North West completed the Shipley Stride.
• Phil Mathias from Belvoir Camberley ran a sponsored 10K road race.
• Jeremy Clarke of Belvoir Christchurch & Highcliffe cycled between every property on his books from Bournemouth to Milford-On-Sea near Lymington – in a single day!
• Rosemary Millican from Belvoir Macclesfield celebrated her 60th birthday by ‘swimming the channel for Macmillan’ at her local swimming pool.
• Ann and Steve Whalley from Belvoir Northwich held a charity golf match with sponsored tees.
• Charlotte Baker and the team at Belvoir Melton Mowbray completed a marathon sponsored 24-hour cycle ride in the office.
• Peter Johnson from Belvoir Skipton hosted a fundraising party for landlords.
• Claire Cook from Belvoir Newark conquered her fear of heights to perform a sky dive.
• Rick Flay and Sarah Powell of Belvoir Sheffield dug deep and generously matched voluntary landlord contributions pound for pound for nine months.
ENDS

To find details of your nearest Belvoir office visit: www.belvoirlettings.com


NOTES TO EDITORS

• Belvoir was founded in February 1995 by Mike and Stephanie Goddard. Its Central Office is in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

• Mike was chairman of the bfa for three consecutive years and is currently Director of International Affairs. He also sits on the board of the Property Ombudsman.

• Belvoir is recognised as one of the largest specialist lettings agency franchises in the UK, with 140+ franchises nationwide and aims to have 200 franchises in the next three years.

• Belvoir was officially awarded the Best Lettings Agency Franchise – Gold Award at the 2010 Lettings Agency of the Year Awards in association with The Sunday Times & The Times and, in recognition of the company’s continuing high standards, won Silver at the 2011 Awards.

• Belvoir was named as Brand Builder of the Year at the bfa Franchisor of the Year Awards 2011.

• Belvoir won the Best Marketing Campaign of the Year at the Franchise Marketing Association (FMA) Awards 2011.

• Mike Goddard was named as Business Leader of the Year at the Negotiator Awards 2009 and Belvoir MD Dorian Gonsalves is shortlisted as a finalist in this category at the 2011 Awards.

• Belvoir is a founder member of the pioneering new SAFEagent Kitemark scheme, which is fully supported by NALS. SAFEagent is designed to promote client money protection (CMP) and provide consumers with a clear message on those agents they should do business with.


For further information, or to request an interview, please contact
Andrea McHugh at Headlines Journalism, tel: 01476 567438/07940 930 331
or email: andrea@headlinesjournalism.co.uk