Over 60 property and construction businesses across the UK took part in yesterday’s future-themed LandAid Day in a bid to raise £150,000 for young people facing homelessness.
Thousands of property professionals in cities including London, Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh got involved in the industry’s biggest annual day of fundraising, which this year featured a host of weird and wonderful activities based on the theme of the future’.
Highlights of LandAid Day included:
Mace‘s Chief Executive Mark Reynolds revealed what he wanted to be when he was growing up: Emmet the Builder. In the run up to LandAid Day, Reynolds had asked his clients to make a donation in return for a chance to guess his dream job. The big reveal was made via never-seen-before video footage of the Chief Executive in full Lego-man costume.
Opus Land triumphed in the Palmer Capital money-maker challenge in which Palmer Chief Executive Alex Price gave 12 companies £250 of his own cash and set them the task of turning it into as much money as possible. Birmingham-based Opus Land’s Hagley Road abseil raised £6,500 seeing them top the leaderboard.
Bilfinger GVA gave staff in its offices – including Chief Executive Gerry Hughes – virtual reality headsets and invited them to battle zombies in a futuristic video game. Those stuck at their desks could also get involved in the game-a-thon by trying their hand at the classic computer game Space Invaders via the company’s intranet.
Carter Jonas directors were subjected to the stocks outside One Chapel Place and pelted with wet sponges, whilst other staff raced each other on space-hoppers. Similar fun was had at Paragon Building Consultancy and Muse Developments, where staff raced on office chairs.
Grosvenor played a fast and furious dodgeball tournament in its board room while Shaftesbury hosted a crazy golf tournament at central London bar Swingers which raised a superb £19,000.
LaSalle Investment Management‘s annual football, netball and dodgeball tournament in Whitechapel topped off the LandAid Day celebrations. Teams from Capita, JLL and Malcolm Hollis triumphed in the three sports. LandAid’s Reservoir Dodge team put up a brave fight, but were knocked out in the early stages of the dodgeball tournament.
Paul Morrish, Chief Executive of LandAid, said: ‘The property industry put on a real fundraising spectacle this LandAid Day. That so many people from such a wide array of companies, and from cities across the UK, joined in the fun demonstrates the industry’s generosity and commitment to tackling youth homelessness.
We’re confident we’ll have beaten last year’s fundraising total of £130,000. That money will enable us to turn five empty properties into safe, affordable accommodation for young people without a place to call home, and to offer training and employment for young people in construction skills.
So whether you got on your bike, baked a cake or bounced up and down on a space hopper – thank you for making 2016 a record-breaking LandAid Day. Your support will help make ending youth homelessness part of our future.’
Photos courtesy of David Spink www.davidspinkphotography, com