Berkeley signs on with the Street Elite
The Berkeley Group has officially pledged its commitment to a five-year programme that aims to get youth off the streets.
Street Elite was set up two years ago by the organisation Cricket For Change, with the help of the Metropolitan Police. It targets young people on the fringes of gang warfare and crime, and encourages them into work or education.
Candidates are required to complete an intensive 12-week sports-based training and mentoring programme, after which they are offered a two-week placement at Berkeley with a view to being placed permanently.
Rob Perrins, managing director of the firm, said: “Our involvement with Street Elite is not just about funding, it’s about the chance of employment we can offer at the end of the programme.”
Berkeley has already employed six graduates full time, and since the scheme was established, 79% of the 24 participants have successfully moved into education, training or employment.
The number of participants in the programme will double from this year.
Hunters’ twilight run to commemorate colleagues
Inspired by the memories of two late colleagues, the ladies at estate agent Hunters pounded the pavements of York for a worthy cause.
Sporting the colour pink, the 20 dames from three Hunters branches took part in York’s Race for Life Twilight Run, a 5km course along the river in the city centre that aims to raise money to help stamp out cancer.
The firm’s Glynis Frew, said: “At the forefront of all our minds were our colleagues Nicole Waterhouse and Karen Browne, who would have been running with us were it not for tragic recent events.
“Coming together for the race gave us all strength and support during what is a difficult and very sad time.”
The team raised £1,255.
Halloween ball brews up support for soldiers
Property people turned out in their finery last weekend for London’s glittering annual Halloween Ball.
But the sold-out event was far from ghoulish, as guests arrived at The Brewery in their resplendent droves to support the charity Just Rifles for soldiers and their families. The charity was set up by lawyer Bryan Fugler and is run by English Rose Estates director Scott Levy.
And as it turns out the pair know how to throw a party. More than 600 people, including agents, developers, financiers and lawyers, attended the sold-out event, which included a charity auction.
More than £130,000 was raised.
For more information about Just Rifles, visit www.justrifles.co.uk
Industry clubs together for war heroes
Ross Marshall, founder and chief executive of www.yourgolftravel.com, along with many of his 5,000 property industry clients, have won the support of more than 400 golf clubs and hotels to provide free tuition to soldiers wounded in Afghanistan.
Ross said: “Golf for Heroes will enable us all to show our admiration and thanks to brave soldiers who, having lost limbs, believed they could never play golf. Great credit to so many in the property business.”
Slope off to Italy for Ski Challenge
It’s time to dust off your snow boots, as the Lambert Smith Hampton Ski Challenge is upon us once again.
This time-honoured networking event, supported by Estates Gazette, will have all the usual thrills and spills on the slopes as well as an invite-only business forum where M&G Real Estate chairman Martin Moore and chief executive of Stanhope David Camp will both speak.
There will also be a panel discussion led by Lambert Smith Hampton chief executive Ezra Nahome. He said: “The challenge is the longest-running event in our industry and is a fixture for those focused on networking and competitive skiing. The 2014 meeting will be significant as recovery makes it an exciting year for industry leaders with an eye on business generation.”
The Ski Challenge and Business Forum will take place in Courmayeur, Italy on 30 January to 1 February 2014.
For details, visit www.lsh.co.uk/campaigns/lsh-ski-challenge/home
Show us your mo
We know you gentlemen of the industry wait all year for Movember just so you can grow a moustache.
And EG appreciates the commitment required to sport a look that’s less manicured than usual, so that’s why we are happy to provide you with a public platform. Send your Movember photos and fundraising stories to us and we’ll try to publish as many as possible over the next month.
Tell us why you are taking part, whether you are going it alone or with a group, how you are raising money and your best tips for growing a mo. And if you can give us a link to your fundraising page, we’ll try to give that a plug, too.
For more information on Movember, see http://uk.movember.com/
