The Duke of Cambridge has launched Pledge150, the RICS and LandAid campaign seeking to raise £2.25m to combat youth homelessness.
At an event at the RICS Westminster headquarters on Friday, attended by around 100 senior industry figures as well as trustees and beneficiaries of the charity, the duke welcomed the fundraising, enough to provide 150 bed spaces for young people at risk of homelessness.
“I know how important delivering on time and to budget is to you all,” he said. “Here, today, you are making a pledge – so no backsliding on this one. I will be taking a very close interest in your progress throughout the year.”
Friday’s kick-off event raised £127,000 towards the £2.25m target. As well as the speech by the duke, the event also included a charity cook-off compared by BBC TV presenter Angellica Bell, the winner of this year’s Celebrity MasterChef.
In the cook-off, RICS’ Sean Tompkins and LandAid’s Paul Morrish were helped by Sean Marsey, one of LandAid’s Young Voices and now on the board of leading youth homelessness charity St Basils, and Rihana Senay, who has been helped by New Horizon’s Youth Centre, a LandAid-funded project.
Both chief executives prepared a dish of mackerel with heritage carrots, citrus and sesame, with Morrish judged the winner by Steve Groves, head chef at Roux at Parliament Square. Groves is also a previous winner of Masterchef: the Professionals.
Tompkins said Pledge150 kicked off the RICS’s Giving Something Back campaign and was an important part of the body’s 150th anniversary celebrations.
“The aim throughout the coming year is to really highlight our public interest responsibilities,” he said.
Morrish said the £2.25m commitment showed “the industry’s determination to make a difference and help end youth homelessnesss by 2026.”
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This article was first published on 20 November.
