Agents Do Charity - more great work by the industry

Hello and welcome to this week’s list of good work - yes, despite the virus lockdown. 

Earlier this week we featured many agents working in their communities for people during the crisis and we’ve more today, some relating efforts before the outbreak and some since.

Either way we remain in awe of agents doing such good work - please tell us what you are doing on press@estateagenttoday.co.uk and we’ll share it with the industry. Thank you.

Central London Homeless: Ajay Bathija, director of the Winkworth Kingsbury office in north west London, and his team of nine staff  have made more than 250 sandwiches and helped to distribute them to the homeless in Central London on two occasions recently. 

They used the kitchen at their office to make up the sandwiches, working with homelessness charity Being Giving.

The food was then taken by the Being Giving volunteers early in the morning to people sleeping on the streets in shop doorways in the Tottenham Court Road location and several homeless hotspots in London. 

Along with the sandwiches, socks, woolly hats, toothbrushes and toothpaste, the basic necessities for them for their day to day survival, were provided in the kit bags.

Ajay Bathija, who runs the franchise with his wife Shilpa, says: “We've been volunteering with the charity for a while now but this is the first time we have been asked to provide food. It was heartbreaking to hear some of the stories from homeless people and how they have ended up on the streets. It was humbling to see their selflessness whilst they passed the food on to friends further down the street who were perhaps more hungry or more in need. It breaks our heart to think that we will not be able to do this because of the restrictions but we will think of other ways to help."

The Winkworth office also supports the local food bank run by the local church - great work by the team.

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Cornwall Community Foundation: Cornish agency John Bray has made a donation to the CCF’s Covid-19 Emergency Fund. John Bray partner Jo Ashby says: “It’s vital to act local and support each other in times like this and CCF are doing a magnificent job.”

The foundation says many families in the county are already in ‘in work’ poverty and as work disappears, many more will be forced to turn to their community for help. 

A statement from the foundation says: “We are asking each of you to donate to our Emergency Fund to help Cornwall’s poorest get through these challenging months ahead.  We are all facing uncertainty but together we can make a critical difference to the lives of many families.  We ask our out-of-county supporters to donate a minimum of £500 a year.”

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NHS Frontline Staff: Huddersfield property firm Bramleys is working in collaboration with property developer SKA Developments and contractors Big Red to offer accommodation for NHS staff not able to return home during the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The companies have worked together to ensure all empty student properties across SKA Developments property portfolio are being used to provide relief for staff who need to be safely housed while working in a high-risk environment. 

The accommodation is primarily in pods of four, with all bedrooms featuring an en-suite with double bed, wardrobes, desk and TV. 

The pods include a fully functioning communal kitchen that features fridges, fridge-freezers and dishwashers. The town centre accommodation is inclusive of bills and free Wi-Fi is available. Chargeable communal laundry services are all available on all sites. 

For NHS personnel who would like more information, please email lettings@bramleys1.co.uk.

#IndustryActsofKindness: Agents Giving is encouraging the industry to share their #IndustryActsofKindness during the Coronavirus crisis. 

And it’s encouraging the industry to support local communities by sharing ideas on how to make a difference in neighbourhoods by getting involved in any of the following efforts:

- support a local food bank with any urgent donations of food ;

- sign up to support Age UK by volunteering to either chat, collect and deliver food or medication for the elderly and vulnerable;

- sign up to support the NHS GoodSam volunteering campaign.

Sharing “Industry Acts of Kindness” helps to showcase the great deeds going on right now and shows we can all do something great in our communities not matter how big or small, it will all make a huge difference.

Tell Agents Giving about your act of kindness here.