Brendas raise £25,000 for children’s charity

HIGHLIGHTS of the Brendas 2014 – the annual tongue-in-cheek awards event that sees the Birmingham commercial property sector raise funds for disadvantaged children – included an attempt at pole dancing and a version of Through the Keyhole.

This year’s event, staged at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham, collected more than £25,000 for the Property for Kids charity.

The show, celebrating its tenth anniversary, was once again hosted by Jilly Cosgrove, of Barques, and Jamie Sutton of DBK.

The awards – a collection of painted garden gnome trophies – were presented to Simon Robinson of BNP Paribas Real Estate, Jonathan Robinson of DTZ, Ian Hughes of Rowley Hughes Thompson, Alison Monteith and Derek Matthews of Monteith Scott, Philippa Pickavance of Philippa Pickavance Real Estate, and Mike Hargreaves, of Coltham Developments.

Jilly said: “Once again all our friends involved in commercial property across the West Midlands have shown how very generous they are by helping Property for Kids raise more than £25,000.”

Corporate lawyer gets team walking to raise £7,000

A CORPORATE lawyer has swapped his desk in Brierley Hill for a famous British landmark in a quest to raise funds for charity.
 
Jamie Partington, who works for law firm Higgs & Sons, organised a team of nine to walk the entire length of the Hadrian’s Wall footpath in just 48 hours.
 
The team tackled the 84-mile route to raise money for two charities – the Willow Foundation and Macmillan Cancer Support.

The group has already raised nearly £7,000 and hopes to raise even more in the coming days and weeks. Managed by an injured Jamie, the team consisted of Alistair Partington, Jonathan Lowe, David Curtis, Ian Crooks, Steve Dobson, Richard Astles, Hugh Kilroy, Pete Bowker and Caroline Owens.
 
Jamie Partington said: “The total time taken from start line to finish line was 40 hours and, with minor detours and zig-zagging the total mileage was clocked at 88 miles.

“All this effort was in the name of two causes very close to the group’s hearts, and our sponsorship total already nears the £7,000 mark.”
 

Baker Tilly to donate furniture proceeds to hospital

ACCOUNTANCY firm Baker Tilly is offering local businesses in Birmingham the chance to walk away with its surplus office furniture in return for a donation to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Next month, Baker Tilly’s two offices in Birmingham will be combined into one as a result of the firm’s merger with RSM Tenon last year. Staff and partners from the former RSM Tenon office in Legge Street will shortly be moving to Baker Tilly’s office in St Philips Point.

Furniture and office equipment from the Legge Street office will now be offered to raise money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and local businesses are welcome to make a donation for items including desks, chairs, filing cabinets and shelves, as well as white goods such as fridges, and dishwashers.

Businesses that are interested should contact Sarah Duggan at sarah.duggan@bakertilly.co.uk.

Charity cricket day will bring out the stars

CELEBRITIES and sports personalities will be out in force for the fourth charity cricket day to be held in Birmingham in July.

The day is a repeat of successful events over the last three years which have raised thousands for charity.

The event is organised by registered cricket charity The Bill Lloyd Memorial Trust and will be held at Bournville Cricket Club on Sunday, July 13th. It will raise cash for disability cricket in Birmingham and the Army Benevolent Fund.

The highlight of the day will be a 40 overs-a-side match between the England National Physical Disability XI and a British Army XI.

Other attractions will include cricket coaching sessions for youngsters, the England and Wales Cricket Board Roadshow, an all-girl jazz quartet and a charity auction in front of the pavilion. There will also be a wide variety of stalls selling souvenirs, books, food and drink and ice cream. Admission is free.

Celebrity and VIP guests on the day will include cricket personalities of past and present, as well as former and current members of the England Test Squad and Warwickshire Cricket Club.

Anyone wanting information about the day, or wishing to make donations to the charity auction, can contact David Lloyd on 07764 378066.