At Metropolis, we’re constantly impressed with the extreme challenges property professionals take on to support vulnerable young people across the UK through LandAid.
In the past few months alone, we’ve seen them brave a freezing night on the streets, sledge 250km through the Arctic Circle and run the Paris Marathon for LandAid – to name just a few!
A lot of cold noses and cold lips but extremely warm hearts coming together to reduce and ultimately eradicate youth homelessness at last night's #LandAidSleepOut ❄️❤️🤝 pic.twitter.com/TxlT8JKESc
— Kimberly Hepburn (@kimhepburn) March 2, 2018
But there is another way to support LandAid – one that doesn’t involve battling ferocious weather or months of exhausting training.
Joining LandAid’s Free Property Advice Programme means you can use your professional skills and talents to change the lives of vulnerable people in the UK.
Our programme matches your property skills with local charities in need of advice, enabling them to deliver their much-needed services sustainably. You can ensure that charities across the UK can keep supporting young people, families and communities, including those experiencing homelessness.
The programme really works! Last year, 1,849 hours were donated by property experts, the equivalent of 77 workdays. Charities and projects working with 12,000 people across the UK were helped and supported by the free property advice given. The advice was valued at £250,000, and charities gained or saved £342,000 as a result.
For example, colleagues at Knight Frank recently helped Groundswell, a homelessness charity, find new offices in central London that saved them £40,000 a year in rent and utilities. Groundswell enables homeless people to take control of their lives and play a full role in our community.
With the lease of their office expiring in just a few months, Groundswell urgently had to find new premises while reducing costs at the same time.
Knight Frank visited the charity with LandAid to assess the charity’s requirements and establish a number of options that would not uproot the charity. The estate agency found new premises for the charity that were much more affordable, saving them £40,000 of their hard-fundraised income.
Knight Frank assisted Groundswell with valuable surveying and cost advice, while the new offices also greatly improved the team’s morale and ability to deliver its critical services.
As one staff member at Groundswell says, “When people who have been marginalised come into an office like this, they feel that they matter.”
By giving free property expertise, staff gain a real and satisfying level of engagement with local charities. In 2017/18, 100% of the companies and charities involved said they would recommend LandAid’s Free Property Advice Programme.
Joining the Free Property Advice Programme means you can acquire new skills, experience and the opportunity to work alongside other companies as part of LandAid’s network. For many companies, it is an important part of their corporate social responsibility.
To find out more about the Free Property Advice Programme, visit: bit.ly/donate-your-skills
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