In September we started a new Ambassador of the Month campaign, to further recognise the amazing work our Ambassadors are doing.
Each month we’ll select one Ambassador to speak to, asking them about their time at LandAid and highlighting something exceptional they’ve done.
Our first Ambassador of the Month was Anna Stewart from BNP Paribas Real Estate, and our second Ambassadors of the Month were Alexander Barnes and Joseph Round, from Gerald Eve LLP.
We’re really pleased to announce our third Ambassador of the Month, Kitty Kent from PwC! We selected Kitty in part because of her amazing work for this year’s LandAid Day, in which she organised a whole day packed full of wonderful and wacky activities, raising money to help end youth homelessness.
We asked her some questions about her time as a LandAid Ambassador so far. Check out her answers below.
Why did you get involved in the LandAid Ambassador programme?
I am always keen to be involved in charitable initiatives, and homelessness is something I feel particularly passionate about. A number of my colleagues within Real Estate at PwC were already involved with LandAid, with a couple of our Partners participating on the Fundraising Committee, so there is a lot of support and encouragement to get involved. It was an ideal opportunity to raise funds and awareness within my real estate industry and alongside colleagues.
What has been the most enjoyable thing you’ve done as an Ambassador, and what fundraising idea you’ve seen someone else undertaking for LandAid has most impressed you?
Visiting the newly renovated halfway house set up by St Christopher’s and funded in part by a LandAid grant. We had the opportunity to meet some of the other funders, the social workers, psychologists, and the individuals who will benefit from the scheme, which was such a great way to really understand where our donations go, and why we go to all this effort.
As for fundraising, two of our partners participated in the SleepOut challenge during the freezing weather of the Beast from the East! Together they raised over £5,000 and raised a huge amount of awareness amongst their colleagues and clients.
Why would you say other people should become LandAid Ambassadors, and what has your proudest moment as an Ambassador been?
Particularly if you work in the property industry, it is a fantastic way to combine work with charity. It raises your own profile within your firm, it expands your network with other Ambassadors in the industry and then gives you the opportunity to learn more about, and help more directly towards, youth homelessness, while seeing some of the impact of your donations through site visits. Fundraising through work often also gives you greater resources and greater access to more people so that your efforts are more impactful.
As for my proudest moment, on LandAid Day 2017 we raised so much more than we expected (over £2700 in total) and raised a lot of awareness amongst our colleagues throughout the firm. Being able to talk passionately about the charity and having seen firsthand where this money goes makes it so much more rewarding when we manage to raise huge amounts like that.
If you’d like to tell us about something you’ve done which you think qualifies you as our Ambassador of the Month, or you’d like to nominate another Ambassador you think is worthy of the accolade, then email Callum Harvey and let him know.