Staff from a Harrogate estate agency are all getting ready to show off their pulling power ahead of making their debut in one of the UK’s top dragon boat races.
Thirteen colleagues from Linley & Simpson are roaring into action at Roundhay Park in Leeds to raise money for the company’s chosen Charity of the Year, Martin House Children’s Hospice at Boston Spa.
The team hoping to paddle power their way to victory include Alexander Atkinson, Matthew Beardow, Paul Bridgeman, Martin Elliott, Luke Gibson, Joe Gilman, Neil Mcgroaty, Egle Sestakauskaite, Emily Wilkinson as well as founding director Will Linley.
Louise Forrest and Harriet Bramley have both volunteered as reserves, and everyone will be kept in rhythm by Nicola Sutton, armed with a drum.
The event on 21 May 2017 celebrates the 10th anniversary of dragon boat racing taking part on the park’s iconic lake. It is a unique corporate team-building event and family fun day that is designed to support hundreds of children and young people with life-limiting illnesses across the region.
Team member Emily Wilkinson, who heads up the charity and community projects, said: We’re always looking for new and imaginative ways in which to help Martin House and the vital role it plays in the heart of our community.
In the past we’ve taken part in triathlons alongside the Brownlee brothers, been put through our paces military-style with the Tough Mudder assault course, and also showcased our cooking skills with our own version of the Great British Bake Off. But Dragon Boat Racing marks a new dimension to our fund-raising efforts.
The independent residential sales and letting specialists, with branches in Harrogate, Wetherby and Ripon, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
It has its ambitions set on making a different kind of splash by raising £25,000-plus for Martin House over the course of the year – meeting, and hopefully beating, the same feat it achieved two years ago when the children’s hospice was its inaugural Charity of the Year.
Anyone wishing to help the team make a splash in its fund-raising efforts for Martin House can pledge their support here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/LinleyandSimpsonMartinHouse
