£9,000 DONATION TOPS YEAR OF FUNDRAISING BY NORFOLK PROPERTY FIRM

A charity which supports older people across the county is celebrating a £9000 windfall, after staff at a Norfolk property firm spent a year raising cash through a variety of fundraising activities.

Staff at Arnolds Keys, which includes Keys Fine Art Auctioneers and agricultural property specialists Irelands, chose Age UK Norfolk as their designated charity for 2017, and raised a total of £9393.33 for the charity.

A skydive, a series of Antiques Roadshow style valuation days across the county, a charity golf day, a charity car wash at Keys Aylsham saleground, a murder mystery evening, an inter-office challenge and a Christmas carol concert were amongst the initiatives undertaken by staff during the year.

Receiving the cheque, Hilary MacDonald, chief executive of Age UK Norfolk, said, “We have worked with Arnolds Keys over a number of years, including to mount our extremely successful Golden Gardens events, and so we were thrilled when staff chose us as their charity for the year.

“In the current economic climate, it is a real boost when a company nominates a charity such as ours to be the beneficiary of their fundraising activity, and we are hugely grateful for the enthusiasm Arnolds Keys’ staff showed in supporting us – and, of course, the magnificent sum of money they have raised.”

Phil Cooper, chair of Arnolds Keys’ charity committee, commented, “It is because so many of our colleagues get involved in the fundraising effort that we have been so successful.  It just goes to show that even when you are working hard, there is always time to do something to help others.”

Age UK Norfolk celebrates age and works with older people to improve quality of life and promote independence.  As well as providing practical support for older people throughout the county, the charity also campaigns for the rights of people in later life and aims to raise awareness of the issues affecting older people throughout Norfolk.

Arnolds Keys staff choose a charity to support each year.  For 2018, the chosen charity is East Anglian Air Ambulance.