September 20, 2022
It has been revealed today that Fiera Real Estate UK (“FRE UK”) has been named as a finalist for Planet Mark Awards for the second year running.
FRE UK has been shortlisted alongside SGO Architects and NuServe for the Community Engagement award, following a stellar year for fundraising and local community initiatives.
FRE UK is dedicated to giving back to the communities in which it operates and, over the last 12 months, it has focused its efforts on Grace Academy, a secondary school in Coventry. The catchment area covers some of the poorest parts of the UK and over 500 pupils qualify as disadvantaged, meaning that their annual household income is under £18,000. Since partnering with the school at the beginning of the year, FRE UK has raised over £54,000 to fund new facilities and to introduce new learning support and career development schemes.
The firm’s 2022 campaign was the Ekiden Fundraiser, which was an eight-week fundraising effort for a three-day event where teams of 10 took on a variety of walking, cycling and running challenges, competing to raise the most money and travel the furthest distance. The campaign raised over £54,000 from 280 donations, which was able to fund the school’s new library renovation, the books to fill it, new sports equipment and a brand new sports kit for the school’s football team.
With the business’s focus on tackling issues around social inequality in children, the FRE UK charity committee encouraged employees and contacts to use their privilege and influence to drive positive change, and to empower people to build a better future for themselves, their families and communities. With this in mind, FRE UK took on two Year 12 students from the school for a week’s work experience during the summer to give them a taste of living and working in London, before they embark on the next chapter of their education.
FRE UK also undertook a number of other initiatives throughout the year. These involved funding pupils’ participation and equipment for the Duke of Edinburgh award and running a careers fair for A level and GCSE students, with over 35 business representatives in attendance. Following the event, apprenticeship interviews were conducted by some of the local businesses and several places were awarded.
This year’s efforts on behalf of Grace Academy have been truly transformational for the school and its students, providing them with considerable funding and opportunities that they wouldn’t have otherwise had. The team is looking forward to the awards ceremony on 3rd November to celebrate their place in the final.