THE CONVEYANCING Foundation’s Ukraine Appeal has topped £30,000 after a group of charity trekkers helped to raise funds by taking on the notoriously tough terrain of Hadrian’s Wall. 

 The Mindstep Trekkers, led by Conveyancing Foundation chairman Lloyd Davies, hiked over 90 miles in five days along the historic Roman ramparts in northern England. 

Funds raised will now boost the total of the recently-launched appeal to over £30,000 in only a matter of weeks since it was launched. 

All the funds raised by the Appeal will be donated to the official DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal to provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to those fleeing the terrible conflict in Ukraine and desperately in need of help. 

The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities to raise funds quickly and efficiently at times of crisis overseas. By pooling resources to work as one, the DEC is pivotal in coordinating the UK public’s response to overseas disasters. 

Thanking the “exceptional achievement” of his fellow trekkers, Lloyd Davies said:  

“I cannot thank everyone enough for what they have achieved by taking on this very tough coast to coast walk. There have been some injuries along the way but we have all survived. I am very proud to have been of this challenge for such an incredibly important and urgent cause.” 

Nicola Lancaster from the Conveyancing Foundation said: “We are all extremely humbled that the trekkers took time out from their lives to take on such an epic challenge for our Ukraine Appeal.” 

The appeal has also been boosted by donations from new property industry sponsors PEXA and Groundsure who have both donated £1000.  

Heather Crichton, General Manager, Industry Readiness, PEXA commented: 

“Our purpose at PEXA is to transform property experiences for everyone – and that truly means everyone, including those who don’t have a safe place to call home.  

“We are passionate about solving the homelessness crisis both locally and abroad, and we been devastated to watch the events unfolding in the Ukraine, with many displaced as a result of shocking events.  

“We are pleased to support the Conveyancing Foundation’s Ukrainian Appeal Charity Lotto and encourage others in the industry to do the same.” 

Gary Miller, Sales Director at Groundsure said: “We are absolutely delighted to be supporting the Conveyancing Foundation with the ‘DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal’ during this unbelievably tough time for all of those connected to the Ukraine.   

“The challenges which we are seeing in Ukraine are extremely close to many people’s hearts at Groundsure and we hope that our donation goes towards helping those that need it most.” 

Thanking them for their support, Nicola Lancaster said: 

“We would also like to thank PEXA and Groundsure for coming on board as sponsors. Their contribution is greatly appreciated. If you would like to sponsor the appeal with a financial contribution, that would be fantastic.  

“Companies that pledge £1000 or over to the Appeal will be marketed on the Foundation Appeal webpage and all publications in conjunction with this Appeal. We will work with you to produce a dual branded video that you can share amongst your contacts to raise awareness and promote your involvement further to your clients.”  

During the Foundation’s Ukraine Appeal, for a minimum donation of £10, anyone can take part in the Charity Lotto with a possible chance to win £500.  

Everyone involved in the conveyancing industry is asked to help – Estate Agents, Conveyancers, Mortgage Brokers, Lenders and all Companies and individuals that would like to help to engage their staff members, clients, friends and family to take part and corporate sponsorship opportunities are also available. 

Nicola Lancaster explained: “By participating in the Conveyancing Foundation Charity Lotto you will be raising funds that will help DEC charities in Ukraine and neighbouring countries meet the needs of all refugees and displaced people.  

“To put it in context, £30 could provide hygiene supplies for three people for one month, £50 could provide blankets for four families and £100 could provide emergency food for two families for one month.”  

Please contact Nicola Lancaster for additional information on how you can help –  info@conveyancingfoundation.com

Laura Burkinshaw started out on her ’31 in March’ running challenge to raise funds for the charity Refuge, which opened the world’s first refuge in Chiswick, West London, in 1971.

Refuge is now the country’s largest single provider of specialist accommodation and support to women and children escaping domestic violence and other forms of violence and abuse. On any given day Refuge supports more than 6,000 women, children and men.

Laura decided to pledge 50 miles instead of the 20-mile minimum initially in March and Your Conveyancing Services donated £1,000.00 to Refuge to support Laura with her running and fundraising. Once completed, Laura then took on the challenge of running another 50 miles in April, bringing her total to 100 miles! Your Conveyancing Services donated another £1,000 for her incredible efforts.

Laura has now completed her challenge and has raised £2,170.00 for Refuge!

Over £13,000 raised through The Conveyancing Foundation’s Charity Lotto has been donated to the lifesaving Cardiff-based Velindre Cancer Charity.

The donation has a particularly personal link to the Convey Group as James Smith, former Business Development Manager at The Conveyancing Academy, has recently been successfully treated at the Velindre Cancer Charity Centre.

James and his wife Georgia who formerly worked at the Conveyancing Foundation presented the cheque for £13,185 to Velindre nurses alongside Conveyancing Foundation chairman and Your Conveyancing Services Managing Director Lloyd Davies.

Andrew Morris, Velindre Head of Fundraising, thanked the Foundation and Your Conveyancing Services for the donation, commenting:

“Please send our extended thanks to all colleagues who helped to achieve this amazing amount. We hope to see James and friends at many of our events in the future. Your support is sincerely appreciated and makes a huge difference to patients and their families.”

The Charity Lotto has previously donated £1000 from funds raised by Your Conveyancing Services to Velindre, which does so much to help families from the South Wales area and beyond, after it was nominated by another member of staff at Your Conveyancing Services, whose partner was treated for cancer at the hospital.

Your Conveyancing Services is one of a growing number of companies raising funds for charity through The Conveyancing Foundation’s Charity Lotto where clients of any legal practice or property company can donate a voluntary £10 at the end of their transaction, giving them a chance to win £500 in a monthly draw.

The Lotto has helped companies raise over £800,000 for their chosen charities over the last decade.

All funds from the Lotto raised by Your Conveyancing Services are currently being donated to the Conveyancing Foundation’s Ukraine Appeal which has already raised over £30,000 which will go to the DEC.

A new health and wellbeing suite has been officially opened at a Welsh school after an intrepid challenge organised by mental health charity The Mindstep Foundation.

Walking on behalf of the Conveyancing Foundation, a group of 18, the self-styled ‘Mindstep Trekkers’, took on the tough 177 mile sponsored hike down the Welsh-English border along the famous Offa’s Dyke national trail.

Funds raised enabled St Alban’s RC School in Pontypool to complete a dream project to open a state of the art facility dedicated to a former Head of Sixth Form and PE teacher Frances Margerison, and to a young man who died in 2018 after volunteering at the school, Max Davies.

Max, aged 22, was the eldest son of Lloyd Davies, one of the founders and trustee of the Mindstep Foundation, which was established to fund mental health research, awareness and support after Max died following a short battle with clinical depression.

St Alban’s Headmaster Stephen Lloyd said: “The Mindstep Foundation was the key charity behind the funding of this fantastic resource for the St Alban’s community. The source has sad origins in the untimely loss of Max Davies, who had completed work experience at the school, in the hope of pursuing a career in a similar setting. 

“His demise led to the determination of his family and their friends to raise money to support the school where he had made his own contribution. There is a plaque commemorating Max above the door to the suite, which lends it real meaning. 

“The health and wellbeing suite is also dedicated to a very special former member of staff, Frances Margerison who devoted herself to the pupils of St Albans for many years. Sadly, Frances passed away in January 2019 at the age of 54. She would be beaming with pride not only at the excellent facility we now have but also, as a former Welsh rugby player herself, at the achievements of former pupil, Sisilia Tuipulotu, who made her debut in the Women’s Six Nations for Wales against Ireland last month.  

“A life that inspires others goes on forever”.  The facility represents the legacy of these two wonderful people, both of whom would have been very pleased to meet the past students who kindly gave their time to support the opening event: Will Gregory who represented the championship-winning Newport Dragons U18 team, Thea Rogers, who represents GB Archery and Joe Cowell and Ben Moa who have both earned caps for Wales Under 20s internationals this season and have great careers ahead of them.”

He added: “I can’t thank Lloyd and the Mindstep Foundation enough because of the impact this will have on the lives of current pupils and also on the future generations of pupils to come to St Alban’s. 

“This is so significant for the wellbeing of our pupils. It’s phenomenal for their mental wellbeing. The difference a facility like this makes is incredible. They can come in here and socialise and be active. We have also already seen the difference between pupils and staff – it has really gelled the community spirit together.”

Lloyd, Managing Director of Your Conveyancing Services in Newport, joined other donors and the school’s leadership team and Governors to cut the ribbon of the new facility.

Father of four Lloyd said: “It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be involved with this project which we hope will make a real difference to the mental health and wellbeing of young people who attend the school. 

“Max spent a couple of happy weeks volunteering here in 2018, working with the teaching team alongside my great friend and a teacher at the school Richard McLennan. It is a fantastic school with wonderful pastoral care. Richard inspired us to fundraise for the gym during our pilgrimage along Offa’s Dyke and he was a mainstay in the team, injuring his ankle badly during the trek.  We trekked nearly 200 miles and climbed I don’t know how many peaks for this wonderful initiative – it just shows you what can be achieved when we all work together.”

Max was a third year student at Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent when he died, a talented rugby player and a former pupil at Monmouth School for Boys in Wales.

Lloyd said: “The Mindstep Foundation was established following Max’s passing to fund research into the causes of suicide and support those who have been bereaved or who are at risk of suicide. As Max’s family, our mission is to take steps, however small, towards ensuring that no-one suffers the loss of a loved one to suicide.”

The Foundation has so far raised thousands of pounds for mental health research and support and is committed to raising £100,000 over the next two years to help fund landmark work at the University of Glasgow into the causes of suicide.   Thank you for the donations made by Your Conveyancing Services clients via the Conveyancing Foundation Charity Lotto which made the fundraising for the St Alban’s wellbeing centre a reality.

Your Conveyancing Services Conveyancer, Iwan Good ran Cardiff Half Marathon on the 27 March 2022, to raise funds for Gig Buddies. To support Iwan, a £1,000.00 donation was made using the funds raised via Conveyancing Foundation’s Charity Lotto.

Gig Buddies is a project that pairs up people with and without learning disabilities (and/or autism) to be friends and to go to events together. Kai Jones, Gig Buddies, said:

“Your donation will have a really positive impact on the work we do at Gig Buddies. Our project tackles loneliness and creates new friendships by pairing up adults with and without learning disabilities and/or autism who share the same interests, and supporting them to attend live events together.

We are a small project always aiming to do big things, and I can speak on behalf of the whole Gig Buddies team by saying your donation is greatly appreciated! We are also really thankful to Iwan for running and fundraising for Gig Buddies.”

The Conveyancing Foundation has launched an appeal for Ukraine by opening up its monthly Charity Lotto to members of the public for the first time, raising £15,000 in 24 hours.

The zero-profit Foundation hopes to raise thousands of pounds to help Ukrainians in desperate need in the coming months.

All the funds raised through the Lotto from today will be donated to the official DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities to raise funds quickly and efficiently at times of crisis overseas. By pooling resources to work as one, the DEC is pivotal in coordinating the UK public’s response to overseas disasters.

Since 2010, the Conveyancing Foundation Charity Lotto has helped the Foundation to raise over £860,000 for local and national charities through a monthly draw which clients of lotto members can enter at the end of their transactions for a chance to win £500.

From today, for a minimum donation of £10, anyone can now take part in the Charity Lotto with a possible chance to win £500. Everyone involved in the conveyancing industry is asked to help – Estate Agents, Conveyancers, Mortgage Brokers, Lenders and all companies and individuals that would like to help.  Companies are asked to engage their staff members, clients, friends and family to take part and corporate sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Nicola Lancaster from the Conveyancing Foundation said:

“By participating in the Conveyancing Foundation Charity Lotto, you will be raising funds that will help DEC charities in Ukraine and neighbouring countries meet the needs of all refugees and displaced people. To put it in context, £30 could provide hygiene supplies for three people for one month, £50 could provide blankets for four families, and £100 could provide emergency food for two families for one month.

“If you would like to sponsor the appeal with a financial contribution, that would be fantastic.

“Companies that Pledge £1000.00 or over to the Appeal will be marketed on the Foundation Appeal webpage and all publications in conjunction with this Appeal. We will work with you to produce a dual-branded video that you can share amongst your contacts to raise awareness and promote your involvement further to your clients.”

Please contact Nicola Lancaster for additional information on how you can help – nlancaster@conveyancingfoundation.com

Managing Director of Convey Law Lloyd Davies, who is alsoChairman of the Conveyancing Foundation, said Convey Law had chosen to donate all of the funds it raised through the Charity Lotto in March to help launch the appeal with an initial donation of £15,000. He said:

“It is quite simply the right thing to do for us to switch our charity fundraising focus to broader world events where thousands of people are facing a critical situation and need us all to take notice and support them.

“The conveyancing and property industry has a great tradition of charity fundraising and I urge everyone to get behind this appeal and to share it far and wide. We need to help these people who desperately need our support right now.

“By opening the Charity Lotto up to the public for the first time, we are hoping that it will enable us to raise significant sums of money as quickly as possible, as speed is the essence in getting supplies and aid to the many thousands of displaced people.”