Wakefield estate agents to run, walk and cycle 180 miles for Macmillan Cancer Support

More than 80 staff from Manning Stainton and its parent company, Northern Estate Agencies Group, which also owns Ryder & Dutton and Mortimers, will join together for The Coffee Cup Relay between Monday, September 25 and Friday, September 29, walking, running and cycling their way between each of the company’s 36 branches to raise thousands for the charity.

The person behind the idea for the relay was sales negotiator, Jacob Onyando. He said: “My idea was to cycle to every single branch within our network over a day, but then I realised I wasn’t Bradley Wiggins!

“I took the idea to the senior team and we agreed to extend the challenge to a five-day relay during the week of Macmillan Coffee Morning, and make it on foot as well as on wheels. It’s been great to get involved with everyone from the company and feel that connection. It’s a good way of bringing everyone together.”

The relay began in Leeds on Monday, and will pass through Wakefield on the morning of Tuesday, September 26, when two team members cycle from Rothwell to the Wakefield branch. Two more will then take the baton and cycle 6.8 miles from Wakefield to Morley.

Other staff members will then pedal from Pudsey to Halifax, while 10 staff will take the baton for the last day, walking from Blackburn to Clitheroe to cross the finishing line.

Northern Estate Agencies Group, which has a 36-branch network across Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire, has a long-term partnership with Macmillan, with a commitment to raise more than £60,000 for the cancer charity in the next four years. It has supported Macmillan Cancer Support in West Yorkshire since 2012.

Sarah Whyte, Macmillan’s relationship fundraising co-ordinator, said: “We are in awe of the collective effort from staff across NEAG’s branches for the inaugural Coffee Cup Relay. If they manage to raise the £5,000 target, this could fund a Macmillan nurse for five weeks.

"The company’s drive to raise funds through various activities over the past decade is incredibly humbling, and all money raised will go such a long way in helping Macmillan do whatever it takes for people living with cancer.”

Mark Manning, managing director of Manning Stainton, added: “I’m proud of the whole team for making this mammoth relay happen for a charity that’s so dear to so many of us.

"We’ve been supporting Macmillan for the past 10 years, because we are so grateful for the invaluable clinical and emotional support they offer to people living with cancer.

“I ran the London marathon this year, so I’ll be donning my running shoes once more and running part of the relay with my team.

"Please drop into any of our branches this week to have a coffee and cake, and support this worthy cause with a much appreciated donation.”

For more information on Manning Stainton’s fundraising efforts for Macmillan, visit Coffee Cup Relay fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support on JustGiving.