To commemorate their 30th anniversary, each of Leaders’ branches across the country hosted a special celebration on 21st June, to which landlords, tenants, local businesses and the general public were invited . As part of the festivities, Leaders set out to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK, the charity that grants magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions.

Each of Leaders’ five branches in the Southampton area celebrated in style, with tea parties, cake sales, fancy dress, fun games, competitions and raffles, including a 1983-themed quizzes in honour of the year Leaders’ was established. Between them the teams raised £1204 for Make-A-Wish, whilst across Leaders’ branch network, more than £15,000 was raised for the charity on the day, with more donations still to come in.

Leaders’ Area Manager, Kathy Valverde, said: “We are delighted to have raised such a fantastic amount for Make-A-Wish. Thank you so much to everyone who came along to our offices celebrate with us and who supported our fundraising efforts so generously. Thank you also to all our staff for their enthusiasm and hard work in making the day such a success, and to all the local businesses that donated prizes for our raffles.

“After 30 years letting in the South East and 23 years in Hampshire, we feel very much part of the local community,” said Kathy. “We were delighted to see so many people at our celebration and are looking forward to being of service to local landlords and tenants for many more years to come.”

For more information about Make-A-Wish please visit www.make-a-wish.org.uk. There are currently 20,000 children and young people in the UK fighting a life-threatening condition and this year Make-A-Wish will grant over 1,100 wishes. The charity needs to raise £7 million in 2013 to achieve this and receives no government funding or lottery grants – so every donation counts.