AN Ilkley residential letting and sales agency is “cracking on” with its support for the region’s only dedicated hospice for children and young people.

To continue fundraising for its charity partner, Martin House, the team at Linley & Simpson is running a virtual Easter Egg hunt.

In the last five years, its team of more than 260 staff has raised over £70,000 for the hospice, supporting its work caring for children and young people with life-shortening conditions and their families.

As part of the company’s volunteering initiative - in which all staff are awarded a day’s paid leave to support the community – colleagues have also rallied round the hospice by rolling up their sleeves to create wildlife and jungle adventure gardens in the grounds.

However the charity, which is based at Boston Spa, near Wetherby, has revealed it could lose as much as £1.7m in essential funding due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It has now launched a JustGiving page after the Government lockdown forced it to cancel or postpone the majority of its fundraising events, as well as closing all its charity shops.

Now Linley & Simpson has teamed up with Cookridge-based Candy Van, to launch a virtual Easter egg hunt!

Hidden around its website https://www.linleyandsimpson.co.uk are 25 Easter eggs. Those finding ten or more will be entered into a prize draw to win an Easter hamper. And anyone finding all 25 will automatically win a mini hamper.

And, more importantly, for every virtual Easter egg hunt post shared on Facebook, £1 will be donated to Martin House, up to a maximum of £500.

Will Linley, Chief Executive and co-founder of Linley & Simpson, said: “Whilst the lockdown means that our planned fundraising for Martin House has had to be postponed, it doesn’t stop us supporting them in other ways.

“With the majority of the country listening to health advice and staying at home, the internet is where most people are escaping to at the moment, hence the creation of this online competition.

“Martin House is a charity very close to our hearts, and the staff working there during these challenging time deserve our thanks and gratitude. We hope we can send over a cheque to them for the full amount of £500.

Details on how to enter the competition can be found at: https://www.linleyandsimpson.co.uk/news/linley-and-simpson-virtual-easter-egg-hunt