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While thousands of real estate professionals flock to the Gold Coast on the last weekend of May each year, not many do it on foot.
A small group of industry professionals will be walking 100 kilometres to the Australasian Real Estate Conference (AREC) this year, via the Gold Coast coastline, as they raise money for a cause close to their hearts.
The team behind Wingman Group, a remote outsourcing business with strong links to the real estate sector, is aiming to raise money for charity Destiny Rescue, a not-for-profit that supports victims of human trafficking across the globe, with a particular focus on the Philippines.
Wingman Group owner and director Jonathan Bell, who also heads up property management powerhouse Housemark, shared the alarming statistic that “over 2 million people annually are trafficked across international borders”.
“Unfortunately, the Philippines is a big part of that.”
And with more than 1,000 remote professionals within Wingman’s team being based in the Philippines, the business owner “felt like it was wrong to not make a bigger impact on the amazing country that is providing real estate professionals a lot of support”.
As for choosing to go for a walk, Bell explained that “after diving into what is going on, it felt a bit wrong to be getting in a black-tie suit and spending all this money on food and all”.
“When we’re actively involved in the Philippines and we see what life they live, we wanted to keep expenses low and just really focus on raising money and actually be donating as much as we possibly could to an amazing cause like Destiny Rescue.”
“Destiny Rescue not only creates tangible change through their raids, they also bring long-lasting and impactful change through their rehabilitation programs, supporting both victims and their families,” explained Jonathan Rostron, general manager of the Wingman Group.
Once they settled on the idea of doing something more meaningful, the question then became “why don’t we do something challenging that gives us time to talk about it?”
“It was literally over a steak and wine – and we had two really big businesses with us; Why don’t we just walk to AREC? And that’s when the idea came up and it’s been amazing. Four or five weeks later, it’s a reality.”
The leadership team of the group, comprised of Bell alongside Rostron and head of growth Nick Georges, will be taking on the entire 100-kilometre course, which will be split over two days – from Main Beach to Coolangatta on day one, and Coolangatta back to Main Beach on day two.
On day one, they’ll be joined by their team, as well as a small group of like-minded people who have been “pretty shocked when they hear about the cause”.
On day two, they’re hoping to be joined by a larger group of industry professionals who also want to play a part in raising awareness and money for the work done by Destiny Rescue.
“It’s been overwhelmingly positive with the amount of people who want to come on the walk and support it,” Bell shared.
“There’s about 20 of us so far, but I reckon there will be a few more. I just sent out an email to 20 close industry colleagues and a few have already come back, so…”
All in all, the trio want as many people as possible to join them on the second day, whether it to be to walk the entire route or as much as they are able.
“We really want it to be very much about raising money, but also about the social aspect of coming together and doing something for the greater good,” they shared.
Professing the team as heart-on-their-sleeve people, Rostron acknowledged the real passion they share in support of the cause.
“We are eager to help bring cultural and sustainable change to the Philippines outside of just employment opportunities,” he continued.
“Career pathways and development/training opportunities allow us to bring a form of change, but this change is in areas and parts of society that are considered more developed, educated and structured than other parts of the Philippines, so rather than turning a blind eye to the darker and more hidden sides of the country in which we operate, we want to work with the likes of Destiny Rescue to do more,” Rostron stated.
And with the call out to as many people as possible to join the walk, armed with the knowledge that $1,800 can save one child, the trio have high hopes for the funds they’ll be able to raise for children in need.
At the time of writing, they’ve raised more than $15,000 – enough to rescue eight children from traffickers.
Until the walk, which will kick off on Thursday, 23 May, they’ll continue to raise awareness – with slightly less of a focus on training.
“Fifty kilometres [each day], we’ll be right,” said Georges.
“What’s the worst that can happen?” quipped Bell.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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