Fund-raising auctioneer couple ‘make a bid’ for marathon sponsorship

Andrew and Rachel Parker (pictured, above), who work together in the auctions industry, are asking the industry to sponsor them when they run the upcoming London Marathon.

Andrew, who is MD of SDL Auctions and a fellow of the National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers (NAVA) and partner Rachel, who also works for the SDL network as a regional property manager, have already helped raise £100,000 for various charities but are now ‘in the running’ to raise even more cash for good causes.

Andrew and Rachel have worked together, alongside their SDL Auctions colleagues, to raise funds for charities across the UK – hosting charity auctions for The Donna Louise Children’s Hospice and child sexual exploitation charity Safe & Sound – as well as helping to arrange fundraising auction balls.

They will be adding to this total by running 26.2 miles on Sunday 26 April to raise money for Make a Wish, a charity that supports children with critical illnesses, and an organisation that the couple have volunteered with for 10 years.

“In 2014, we ran the half-marathon together for Make a Wish,” says Andrew.

“When we worked out that we’ve helped to raise more than £100k, we wanted to challenge ourselves to do the full 26.2 miles and push that figure even higher.

“I’ve just turned 50 and I’m not one to sit back and relax, so this is a personal challenge for me. We’ve loved working alongside so many amazing charities over the last few years. Everyone at SDL Auctions has been amazing in supporting the charity efforts of the network and I’m proud that we’ve been able to make a difference.”

Rachel says: “We spend a lot of time training. It’s great to do this as a couple as we motivate each other and keep focus. Having volunteered for the last decade, we know first-hand the great work Make a Wish does to create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. We’ll be using that to help get us over the finishing line.”

As well as regular training over the next few months, Andrew will be auctioning off a prize lot before every auction he hosts between now and 26 April to raise additional funds for Make a Wish. This got underway at the Derby auction on 14 February when the prize of a special Derby County shirt raised £250.

Andrew and Rachel have set up their own JustGiving page for their London Marathon challenge, which can be found here.

Read more about charity fundraising.