Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page. Our 2023 charity of the year is the MS Therapy Centre Bedford. It is a special year for the charity this year as they are celebrating their 40th Anniversary, having been set up in 1983.

The MS Therapy Centre provides therapies, services and support to those living with Multiple Sclerosis, to help manage their condition. All therapies are free to people with MS and they now have over 1000 members, with approximately 350 attending each week. Our aim is to help assist them in raising the £1,000+ it costs a day to run the Centre. They do not receive statutory funding, so donations are vital.

On 17th June 2023 a team from Sharmans are taking on the surrounding fells of Derwentwater in the Lawnet 2023 Challenge. Our route covers 13 miles including steep quarries and bog land, but hopefully the beautiful scenery of Cat Bells and Dale Head will keep us going. Your donations will help get us round the hours and miles of hill walking, and go to a great cause.

Our team are:

Mel Lawrence - By day, Mel is a partner, Head of our Commercial Property Team and solicitor specialising in commercial property transactions including landlord & tenant issues, business sales and purchases, portfolio management and dilapidation settlements. Mel has trained for the challenge by recently taking on East Anglian Air Ambulance's Trek 24 and lots of other walks in the Bedfordshire Countryside.

Helen Williams - Helen is a Partner and Head of our Private Client Department. She is a Solicitor specialising in the Administration of Estates, the preparation of Wills, Estate planning, Tax advice, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection matters. Helen has made sure to break in her walking boots and gets in lots of miles looking after the animals on her family farm.

Jonathan Copper - Jonathan is a Partner, Solicitor, and Head of our Dispute Resolution Team at Sharmans, dealing with a wide variety of disputes including commercial disputes and debts, property disputes, and consumer law issues. Jonathan's particular expertise is dealing with disputed trusts of land and contentious probate. Jonathan has been getting in the miles walking his dog, Charlie, and plenty of hill walking on a break with his family.

Emma Corbett - Emma is a Legal Executive and Associate in our Property Services Team. Emma is an expert in a diverse range of conveyancing matters dealing with all types of residential property. Emma was a frontrunner in our firm “steps challenge” putting some of us to shame with the miles she put in over a month last year. Emma has also undertaken some of the most scenic training walks, sending us beautiful pictures of foreign coastal paths.

Steve Watkins - Steve is an assistant in our Private Client Department, acting as a first point of contact for clients and assisting with the preparation of wills and other estate documents and the collection of estate property. Steve is currently reading for his degree in law and amongst his exams has recently put in many miles on foot in all weathers around our local Bedfordshire villages.

Ben Abubacker - Ben is a trainee Solicitor at Sharmans currently working predominantly with Mel in our Commercial Property Team. He’s been keeping up his fitness for the challenge with regular football and was most upset to learn there’s an England game the night before the walk!

Francesca Valentino - Francesca is a trainee Solicitor at Sharmans currently working alongside Jonathan Copper and Jo Readman in the Dispute Resolution Team. Francesca's pre-challenge walks have involved foreign climes and culture on her recent holiday.

Grace Okafor - Grace is a paralegal in our Residential Property Team at Sharmans. Grace holds a law degree and has completed the academic stages of training to become a lawyer as well as being a certified mediator. Grace regularly goes to the gym to keep up her fitness and as part of her training walked to work from her village to our Harpur Street office.

Jo Readman - Jo is a Solicitor in our Dispute Resolution Team. Jo handles a wide range of disputes offering practical advice on resolving issues including landlord and tenant, property disputes, consumer issues and more. Jo lives in Milton Keynes so although she is a regular at the gym and on the hockey pitch, her training walks have had a distinct lack of hills.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.