<h1>A&amp;M Marketing's wacky races kick off 30K pledge</h1>
Direct mailing company AM&amp;M delivered a first-class Olympic games on Thursday in Burgess Hill.

The Office Olympics, in which AM&amp;M staff went up against teams from five other local businesses, kicked off the company’s campaign to raise £30k for charity in its 30th anniversary year.

Despite the drizzle, the teams left their dignity at the door to enter into the fun, competing in a wide range of crazy competitions, including bunny hopping, spider crawling, backwards running and the five-legged race, raising in excess of £1,200 for four good causes.

The office Olympians included staff from Sutton Winson, PVL UK, Newman Thompson, IEP Financial, and Lantsburys Estate Agents – which began trading in January this year. Several other local companies also sponsored the event, including Tesco Burgess Hill, KT Thorne Butchers and Woods &amp; Sons Butchers.

“No one let the weather get them down – the enthusiasm from the other contestants was infectious,” said Alix Bell, general manager of AM&amp;M. “We had amazing support from our own team, Sandra Kadan did an amazing job of getting the community involved, including three local schools, and we’re delighted that local businesses showed up to support us, raise money for charity and, most of all, have lots of fun!”

Andrea Morgan, of joint winners Lantsburys Estate Agents, added: “Lantsburys were delighted to support this whacky event. It’s always great to bring local companies together and even more so for a good cause.”

Lantsburys shared the winner’s podium with Newman Thomson. Third were PVL UK, fourth Sutton Winson, fifth AM&amp;M and sixth IEP Financial.

Over the next 12 months, AM&amp;M’s 29 staff have pledged to raise an incredible £30k - £1,000 for each of the 30 years they’ve been trading – for four Sussex-based charities: Rockinghorse Appeal, Group B Strep Support (GBSS), St Peter and St James Hospice; and the Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Captions: Teams taking part in AM&amp;M’s Office Olympics.

...end... 1 August 2016