Pat Pachchigar

Who is she?

Pat Pachchigar is a primary school teacher at William Bellamy Junior School in Dagenham who has come up with an amazing charity initiative. She and her husband are hosting an online competition to raise #163;50,000 for people with cystic fibrosis. Three lucky entrants will each win a luxury flat.

Hold on, she’s giving away three flats?

No. She’s selling them. If 60,000 people enter the couple believe they will raise more than #163;1 million. From that, they will pocket the market value, #163;50,000 will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and payments will be made to lawyers and web designers. The leftover cash will cover the mortgage payments for the winners.

Why did she create the competition?

“Our friends’ daughter died in 2007. She was only 17-years-old,” Mrs Pachchigar says. “I was seven months pregnant at the time. It’s something you don’t want to hear about. I work with children all the time and it’s so sad that their lives could be cut short.”

So where do the flats come in?

“So many people run marathons, but this is different. We have these flats that we wanted to sell. My husband works in finance and we purchased them for investment. Rather than giving them to an estate agent to sell and get commission, we thought we’d use them in the competition.”

Must be tough to fit around school?

“My whole life has been put on hold. It’s all we’ve been doing in the evenings and at weekends for the last six months. It’s been hard work, with lots of sweat, blood and tears.”

What do her fellow teachers think?

“My colleagues have all been amazed by the concept. They have all said they will help as much as they can. I spoke to someone the other day who bought a ticket for each member of their family for Christmas. Now they all know about it, and it’s all about your luck, there is a chance you could own a luxury flat now.”

Georgia Laird

www.winaluxuryflat.com.