Team members from the National Self Storage Group (NSSG) at commercial-property investment firm Marcus & Millichap will participate in a weight-loss challenge to benefit the national Self Storage Association (SSA) Foundation Scholarship Program. Participants will vie to lose the greatest amount of weight during a six-week period from July 27 to Sept. 14, according to a press release.

“It started out as a friendly competition in the office, then I thought why not use this as an opportunity to raise some money for a great cause,” said Michael Mele, senior vice president of investments at Marcus & Millichap and senior director of NSSG. Mele also heads up The Mele Group advisory team, which has pledged to donate $15 for every pound lost during the competition. “I challenge our clients and friends to match the donation,” he added.

Each participant will weigh in every Monday, with the results reported directly to the SSA for distribution to the industry. Progress results will also be posted via The Mele Group’s social-networking feed and website.

In addition to Mele, NSSG participants include analyst Kelly Russano; associates Brian Baldwin, Robert Bloch, Kevin Menendez and Luke Elliott; director of operations Tara Paronto; first vice president Sean Delaney; and senior analyst Brian Fulton.

The SSA Foundation Scholarship Program awards scholarships of up to $5,000 toward post-secondary education tuition and fees. The need-based program is open to students with at least a "C" average or 2.0 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

Marcus & Millichap has more than 1,500 investment professionals in offices throughout the United States and Canada. The company closed more than 7,600 transactions in 2014 with a value of approximately $33.1 billion.