Brakspear Cotswold Walkers Raise £5000 for MND Charity

Honeycomb Houses Team Fundraising Matched By Company Donation

A two-day marathon sponsored walk through the Cotswolds by charity fundraisers from pub operator Brakspear's Honeycomb Houses managed division has raised £5000 to help tackle Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

With the four-person team's own fundraising efforts being matched pound-for-pound by the Brakspear Giving Back programme, the money will be donated to the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Led by Karl Solomon, general manager for The Sheep on Sheep Street, the team's 52-mile ultra-marathon started at The Sheep on Sheep Street in Stow on the Wold, and took in The Porch House, also in Stow, The Frogmill in Shipton Oliffe, The Egypt Mill in Nailsworth, and ended at The Kings Head in Cirencester.

Joining Karl on the charity walk, also from The Sheep on Sheep Street, were head housekeeper Sara Stewart, and reception & events manager Amy Hay, as well as Sophie Wilkinson, operations manager for the Cotswolds pubs and hotels. The charity was selected as Sara has personal experience of the impact that MND can have on sufferers, as well as their families and friends.

Sophie said: "While it was wonderful to welcomed by our colleagues at each venue, this was definitely a long way from being a pub crawl. We spent far more time walking across fields, hills, forests and valleys than we did in the bar. The scenic Cotswold countryside, and the fact that we were raising funds for such a great cause, more than made up for our sore feet."

She added: "Colleagues, customers, family and friends have been very supportive. We're close to collecting £2500, with more cash to come in, and with Brakspear generously matching those donations, we're confident of raising at least £5000."

Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies said: "Huge congratulations to Sophie and the team from The Sheep on Sheep Street for their efforts in support of such a great cause. Pubs are right at the heart of their communities, and our people do so much to support so many charities. We're delighted that the Brakspear Giving Back programme is able to increase the impact of all that hard work."

The Brakspear Giving Back programme supports charity fundraising activity in the company's managed, tenanted and leased pubs, as well as by head office staff. Pubs apply for a boost from Brakspear Giving Back and the additional money is paid direct to the charity. In the past year alone, Brakspear's pubs and Brakspear Giving Back have donated more than £45,000 to a wide range of local and national good causes.

For more information on the work of the MND Association, see www.mndassociation.org.

Caption to attached image: Setting off from The Sheep on Sheep Street (l-r): Sara Stewart, Karl Solomon, Amy Hay, and Sophie Wilkinson.

Notes to editors

Brakspear has around 110 leased and tenanted pubs, and a further 12 in its managed division, Honeycomb Houses. Most of its pubs are based in the south-east, with an estate stretching from Dover and the south coast up to the Cotswolds. Its head office is based in Henley-on-Thames.

Issued on behalf of: Brakspear

By: ShielPorter Communications

For more information:

John Porter, ShielPorter Communications

john@shielporter.com / 07734 054389

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