Henley pub operator and brewer Brakspear has raised £50,983 for the Sue Ryder charity thanks to enthusiastic and determined fundraising by its pub and head office teams.
The charity partnership, which started in November 2015, has now come to an end, with Brakspear presenting a final cheque to Sue Ryder at their Nettlebed Hospice, close to Henley. Sue Ryder provides hospice and neurological care for people facing a frightening, life-changing diagnosis. They do whatever they can to be a safety net for patients and their loved ones at the most difficult time of their lives.
Sue Ryder was Brakspear’s first ever estate-wide charity partner and pubs have been raising money for the last fifteen months through a variety of ways, from organising live music nights to comedy festivals, completing sponsored challenges or adding a voluntary donation to menu items. Brakspear also launched a beer – called Incredible after the incredible work done by Sue Ryder – and donated 10p to the charity for every pint sold in its pubs.
Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies said, “When we started our journey with Sue Ryder, it was something of a leap of faith as we’d not supported a charity across the Brakspear estate before.
“Our licensees, their staff teams and customers have more than risen to the challenge, enabling us to reach this point where we can present Sue Ryder with more than £50,000 to continue their incredible work. We’ve shown that we can make a positive contribution to a worthy charity which is, like our pubs, at the heart of the local community.”
Hospice Director for Duchess of Kent and Nettlebed Hospices, Stewart Marks comments: “Working with this renowned brewery has proved to be extremely successful and the money Brakspear have raised is vital to the services we provide here in the local community. We are enormously grateful for their support, enthusiasm and creativity to reach this incredible £50,000 milestone.”
Tracey Hancock, Head of Fundraising at Duchess of Kent and Nettlebed Hospices comments: “We couldn’t continue to provide incredible care without the support of people like Brakspear, and their energetic fundraising has made a huge impact to our target. £500 could pay for a day of inpatient care, so their fundraising equates to care for more than 100 patients.”
Top fundraisers: Hare & Hounds, Sonning Common
The team at the Hare & Hounds at Sonning Common are Brakspear’s top fundraisers for Sue Ryder, having collected more than £4,000. Licensees Mick & Claire Sugg have incorporated fundraising into many of the activities they hold at the popular community pub, with regular events such as their meat raffle and pub quiz, as well as ‘one offs’ such as a wheelchair pool tournament, contributing towards the impressive total.
Claire said, “We were keen to get involved with Sue Ryder as we think that as a community pub, it’s important for us to help our local community. Our customers responded to all our fundraising efforts with huge generosity, and we know many of them have been touched by Sue Ryder, as we have been – both Mick’s grandmother and one of my good friends were helped by them – so they’ve been keen to support it. We’re delighted to have raised so much for a charity that does such great work in our community.”
Caption to attached image: Cheque held by Mick and Claire Sugg, licensees at the Hare & Hounds, Sonning Common. (l-r): Kate Thomas, Brakspear marketing assistant; Emma Sweet, Brakspear marketing manager; Maria Turnbull, Head of Clinical Services Duchess of Kent Hospice; Benjamin Bar-Lev, National Partnerships Manager Sue Ryder; Tracey Hancock, Head of Hospice Fundraising;Tom Davies, Brakspear chief executive
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Issued on behalf of: Brakspear
Website: www.brakspear.co.uk
Twitter: @BrakspearPubs
Further information: ShielPorter Communications
ros@shielporter.com / 07841 694137 / 01403 267971
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