The search is on for the UK’s Charity Pub of the Year, as the 2019 competition, organised by PubAid and the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group (APPBG) and sponsored by Matthew Clark, opens for entries.
The competition, now in its second year, seeks to recognise pubs who go the extra mile in their support of charities and good causes. While the sums of money raised are one element, judges are also looking for other involvement, such as hosting meetings for local groups, offering meals as raffle prizes or doing good works in the community, such as litter picking or helping elderly residents.
Pubs across the UK who are proud of their charity and community support are welcome to enter online on the PubAid website before the closing date of 30 September. Entries need to be endorsed by the pub’s local MP, but this can be sought by the PubAid and APPBG teams after submission of the form. All entrants will be featured on the PubAid website, and mentioned on PubAid social media channels.
After the closing date, judges will review entries and publish a shortlist of the pubs who are, in their view, best fulfilling the aims of the competition. All finalists will be invited, with their MP, to attend a reception in London, where the overall winner will be announced.
The 2018 Charity Pub of the Year competition attracted 69 entries and was won by the Logan Rock, a St Austell pub in Cornwall. The eight pubs shortlisted for last year’s award have together raised £1 million for charity over the last 10 years, contributing to the £100 million raised by the UK’s pubs every year.
Co-founder of PubAid, Des O’Flanagan said: “We’re delighted to be running this competition again, and are grateful to the involvement of Matthew Clark, whose support makes these awards possible.
“Whatever size of pub you run, whether you raise money for a national charity or a local cause, or support your local community in other ways, please think about entering and receiving recognition for the great work you done by you, your team and your customers.”
David Philips, Managing Director, Matthew Clark, said: “The support provided by pubs up and down the land for charities and worthy causes is hugely impressive, with licensees and their teams frequently putting in many additional hours to organise fundraising events and similar, on top of the demands of running a pub. They certainly deserve recognition and we are proud to be sponsoring these awards for a second year.”
Mike Wood, MP for Dudley South and Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, said “We had some fantastic entries for this award last year. It was truly humbling to learn about the amazing things that pubs do to support charities and local community groups. We are really looking forward to seeing this year’s entrants and welcoming the shortlisted pubs to a celebration of their achievements in the autumn.”
Charity Pub Awards 2018 winner and finalists (l-r): Sandra Davies, Swan; Linda Senior & Michael Hall, New Inn; Phil Pryce, Barrels; Peter & Anita George, Logan Rock; Mike Wood MP; Ian & Julie Slamon, Lord Nelson; Jodie & Lee Mills, Well Parc Tavern; Stuart Green, Cabbage Patch; Steven Smith, Crown; Des O’Flanagan of PubAid and Jack Smith, Crown
-ends-
NOTES TO EDITORS
Charity Pub of the Year
In addition to winners, The Logan Rock in Treen, Cornwall, last year’s finalists were:
- The Barrels, Hereford
- The Swan, Thornbury, Bristol
- The Crown, Radnage, Buckinghamshire
- The Well Parc Hotel, Trevone, Padstow
- The New Inn, Enderby, Leicester
- The Cabbage Patch, Twickenham
- The Lord Nelson, Urmston, Manchester
PubAid is a working party created in 2009 to highlight the work done by UK pubs for charity, sharing the message that UK pubs raise over £100m per year. PubAid runs the World’s Biggest Pub Quiz, which takes place every March. In 2019, around 2,200 pubs took part.
The PubAid working party is led by co-founder Des O’Flanagan, and includes a number of well-known figures from the pub world, who lend their time and other resources to help spread the positive messages about pubs’ role at the heart of their communities.
Matthew Clark is a leading national drinks wholesaler with over 200 years’ experience supplying drink products, hospitality training, labour management and marketing support to over 16,000 On-Trade premises in the UK.
The All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group was set up in 1993 and has a membership of over 350 MPs and Peers. The Beer Group’s objectives are to broaden recognition of the enormous contribution of brewing and pubs to the UK economy from grain to glass – and to celebrate the unique role that beer and pubs play in our society
For further information:
For PubAid: Ros Shiel at ros@shielporter.com / 07841 694137
For APPBG: Paul Hegarty at paul@beergroup.co.uk or 07808 096250