PubAid reshapes charity fundraising competition
Inspired by the support provided by thousands of pubs for their communities during lockdown, industry body PubAid is reshaping its annual Charity Pub Awards and launching the Community Pub Hero Awards, which will be sponsored once again by Matthew Clark, and supported by the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group.
The competition, now in its third year, will recognise licensees and teams who went the extra mile to help their communities through the pandemic, whether by offering vital supplies for local residents, cooking hot meals for the elderly or keeping people connected through online quizzes or chats.
Pubs across the UK are welcome to enter, by completing a brief form on the PubAid website before the closing date of 30 November. Entrants will be featured on the PubAid website, and mentioned on PubAid social media channels.
After the closing date, judges will review entries received and publish a shortlist. All finalists will be invited, with their MP, to attend a reception in London, where the overall winner will be announced.
Co-founder of PubAid, Des O’Flanagan said: “With pubs closed for three months, and now facing significant trading challenges, it is clear that judging pubs on traditional, event-led charity fundraising is no longer appropriate.
“We’ve therefore redesigned the competition as the Community Pub Hero Awards, with the support of Matthew Clark, and we hope that all licensees who helped their communities during the pandemic will put themselves and their teams forward for recognition.”
Richard Hayhoe, Marketing Director, Matthew Clark added: “We’ve been humbled by the many pubs who helped their communities during the Covid-19 outbreak, despite facing uncertainty themselves. Their efforts were a lifeline to countless people, particularly those who were vulnerable or self-isolating, and proved that pubs are genuinely a force for good in their communities.
“We’re delighted to be continuing our relationship with PubAid by sponsoring these new awards.”
Mike Wood, MP for Dudley South and Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, said: “These awards are a great opportunity for MPs to celebrate how landladies and landlords in their constituencies have stepped up to the mark to support their community during this dreadful pandemic. Yet again we have seen that pubs are the antidote to isolation.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
PubAid is a working party created in 2009 to promote UK pubs as a force for good in their local communities, sharing the message that they raise over £100m per year for charities and contribute £40 million to grassroots sport. PubAid runs the World’s Biggest Pub Quiz, which takes place every March, and the Charity Pub of the Year Awards, which ran in 2018 and 2019.
The PubAid steering group 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