Skip to main content
4th November 2022

Stonegate Group’s Customer Contact Centre raise over £13,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association in sponsored cycle

Stonegate Group’s Customer Contact Centre (CCC) team has raised over £13,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association, with their Tour de Stonegate 2022 virtual cycling fundraising drive.

The Tour de Stonegate was a 2022 mile, non-stop 103-hour virtual cycle around the Stonegate Group pub estate that took place between 26 and 30 September. The team of 52 colleagues all took turns on the bike, and everyone chipped in with fundraising efforts.

Suzanne Baker, Commercial Director of Stonegate Group, said: “I’m extremely proud of the Customer Contact Centre team who put in an amazing effort to raise this substantial sum for the MND Association. This idea has been in the making since June and it’s great to see everyone’s hard work pay off as it became a reality. We are thrilled that all their hard work and cycling will be benefiting such a good cause.”

The virtual route took the team past 38 Stonegate Group pubs covering the most Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern sites. The route also covered the Stonegate Head Offices, MND Association Head Office and even Elland Road, the home of Stonegate Group Chief Executive Officer, Simon Longbottom’s beloved Leeds United. Not to leave any important supporters out, the route also covered 5 of the UK’s biggest drinks providers who work closely with the CCC team by providing fundraising activities and support to the team and MND Association. Budweiser Brewing Group, Molson Coors, Heineken UK, Greene King and Diageo have all supplied a range of items from bottles of beer to an England Football shirt signed by the whole team.

The Tour de Stonegate is part of Stonegate Group’s ongoing corporate fundraising partnership with the MND Association and MND Scotland, announced earlier this year. Since the announcement Stonegate has raised over £150,000 for the charities with activities and initiatives undertaken up by its staff in pubs, bars, venues and head office support teams.

There are an estimated 5,000 adults in the UK currently living with motor neurone disease and every day, an average of six people are diagnosed with MND. The MND Association focuses on improving access to care and providing information and support for people living with or affected by MND in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and MND Scotland does the same for those living in Scotland. Both charities fund and promote research that leads to new understanding and treatments and brings a cure closer. They campaign and raise awareness so the needs of people with MND across the UK are recognised and addressed by wider society. People with MND, their families and carers are at the heart of everything they do.

Ian Gardner, Head of Development at the Motor Neurone Disease Association, said: “We are very thankful for the fundraising efforts made by the Stonegate Group’s team at the Customer Contact Centre. There is currently no cure or effective treatment for MND and fundraising initiatives like this will help us continue all-important MND research for treatments and a cure for this devastating disease. All the teams at Stonegate Group who have been fundraising are making a difference to the lives of people living with MND, their families and carers.”

This fundraising drive is still taking sponsorship donations for more information or to donate please visit the just giving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stonegate-group-customer-contact-centre

<ENDS>

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Stonegate Group

Stonegate Group is the largest pub company in the UK.  Its portfolio is comprised of over 4,500 sites, split across the managed division and leased and tenanted businesses.

The managed pubs division, which employs over 16,000 people, is split into Branded and Traditional pubs. Branded is comprised of: Slug & Lettuce, Popworld, Be At One and Venues. Traditional (unbranded) pubs are made up of: Proper Pubs, Town Pub & Kitchen, Classic Pub & Dining, Social Pub & Kitchen and Craft Union.

2022

  • Great British Pub Awards – Stonegate Group Pub Partners’ Pub of the Year, Best Pub to Watch Sport, Community Hero
  • BII’s National Innovation in Training Awards (NITAs): HR Manager of the Year (Jemelle Bish), Best Apprenticeship Training Programme (ATOP)
  • Publican Awards – Best Community Operator (Craft Union Pub Company)

2021

  • Licensed Trade Charity Awards   raising awareness through fundraising
  • Great British Pub Awards – Stonegate Group Pub Partners’ Pub of the Year, Best Pub to Watch Sport
  • MCA Retailers’ Retailer Awards – The Hero Award (Suzanne Baker)

2020

  • Great British Pub Awards – Feeding the Community, Community Mindfulness & Ei Publican Partnerships Pub of the Year
  • REBA Employee Wellbeing Awards – Best New Wellbeing Strategy (5000+ staff)
  • Publican Awards – Best Pub Employer (501+ employees)
  • Publican Awards – Best Community Operator (Craft Union Pub Company)

2013-2019

  • BII’s National Innovation in Training Awards (NITAs): HR Manager of the Year, Lee Woolley (2019); Best Managed Company for Training; Lifetime Achievement Award for Chairman, Ian Payne (2016)
  • CGA Insight Hero and Icon Awards (two awards): Icon Award   Ian Payne MBE, Business Leader, Simon Longbottom (2019)
  • UK Hospitality’s Dusk ‘til Dawn Late Night Awards (two awards) – Icon Award (Ian Payne MBE), Best Marketing and Promotions Award (2019);  Best Service & Team (2018)
  • Great British Pub Awards – Best LGBTQ+ Pub (2019); Best LGBTQ+ and Best Sports Pub (2018); Best Pub Garden, Best Entertainment and Best Sports Pub (2017); Best Sports Pub (2016);
  • BII Scotland Awards   Best Operator for Training (2019)
  • Retailers’ Retailer of the Year (two awards): Lifetime Achievement Award, Ian Payne MBE;  Investor of the Year   TDR Capital (2019); Investor of the Year: TDR Capital (2017)
  • Menu Innovation & Development Awards (MIDAS) (two awards): Best Menu, Premium High Street Pub: Slug & Lettuce; Best Menu, Town & City Pub: Walkabout (2019);  Premium High Street Pub: Town Pub & Kitchen (2017); Best New Concept:  Missoula, Montana Bar & Grill (2014); City and Bar Dining: Slug and Lettuce (2013)
  • Publican Awards (five awards): Best Community Pub Operator, Best Pub Employer (501+ employees), Best Managed Pub Company (51+ sites), Best Drinks Offer, Business Leader of the Year   Chief Executive, Simon Longbottom (2019); Best Late Night Operator (2018); Best Managed Pub Company; Best Late Night Operator, plus highly commended   Best Employer 501+ employees (2017);  Business Leader of the Year, Chairman Ian Payne (2014); Best Pub Employer 51+ sites (2013)
  • British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA)   Chairman’s Award (2018)
  • Licensed Trade Charity: Outstanding Corporate Contribution Award (2018)
  • APPBG PUBAID Corporate Charity Fundraiser Award (2018)
  • Scottish Training Federation: Best Large Employer  (2016)
  • HR Excellence Awards: Best Learning and Development Strategy (2016)
  • HR Distinction Awards: Innovation for Digital & Social Media (2016); People Development (2015); Innovative Use of Technology (2014)

About motor neurone disease (MND):

  • MND is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.
  • It attacks the nerves that control movement so muscles no longer work. MND does not usually affect the senses such as sight, sound and feeling etc.
  • It can leave people locked in a failing body, unable to move, talk and eventually breathe.
  • Over 80% of people with MND will have communication difficulties, for most this means a complete loss of voice.
  • It affects people from all communities.
  • Around 35% of people with MND experience mild cognitive change, in other words, changes in thinking and behaviour. A further 15% of people show signs of frontotemporal dementia which results in more pronounced behavioural change.
  • It kills a third of people within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis.
  • A person’s lifetime risk of developing MND is around 1 in 300.
  • Six people per day are diagnosed with MND in the UK.
  • It affects up to 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time.
  • It kills six people per day in the UK, just under 2,200 per year.
  • It has no cure.

About the Motor Neurone Disease Association:

The MND Association was founded in 1979 by a group of volunteers with experience of living with or caring for someone with MND. Since then, we have grown significantly, with an ever-increasing community of volunteers, supporters and staff, all sharing the same goal – to support people with MND and everyone who cares for them, both now and in the future.

The MND Association focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by MND in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

About MND Scotland

With over 40 years of experience, MND Scotland is the leading charity providing care and support to people living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in Scotland. We fund cutting-edge research to improve quality of life, to discover meaningful treatments and to ultimately find a cure for MND. We campaign and raise awareness of the disease to ensure the voice of people affected is heard.


Press release from Leisure PR.

For further information, please contact georgiamackey@leisurepr.co.uk.