Trade digs deep for tsunami victims

by John Harrington

Pubcos, drinks firms, individual licensees and punters have been digging deep and doing their bit to raise money to help the millions of people affected by the tsunami in Asia.

From corporate donations running into hundreds of thousands of pounds to collection tins on the bar in community pubs throughout Britain, the trade has shown its eagerness to help since the devastating waves struck on Boxing Day.

Managed pub operator Mit-chells & Butlers has pledged £25,000 to the Disasters Emer-gency Committee, a group of 12 British charities focused on helping tsunami victims. M&B also plans to raise cash at its pubs throughout January, but the details have yet to be worked out.

Welsh brewer and pub operator SA Brain has pledged to donate 10p from the sale of every pint of Brains beer sold in any of its 120 managed pubs from New Year's Eve until the end of January.

A total of 33,608 pints of Brains beers have been sold in their managed pubs since the offer began ­ raising £3,360.80 for the cause.

The company is also providing collection tins and is urging pubs to organise fundraising events ­ and each week the pub that has made the best effort to raise cash will be announced. So far customer donations have raised an extra £4,600.

"Nobody could fail to be affected by the recent tragic events and, as a company, we wanted to do our bit to help in any way that we could," said SA Brain retail director Philip Lay.

Pubco JD Wetherspoon aims to raise £500 from every one of its 640 pubs ­ a grand total of £320,000. Collection buckets are being used to urge customers to give cash.

"This idea came from the staff and customers," said spokesman Eddie Gershon. "We had a lot of calls from managers saying that people have been asking if they can donate in the pub, so we made a national decision that we would do this."

Meanwhile, the Yates Group expects to raise £20,000 after chief executive Mark Jones sent an e-mail on New Year's Eve urging all its venues to raise as much as they can. Yates head office has also pledged an extra £1,000.

London brewer and pubco Fuller's is urging its staff to gather non-perishable items, such as blankets and clothes, which will be collected tomorrow and sent to the areas in need. Head office has given £5,000 and employees are being urged to contribute to the disaster fund.

The Boat, a Spirit Group pub in Penkridge, Staffordshire, raised £400 by donating the entry fee for New Year's Eve to the disaster appeal ­ although many punters gave much more than the £2 fee. It also plans to set up a collection of unused foreign currency.

Elsewhere, drinks producer Pernod Ricard donated the huge sum of e700,000 (£494,058.97) split between three international humanitarian groups and local charities in affected countries.

This figures was marginally exceeded by Diageo, which committed at least $1m (£533,475) through a combination of donations by the company and individual employees.

Scottish Courage, Britain's biggest brewer, has pledged £5,000 to the appeal, plus an extra £50,000 from its parent company Scottish & Newcastle, through its joint venture business with United Breweries in India, a country which also suffered as a result of the tsunami.

The Morning Advertiser's publisher William Reed Publishing is to donate £5,000 to the appeal.

To donate money to help victims of the tsunami, call 0870 6060900 or visit www.dec.org.uk

Pubcos urged to back appeal

The trade should unite in a day of fundraising to help the victims of the Asian tsunami, according to Dave Daly, president of the National Association of Licensed House Managers (NALHM).

Daly, manager of the Laurel-owned Cahoots bar in Blackpool, said he was urging NALHM to do all it could to raise funds for the appeal. But he called for joint action from the big pub operators.

"Maybe we could name a day when all [pub companies] donate their money from that day," Daly said.

"January is a quiet month and we all have time on our hands. It's an opportunity not to be missed. It's also a chance to improve people's perception of the high street [pubs]."

Cahoots raised £1,090 in just one hour from customers putting money into collection buckets in the entrance to the bar on New Year's Eve.