Enterprise is encouraging its publicans to fire up their BBQ’s throughout July to support Cancer Research UK. The pub company is backing the BBQ for Cancer Research campaign for the second year running, which encourages people to host a BBQ and invite friends and family to pay a donation to attend. Participating pubs will receive promotional materials including recipe ideas, chef’s hat and deals on BBQ food. Over 500 Enterprise licensees took part in last summer’s event, with more expected to get grilling this year.
Twenty volunteers from brewer and pub company Charles Wells raised over £20,000 by cycling from the company’s d’Parys pub in Bedford to Paris. The team included managing director Peter Wells, who said it was ‘the most ambitious fund raising event we’ve ever done.’ Cyclists of all abilities (including some who didn’t even own a bike when they signed up) trained for 1354 hours and covered 30,817km in all weathers. The funds raised will be given to Macmillan Cancer Care and Sue Ryder’s St John Hospice in Bedford.
Greene King has raised £1.6 million for Macmillan Cancer Support over the past three years thanks to the efforts of employees across the company. The pub company is expected to add to its already impressive total by supporting Macmillan’s world’s biggest coffee morning later on this year. Previous fund-raising initiatives include taking on the Three Peaks challenge and Macmillan May, where pubs hosted family fun days, sponsored walks, and sold raffle tickets. Greene King also made a £30,000 donation, which will be used to build a new cancer treatment centre at Ipswich hospital.
Brewer Timothy Taylor has raised £25,000 over the past three years for the Soldier’s Charity by producing a special brew of Havercake, a Yorkshire amber ale. Chief executive Tim Dewey presented the cheque to former soldier Andy Garthwaite, one of those helped by the charity after being injured by a bomb. Garthwaite recently became one of only five people in the world to be fitted with a brain-controlled bionic arm thanks to help from the Soldier’s Charity.
A team from Punch raised £3,000 for the Kent, Surrey and Sussex air ambulance by rolling barrels of beer around Kent. The 12-strong group pushed the barrels through 13 miles of muddy terrain and completed the walk in five hours. Lead by development managers Sarah Bramley and Richard Eden, the team secured wide spread support from suppliers, contacts and licensees and also organised a silent auction. Each helicopter callout costs over £2,000, so the sum raised by the Punch team will fund a potentially lifesaving mission.
