The pub, bar and restaurant operator received the Outstanding Corporate Contribution accolade at a ceremony in Coventry, West Midlands, for the work it had done in promoting the charity and engaging its staff in the LTC’s befriending programme.
Initiatives included a campaign to cascade information and awareness about the services of the charity – which supports both current and retired pub trade employees – as well as a push to recruit telephone befrienders to make regular calls to people in the trade that are lonely and isolated, the LTC said.
The activity resulted in a number of enquiries and several M&B employees becoming trained in the role of a telephone befriender, the charity added.
M&B head of employee relations Caroline Davies was praised for her awareness-raising work, which included appearing in a video of HR directors explaining the benefits of supporting the charity. She was also recognised for promoting volunteering opportunities within the charity to its employees to combat loneliness and isolation among former drinks trade workers.
Great addition
“We are delighted to win the Licensed Trade Charity’s Outstanding Corporate Contribution award,” said Davies. “The services offered by the charity are a great addition to our employee benefits, so promoting its work makes complete sense.”
LTC director of marketing and charity services Liz Gaffer added: “We are very pleased with the increasing engagement with organisations in the drinks trade. Their promotion of our free support services is a good thing for all involved, and I look forward to once again celebrating their invaluable contributions at next year’s ceremony”.
In 2016, the LTC supported 288 families with a link to the drinks trade in a time of hardship. Almost 8,000 people made use of the information on its website and 664 people gained assistance via the charity’s helpline.
Anyone working in pubs, bars or breweries is entitled to six free counselling sessions for emotional support when they call the LTC helpline.