Pubs in Henley-on-Thames and Abingdon have become the first to benefit from the Brakspear’s Giving Back charity scheme, with their fundraising boosted by additional monies. Brakspear is hoping to support many more pubs raising funds for local charities and good causes during 2024.
The Nag’s Head in Abingdon, part of Brakspear’s Honeycomb Houses managed division, has installed a defibrillator outside the pub at a cost of £2,000+, while The Three Tuns in Henley-on-Thames has donated £921 to The Chiltern Centre, a local charity for young people with disabilities. Both pubs received a contribution from Brakspear’s Giving Back on top of their own fundraising.
Brakspear’s Giving Back was launched at the end of 2023 to encourage pubs to raise money for charity, by enabling them to unlock additional sums from a £25,000 annual contribution into the fund from Brakspear. Separately, money from Brakspear’s Giving Back is being put into bee conservation, a cause which Brakspear has supported for some years, last year installing 12 beehives across a number of their pubs and selling the honey produced to customers.
Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies said: “Congratulations to the teams at The Nag’s Head and The Three Tuns for raising money for these worthy causes. We were delighted to add to their charitable endeavours and enable them to make more of a difference in their local communities.
“Our pubs are all about people: the people who work in them, drink in them, and live in the communities around them and we are looking forward to supporting more of our pubs’ charitable endeavours through Brakspear’s Giving Back. Anyone involved with a charity or good cause can approach their local Brakspear pub to discuss fundraising activities from putting a collection tin on the bar to running an event.”
All Brakspear pubs are able to apply for a fundraising boost from Brakspear’s Giving Back. Applications are reviewed by a team of eight Brakspear’s Giving Back committee members, including three licensees from the L&T division and head office personnel, chaired by Alexa Davies, wife of chief executive Tom Davies.
Pub fundraising
The Nag’s Head in Abingdon raised money from donations by guests over events in the run up to Christmas and from sales of Brakspear’s festive ale Oh Bee Joyful, and a Honey, Fig & Apple crumble dessert, with a percentage of revenue from both going into the charity pot.
General manager Anna Kowalska, said: “Our location on the river means we’re popular with dog walkers, runners, boaters, tourists and visitors to the Cricket Club opposite us, any of whom could potentially need emergency assistance. So we thought we could raise money for a defibrillator for the community. It’s great to have gone from that initial idea to installing a defibrillator outside the pub, which will be here for anyone who needs it.”
The Three Tuns in Henley-on-Thames raised money for The Chiltern Centre from its popular ‘Tuns of Fun’ Comedy Night at the end of last year. General manager Michaela Durdisova said: “We’ve always chosen a local charity to benefit from our comedy nights and several of our regular customers were keen to support The Chiltern Society. It was a sold out event and customers were generous, donating on the night and online afterwards. We then went to Brakspear with the amount we’d raised and they added to it from the Brakspear’s Giving Back scheme, which meant we could give more than £900 to The Chiltern Centre.”
