Entries have been judged and eight finalists selected in the Charity Pub of the Year Awards 2019, run by PubAid and the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group (APPBG) and sponsored by Matthew Clark.
The competition, now in its second year, seeks to recognise those pubs who go the extra mile in their support of charities and good causes. This year’s contest attracted close to 100 entries from pubs across the country, with an extremely high standard that gave judges a near-impossible task in whittling the field down to just eight finalists.
The overall Charity Pub of the Year 2019 will be announced next month at the PubAid 10th Anniversary Celebration in London, from one of the following finalists:
• The Bull’s Head, Mobberley, Cheshire
• The Falkners Arms, Fleet, Hampshire
• The Fatling, Hornchurch, Essex
• The Front Page, Ballymena, Co. Antrim
• The Lion Brewery, Ash, Surrey
• The Rose of Mossley, Liverpool
• The Swan, Thornbury, Gloucestershire
• The White Horse, Quorn, Leicestershire
Judges, drawn from across the pub industry, considered not just the sums of money raised by entrants, but also their contribution to their local community through a range of activities from organising litter picks to holding a regular club for adults with learning difficulties, or hosting Christmas Day dinner for homeless local people. Together, the finalists have supported hundreds of charities and good causes over the years, from large national charities to local groups and individuals, whom they have helped through difficult times.
Co-founder of PubAid, Des O’Flanagan said: “We’re delighted to be running this competition again, and are grateful to the involvement of Matthew Clark, whose support makes these awards possible.
“The entries underline the incredible support provided by pub teams and customers for charities and good causes. Pubs in the UK raise £100 million every year for charity and contribute a further £40 million to grassroots sport, making them a powerful force for good in their local communities and wider society.”
David Phillips, Managing Director, Matthew Clark, said: “Our thanks go to all the pubs who entered the Charity Pub of the Year Awards. We’re proud to be involved in these awards and to recognise pubs across the country who give their own time and resources to support their local communities. We look forward to announcing the winner next month.”
Mike Wood, MP for Dudley South and Chairman of the APPBG, said: “It has been truly humbling to learn about the amazing things that pubs do to support charities and local community groups. We look forward to welcoming the shortlisted pubs to a celebration of their achievements next month.”
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NOTES TO EDITORS
PubAid is a working party created in 2009 to highlight the work done by UK pubs for charity, sharing the message that UK pubs raise over £100m per year and contribute £40 million to grassroots sport. PubAid runs the World’s Biggest Pub Quiz, which takes place every March. In 2019, around 2,200 pubs took part.
The PubAid working party is led by co-founder Des O’Flanagan, and includes a number of well-known figures from the pub world, who lend their time and other resources to help spread the positive messages about pubs’ role at the heart of their communities.
Matthew Clark is a leading national drinks wholesaler with over 200 years’ experience supplying drink products, hospitality training, labour management and marketing support to over 16,000 On-Trade premises in the UK.
The All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group was set up in 1993 and has a membership of over 350 MPs and Peers. The Beer Group’s objectives are to broaden recognition of the enormous contribution of brewing and pubs to the UK economy from grain to glass – and to celebrate the unique role that beer and pubs play in our society
