Punch Pubs supports charity fundraising initiative

Punch Pubs has pledged to support Barrel & Stone, Moonpig and Riverside Printers after they created a charity Christmas card.

The pub franchise will place an initial order of 1,500 cards to do its bit for the fundraising project in Berkshire. The products won’t go to waste; Punch Pubs will sign them and send them out to its employees and wider business network as an act of Christmas cheer.

The festive cards were commissioned by local businessman Russell Hardiman, who established the pizza company Barrell & Stone. He’s created them in collaboration with Riverside Printers and the internet-based card and gift retailer Moonpig. All proceeds from the greetings cards will go to the Licensed Trade Charity in Ascot.

The organisation works to support those working in the pub, bar and brewery industries, and it’s been under even more pressure to offer help this year. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic and various business restrictions, it has seen a 256-percent rise in website visits and 156-percent increase in helpline calls.

The Licensed Trade Charity’s Head of Services, Carolyn Jenkinson, said,

“This year has seen unprecedented demand for our services, and we’re delighted that Barrel & Stone has created this initiative to help us support even more people.

“We’ve seen particular demand for emotional and financial support, and more recently, callers have been increasingly worried about the number of job losses within the industry and the future of their positions.”

She explained how the charity has taken action this year:

“We’ve responded by expanding our outplacement support, which now includes job coaching and online courses on dealing with change, to help job seekers remain mentally resilient in the face of redundancy.”

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of the charity, it was able to help more than 62,000 licensed trade people between January and October. Now, it’ll continue to support the pub industry as we head into the New Year.