The Drinks Trust’s ‘Your Round, Help Your Trade’ Raises £1M for Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund
The speed with which the Drinks Trust reacted to the current Coronavirus-induced shutdown of hospitality venues, and the effectiveness of its subsequent fundraising efforts have been truly impressive. Since launching the ‘Your Round, Help Your Trade’ campaign in early March, the Trust has raised over £1,000,000 for the Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund – £650K as a result of generous new donations, with the remaining £350K coming from previous supporters re-signing, or upping existing contributions.
As a result, the Trust has been able to provide a one-off grant of £250 to 1750 members of the trade who have lost earnings because of the current lockdown. The funds have also enabled the trust to continue to support 350 long-term beneficiaries, many of whom are extremely vulnerable to Covid-19.
The Drinks Trust sent BarLifeUK these figures in the hope that we would publish them, by way of thanking the brands and individuals who have contributed money to the Covid-19 fund. We do indeed thank those incredibly generous donors, but we would also like to raise a glass to the staff at the Drinks Trust, who have clearly worked tirelessly in support of the trade. A cracking effort one and all – a million pounds is no small amount of money.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the Trust were focused helping hospitality workers maintain their mental health and wellness. In the coming weeks, this will again become a focus for the Trust. In their words:
“We will continue to support people financially where we can, however we are acutely aware of the emerging and likely long-term effects the current situation will have on the mental health and wellness of the drinks industry community. In the weeks ahead, we will be launching an initiative which will assist members of the drinks industry to live a constructive and healthy life in these times of uncertainty, isolation and distance from an otherwise social and community-orientated industry. The Drinks Trust is funded by industry donor businesses through events and fundraising efforts of its community. None of this would have been possible without the generosity and support from all areas of the drinks industry.”
Drinks Trust CEO, Ross Carter adds: “We are so grateful to absolutely everyone who has responded so quickly at this difficult time. We hope to work with you all on an ongoing basis to ensure that we continue to provide support for all drinks industry professionals. The Drinks Trust supports drinks industry people”.
We will bring you news of the Trust’s new initiative as it is released. If you need help or support, visit the Drinks Trust website.