Liam Bittles, Charity Coordinator of The Tank and Paddle, Bridge Street, York, and the pub team walked over 500km around York’s historic city walls, raising over £1500 for the British Heart Foundation, the UK’s leading charity funding research into heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors. Donations were made online as well as in-venue collection boxes.
Liam along with a strong team of 31 members of staff completed at least three and a half laps each around York City Walls, stopping for refreshments and encouragement at other Stonegate Group pubs, including The Keystones, finishing with a celebratory pint at The Old Bank both days.
Liam said, “The British Heart Foundation is such an important cause and the work they do as a charity has touched many of us at the pub. We knew we wanted to do something different that we could all partake in, so we split the teams in two and kept walking for as long as possible. I wanted to organise the walk locally, so people could easily participate and that’s why I choose the city walls as opposed to a countryside trek.
“Having watched the locals and tourists walk around the walls for years I thought this would be an ideal way to show our appreciation of our wonderful city and the people who visit us.”
Commenting on the success of the event and future charity fundraisers Liam continued “We have had a really positive response to the sponsored walk, raising £1,500 to date with even more funds being donated to our JustGiving page every day.
“The fundraising does not stop here; we are planning a spectacular Halloween event at the pub and tickets will be on sale soon. Keep an eye on our social media for more details.”
From July 2021 until the end of the year, over 800 managed pub teams at Stonegate will take part in various fundraising activities to support the UK’s leading heart charity.
When the BHF was founded in 1961, 7 out of 10 heart attacks were fatal. Now, at least 7 out of 10 people survive. Funds raised by Stonegate will go towards helping the BHF continue to pioneer medical breakthroughs which help the 7.6 million people in the UK living with heart and circulatory diseases.
Pub teams have been tasked with coming up with imaginative and creative ways of raising money for the charity as well as encouraging their customers to get involved.
Paul Davies, Head of Corporate Partnerships at the BHF said: “We are so grateful to Liam and the team at the Tank and Paddle for their support around our 60th Birthday.
“Over the last 60 years, we have funded ground-breaking discoveries including the first UK heart transplant, pacemakers and genetic testing for inherited heart conditions. The funds raised by our partners such as the Tank and Paddle, will help us keeping finding cures and treatments for the 7.6 million people in the UK living with heart and circulatory diseases.”
To donate and support the team on their amazing challenge, please follow the link to their JustGiving page –http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tankandpaddlebhf
Tank and Paddle – Merchant Exchange, York, Yorkshire, YO1 6DD
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For more information, contact Leisure PR.