Greene King and Pub is The Hub are toasting the success of their long-standing partnership as the total donated by the pub company and brewer reaches the £200,000 milestone and Pub is The Hub has helped more than 600 pubs extend their community services.
The country’s leading pub company and brewer has been a supporter of Pub is The Hub since it was formed in 2001.
Pub is The Hub, the not-for-profit organisation, helps pubs to diversify and provide essential local services and activities. This can include a range of diversification projects such as village stores, community cafes, allotments, libraries, play areas as well as supporting activities that tackle the issues of social isolation and loneliness.
Greene King’s CEO Nick Mackenzie and Pub is The Hub chief executive John Longden raised a glass to mark this year’s £25,000 donation and celebrate the 22-year support at Greene King’s The Greene Man pub in London.
Greene King’s long-standing funding has helped support Pub is The Hub’s regional advisors who work with licensees throughout the country. It has also boosted Pub is The Hub’s Community Services Fund which started in 2013, that can offer small grants to licensees wanting to offer additional community services at their pub. Over 200 pubs have benefitted from this support.
Nick said: “This is an industry which is all about people – its teams and its customers. Our support of Pub is The Hub is a great example of how when people work together, things happen for the better. Pub is The Hub can bring ideas to reality by working with local licensees to help them add extra value to their community services. This sort of working partnership makes a real difference.”
John added: “We are so grateful to Greene King and its people for their long-term support since we were established, which has helped both our regional advisors’ work, and other support activities and projects.
“As a not-for-profit organisation we do not receive any long-term funding so commitments like this enable us to continue our support for resilient licensees and their pubs. This enables them to work with their communities to help create projects which can provide much needed hubs for local services or activities in the future.”
A Pub is The Hub success story is The George in Bethersden, Kent. It has opened a new community café which is helping to bring local people together. It provides an opportunity for people living alone, mothers and toddlers, families, and groups to meet and socialise in a relaxed environment and welcoming space.
It has been bringing new customers into the pub as well as reconnecting the village as a whole, and helping people locally to overcome loneliness and isolation.
While publican Kerry Wolfe of The Gamekeeper in Woodlands, near Southampton, opened a new children’s play area to help entertain local children, and support their physical and mental health through exercise, thanks to support from Pub is The Hub.
She realised there was a need for this vital local service as there are few activities for younger children to do in the village and a large number of families in the area.