St Austell Brewery’s Charitable Trust has made one its biggest ever single donations by handing a cheque worth £10k to Cornwall Hospice Care.
The money comes from the proceeds of a huge variety of fundraising events, ranging from the massive St Austell Brewery Celtic Beer Festival to a host of smaller activities in individual Brewery and free trade pubs, clubs and hotel.
It brings to more than £130k the total raised by the Charitable Trust for charities across the region, since St Austell Brewery launched the charity in 2003.
Paul Brinsley, Chief Executive of Cornwall Hospice Care, said: “I’m really grateful to St Austell Brewery’s Charitable Trust for donating such a wonderful amount, particularly as it has been a very difficult time for us financially. This has given a real boost to our Make Moments Matter Appeal, which we launched in October last year to help stem a £1 million shortfall in income. We rely on the generosity of donations like this so the amount raised by the Trust will really make a difference to our patients and their families.”
Ian Blunt, Vice Chairman of the Charitable Trust, said: “The St Austell Brewery Charitable Trust is very much focused on helping charities across the South West and we are delighted to be able to hand over such a significant amount to Cornwall Hospice Care which does such good work.
“The money raised is the result of huge amount of effort and goodwill by our fundraisers and supporters who donate their own time to stage the activities and events that generate valuable funds. It’s a Tribute to the Brewery’s staff, pubs and our customers and I want to say a big thank you for their ongoing support.”
The Charitable Trusts main beneficiary this year is the Precious Lives Appeal, but many other local charities will benefit from the continued funds raised throughout 2009.
The St Austell Brewery Charitable Trust was set up to act independently to the brewery with the aim of raising and donating funds to good causes and local charities within the St Austell Brewery trading area, which covers the whole of Cornwall but also includes Devon, Dorset and Somerset.
It costs more than £5.3 million every year to run Cornwall Hospice Care, which provides specialist medical care and support to patients with life limiting conditions. Last year the charity cared for 500 patients at its two hospices – Mount Edgcumbe in St. Austell and St. Julia’s in Hayle, plus there were more than 2000 admissions for day treatments and therapies. The support extends to family members and carers to help them cope with the impact on their lives when their loved one is seriously ill.
