Greene King Pub Partners has seen one of its pubs crowned the Charity Pub of the Year by PubAid, after the pub and its customers raised £250k for good causes over a 30-year period.
The Rose of Mossley in Liverpool won the prize at the awards night attended by around 100 PubAid supporters at Tattershall Castle in London on Tuesday 19 November.
Mari Woods (pictured centre) has run the pub for the past three decades, the vast majority of which were alongside her husband Paul, who sadly passed away seven years ago.
Woods couldn’t believe it when her pub’s name was read out as the winner. She said, “I was absolutely gobsmacked. There were so many other amazing pubs represented there and I was just thinking we have no chance. But then they read out the name and it was absolutely brilliant.
'I’ve been swamped with messages from customers and staff and everyone’s so pleased. It’s the customers and staff that have achieved this – they’re just amazing and without them I wouldn’t be here. My Greene King business development manager Barrie Aspinall has been so supportive as well for everything we do at the pub.”
Greene King Pub Partners’ managing director, Wayne Shurvinton said, “Mari and her team do a brilliant job every year raising money for charity and it’s an absolutely outstanding achievement by everyone associated with the pub.
'I’m so proud that one of our partners has collected this trophy, which really highlights the vital role that pubs play every day at the hub of local life supporting their communities.”
The pub has a dedicated charity group, called The Friends of the Rose of Mossley, which was formed by Mari and a couple of pub regulars to formalise the community and charity work to which Mari and Paul had dedicated so much time over the years.
The Friends now comprises a 12-member committee with the youngest member aged 11 and the oldest 85. Each year it runs an annual summer fete, as well as a number of other events at the pub to raise money for local Liverpool charities.
At the end of each year, the community is asked to nominate their favourite charities via the pub’s Facebook page and create a shortlist and then the committee selects that year’s beneficiaries after carrying out due diligence checks.
Last year saw over £10.6k raised, which was distributed among local Liverpool charities and community groups Thursday Club, St Anthony Padua PTA and Mossley Hill Memory Clinic. The pub has also sponsored two guide dogs, called Rose and Mossley,
PubAid co-founder, Des O'Flanagan said, 'In the decade since we started PubAid, pubs have raised an estimated £1 billion for hundreds of charities and local causes. They are also providing a lifeline to grassroots sport, with financial and in-kind support worth an estimated £40m a year.
'By conducting the research to uncover these very impressive figures, and then communicating them to a broad audience, PubAid has helped to reshape public perceptions of pubs. We're delighted that they are now more widely recognised as a force for good in local communities and broader society.'
Paul Hegarty, Honorary Secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, said, 'The Rose of Mossley's unstinting determination to support its local community makes it a worthy winner.
'Choosing the Charity Pub of the Year was far from easy, and all our finalists have shown incredible community spirit, commitment and creativity in their support for local and national charities. They should all be very proud of reaching the finals.'
Pictured left to right is Barrie Aspinall (Greene King Pub Partners BDM), John Foley-Doherty (Friends of the Rose of Mossley), Mari Woods, and Wayne Shurvinton (Greene King Pub Partners managing director).
