£100,000 raised throughout lockdown
Team members working for Premier Inn and Restaurants across the country continue their fundraising efforts for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity) throughout the lockdown to raise thousands
To mark International Day of Charity (Saturday, September 05) Premier Inn owner Whitbread today announces its teams have raised a staggering £100,000 for charity DURING LOCKDOWN, thanks to the ingenuity and commitment of its team members across the country.
Incredibly, despite its hotels and restaurants being shut through lockdown – barring a select few to support keyworkers – hotel and restaurant teams up and down the country continued to raise funds for charity partner Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity).
The money raised is part of Whitbread’s longstanding relationship with GOSH Charity, and part of its Force For Good commitment to give back to the communities in which it serves.
Undeterred by the closures, team members raised money at home or during caretaking duties at shut sites, often cleverly using the activity as a means to keep in touch.
Whilst traditional activities such as marathons, bike rides or sky dives were not able to take place in their usual forms, teams came up with many ingenious new ideas and alternative takes on these traditional fundraising activities to keep morale high.
One particularly ingenious idea came from Louise Casey, a team member in Warrington. She took to the hotel corridors to raise an incredible £1000 by running an indoor marathon – attracting national media attention in the process.
Others putting their best foot forward included Gaz Culpan in Scarborough, who ran 5k every day in June raising £700, while the team in Milton Keynes raised almost £3000 through a series of challenges including physical feats such as running up and down stairs, 5k runs and dance-athons.
Not only did the activities amount to an incredible £100,000 for GOSH Charity, they also had an added business benefit, with many using the fundraising activity as an opportunity to maintain contact with their fellow colleagues through zoom or social media.
Simon Ewins, Premier Inn Managing Director said: “I am blown away and humbled in equal measure that our teams have raised an incredible £100,000 for GOSH Charity during lockdown. Fundraising is a bit like a good team – each individual achievement and act of generosity all adding up to something truly phenomenal. That our people were able to come up with new and adapted ways to raise money during lockdown is not only testament to the great work GOSH do and how close the cause is to our hearts but the calibre of our team members”.
Louise Parkes, Chief Executive of GOSH Charity said: “We are so grateful that team members from Premier Inn and Restaurants have continued to support GOSH Charity throughout lockdown and I am truly blown away by the incredible amount raised during a challenging few months. Hearing stories of team members’ creativity has been incredibly inspiring, and this fantastic sum will help us to support seriously ill children from across the UK who come to GOSH for life-changing treatment.”
Premier Inn, the UK’s top-rated hotel chain*, has proudly been supporting Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity since 2012, when it pledged to raise £7.5 million towards a brand new medical facility at the hospital. The Premier Inn Clinical Building, named in honour of the partnership, officially opened in January 2018, and provides state of the art facilities including new in-patient wards, operating theatres and a day case unit, to match the hospital’s world-class care. Most recently, Premier Inn pledged to raise a further £10 million to help fund a new Sight and Sound Centre, a specialist outpatient centre tailored to the needs of children with sight and hearing loss, which is due to open in 2021.
ENDS
For more information about Whitbread, Premier Inn and Restaurants, please contact press.office@whitbread.com
For more information about GOSH Charity, please contact: Publicity@gosh.org
Notes to editors:
About Whitbread
Whitbread PLC is the owner of the UK’s favourite hotel chain, Premier Inn with over 800 hotels comprising almost 80,000 rooms and restaurant brands including Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Bar + Block, Whitbread Inns and Cookhouse + Pub. Outside of the UK, Premier Inn’s expansion plans are focused on Germany. Premier Inn opened its first hotel in Frankfurt in 2016 and has more than 6,000 Premier Inn bedrooms in its secured pipeline in Germany.
Whitbread is committed to being a force for good in the communities in which it operates. It’s sustainability programme, ‘Force for Good’ is focused on enabling people to live and work well and is built around three pillars of Opportunity, Community and Responsibility.
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is the National Charity partner of Whitbread and its hotel and restaurant brands and to date team members, guests and suppliers have reached the milestone of £10 million, which formed part of the funding towards the Premier Inn Clinical Building, officially opened in January 2018. The next phase of the partnership will see Premier Inn guests and team members raising funds towards the new Great Ormond Street Hospital Sight and Sound Centre. The centre will be the first dedicated medical facility for children with sight and hearing loss in the UK.
About Great Ormond Street Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity:
Great Ormond Street Hospital is one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals with the broadest range of dedicated, children’s healthcare specialists under one roof in the UK. The hospital’s pioneering research and treatment gives hope to children from across the UK with the rarest, most complex and often life-threatening conditions. Our patients and families are central to everything we do – from the moment they come through the door and for as long as they need us.
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity needs to raise money to support the hospital to give seriously ill children, the best chance for life. The charity funds research into pioneering new treatments for children, provides the most up to date medical equipment, funds support services for children and their families and supports the essential rebuilding and refurbishment of the hospital. You can help us to provide world class care for our patients and families. For more information visit www.gosh.org
