Only A Pavement Away, the hospitality sector charity aiding prison leavers, veterans and those facing homelessness find employment in the hospitality sector, has announced pub group Greene King as its first charity Primary Partner.

Having worked closely with Only A Pavement Away since the charity’s launch in 2018, not only on fundraising but also as the largest employer of Only A Pavement Away members, Greene King has now committed to working even more closely with the hospitality charity moving forward, providing an annual corporate donation, strategic input and support for the custodial projects undertaken by Only A Pavement Away, including government lobbying.

Increasing the number of corporate partners, like Greene King, is a core ambition of the charity which this month has laid out its bold 5-year strategy to expand and scale up its programme to operate in every major city/town in the UK and place 1,000 people back into employment by June 2024. As part of the strategy it also plans to set up a centralised training academy in preparation for employment, expand its campaigns & events to enhance brand awareness and will continue to work to gain full recognition as the industry charity for the placement of people facing or at risk of homelessness into careers in hospitality.

Nick Mackenzie, CEO of Greene King said: “We are really proud to have supported 135 prison leavers into employment through our Releasing Potential programme since 2019, in which Only A Pavement Away has been a key partner. Not only are we able to provide a job for prison leavers, but also the opportunity to build a sustainable career, and help them to gain confidence and stability.

“And now, in becoming one of the charity’s primary partners, we’re looking forward to supporting Only A Pavement Away’s mission to provide pathways for prison leavers and people who are experiencing or facing homelessness into employment within hospitality.”

As part of the partnership, Greene King will be keenly supporting the charity’s ‘Learning Kitchen’ project. This will see the company sponsor the refurbishment of a prison kitchen at HMP Thameside, transforming it into a facility that reflects the appearance and standards of the hospitality industry, and where serving prisoners can be taught the skills and behaviours required to work in a professional kitchen. With momentum already behind the project, Only A Pavement Away plans to extend the Learning Kitchen project from 2 prisons in 2022 to 15 by mid-2024.

Greg Mangham, CEO Only A Pavement Away, said: “Greene King has been such an important ally and advocate of the work we’ve been doing, right from the start. Far from just offering financial support, the Greene King team has helped across the whole operation of the charity, coming on board as one of earliest employer partners and providing strategic input to help us grow to where we are today. We’re thrilled to have formalised this partnership and no doubt with Greene King on board, Only A Pavement Away will be able to support significantly more people facing homelessness back into employment.”

“As our charity grows so do our expectations of what Only A Pavement Away can achieve. We know, with the right levels of funding, we can scale up our services to support 5000 Members into work each year adding c.£170 million to the economy.”

Only A Pavement Away is seeking further hospitality partners interested in supporting the charity as part of its ESG commitment to help people facing homelessness, prison leavers and veterans develop life skills, become job ready and provide them with a direct route into employment.