The amazing volunteer riders behind initiative Pedalling for Pubs: Cycle Jordan are fast closing in on the fundraising milestone of £150,000.  Organisers say they expect to hit the total any day now, having reached £146,000 raised at the last count.  It means the initiative, for two fantastic industry charities, will smash past the original collective target with two months yet to go, before the actual event.

The final amount will be distributed evenly between Only A Pavement Away and the Licensed Trade Charity, both of which have been fundamental in supporting those in need across the pub and hospitality industry over the last 24 months and beyond.

The brainchild of KAM’s Katy Moses, the epic two-wheeled challenge will see 27 heroic riders from across the hospitality industry take on hot weather conditions, tricky mountainous terrain and long distances as they pedal almost 350km across the country of Jordan in four days.

Moses and fellow organisers believe that with just under two months of training and fundraising still ahead of the challenge departure date of 10th March 2022, the collective effort can with a fair wind aim for a total of north of £200,000.

Commenting, Moses, who is founder and Managing Director at KAM, said: “We are absolutely thrilled and so grateful for the amazing support we have received so far for Pedalling for Pubs.  Having set what we thought was an ambitious initial target of £150,000, we’re really excited about what we might be able to achieve from here: we think we can get to £200,000 with a fair wind – maybe even £250,000 at a stretch – which would be incredible.  We think that this would make Pedalling for Pubs the biggest collaborative industry charity event ever, which would be astonishing.

“Colleagues and friends from across the industry have really got behind this effort.  We think it’s a reflection of both this incredible industry and also how important Only A Pavement Away and the Licensed Trade Charity are and the amazing work they do.”  

The challenge has received fantastic support from its sponsors Caterer.com, Greene King, Lucky Saint, Molson Coors, Punch Pubs and Wireless Social as well as incredible sponsorship and endorsement across the hospitality and pub sectors, including at key industry events organised by the British Beer & Pub Association, the BII, H2O Publishing and William Reed Business Media.

James Brewster, CEO of the Licensed Trade Charity added: “What an incredible feat – this is another huge milestone and recognition for what will be an amazing achievement; 335km in just four short days to help support countless people in need across the hospitality sector. The money raised will be put towards a number of vital initiatives that we run across the mental wellbeing, housing, health, education and employment support landscapes, and it is a privilege to be in a position to put this money to its best possible use. Thank you to each and every one of the brave riders taking part – and all the best for training, fundraising and of course the challenge itself.”

Greg Mangham, founder and CEO of Only A Pavement Away said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to this group and to everyone that is backing this challenge.  The money raised is incredible and will be absolutely critical in helping us support people facing homelessness, prison leavers and veterans into careers within the hospitality industry. The work we do is only able to happen through incredible acts of generosity such as this, and we wish every rider the best of luck in completing the challenge – we’ll be thinking of you in the heat in March.”

As well as raising the profile of the charities and the challenge to encouraging donations, the ride participants – a 27-strong collective of operators and suppliers from across the hospitality and foodservice industries – have been cranking up the training this winter.

In addition to Moses, the riders include: Clive Chesser of Punch Taverns; David Wigham of Admiral Taverns; Amber Staynings of Bums on Seats; Anthony Pender of Yummy Pubs (and former chairman of the BII); Steve Alton of the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII); Sophie Goodall of Heineken UK; Mark Stretton of Fleet Street Communications; Geoffrey Campion of Chartwells UK; Julian Ross of Wireless Social; James Brown of Tipjar, and industry expert, Only A Pavement Away Trustee and Licensed Trade Charity School Governor, Paul Pavli.

Moses added: “We want to go further because both The Licensed Trade Charity and Only A Pavement Away do amazing, life-changing work. The latter is especially close to my heart as my mother, who died a couple of years ago, used to teach in a prison, so the idea of getting people similar to those she taught into gainful employment is really special.”

To find out more about the challenge, who is participating and to donate, please follow this link: https://pedallingforpubs.org.uk/donate/.