The Albion, a traditional community pub in Tewkesbury, has raised over £5,000 for local charity, Goals Beyond Grass, which seeks to give disabled members of the community the opportunity to participate in team sports.

The Albion is owned by the UK’s leading pub company, Admiral Taverns and is part of Proper Pubs, its community wet-led operator business which has over 165 pubs across the country. Thanks to Nicki’s incredible fundraising efforts, she has been named as the winner of the Proper Pubs ‘Community Hero’ award for this quarter to recognise all her hard work for her customers and community.

Goals Beyond Grass is a charity dedicated to engaging the local community and giving disabled people more opportunities to participate in fun, social sports activities. This is a cause close to Nicki’s heart, who is always looking for ways to ensure all members of her community are included and given equal opportunities. The money donated to Goals Beyond Grass was split between a hoist to move clients in and out of day chairs into power chairs or accessible bikes, venue hire and medical assistants at Chosen Hill school for the year.

As part of her fundraising efforts, Nicki hosted a series of four rock and roll musical bingo nights throughout 2022 where tickets could be purchased in return for four cards to play during the evening. The first night was a sellout success and the following events were all well attended. In addition to rock and roll bingo, the operator has also hosted weekly raffles over the last six months to increase the fundraising pot.

Nicki Hardwick, operator at The Albion, said: “I am delighted to have been able to raise this much money for Goals Beyond Grass – it is such a fantastic and important cause. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my wonderful team and customers for helping me to achieve this because I really couldn’t have done it without them. I look forward to continuing to host exciting fundraising events and bringing the community together even more.”

Nicki came to The Albion four years ago following an illustrious 35-year career in hospitality. She has since become a very popular figure in town thanks to her commitment to supporting vital local initiatives. As well as previously raising over £800 for the Air Ambulance, she organises annual Remembrance Day events where she runs a big charity raffle. Last year she raised £600 and encouraged her team to dress up in 1940’s attire as well as offering a free glass of port to anyone who has or is currently serving in the British Forces.

Over the last eight months, Nicki has been working towards raising £3,000 in order to achieve the ‘Copper Mile’. To do this, she has been collecting loose change from her customers which when laid out next to each other – when the fundraising target has been hit – will stretch to a mile long. The money will be split between a number of charities,  including Seren’s Wish, Footsteps, Maggie’s and Goals Beyond Grass.

Matthew Gurney, Operations Director for Proper Pubs, commented: “On behalf of myself, and the whole team at Proper Pubs I would like to thank Nicki for all her hard work at The Albion and her fantastic fundraising efforts. It’s wonderful to see community spirit in action and it stands testament to our values here at Proper Pubs.”