A collection of pubs in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme have joined forces to raise vital funds for the homelessness charity, Shelter, as well as awareness of homelessness in the city, through a series of fundraising activities. 

Kicking off from the 14th February, each of the five pubs taking part will be acting as a collection point for local community members to donate clothing, toiletries, sanitary products, and food. Working in collaboration with Stoke-on-Trent City Council, hubs will then be set up throughout the city in order to give rough sleepers the opportunity to collect any essentials they may need.

Owned by Proper Pubs, the operator managed platform of Hawthorn, The Community Pub Company, the five pubs spearheading the effort are:

Mitchells, High Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme

Black Horse Inn, Chesterton, Newcastle-under-Lyme

Berwick Inn, Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent

Cat Inn, Keelings Road, Stoke-on-Trent

Old Sal, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent

As part of the fundraising and awareness driver, Mitchells and the Old Sal are also teaming up to go even further for their communities, with the organisation of a Sleep Out campaign. Commencing at 8pm on Valentine’s Day, the team at Mitchells will be creating their own pop-up soup kitchen ahead of the sleep, before spending the night outside Mitchells. 

Gary Leadbetter-Smith, Operator at Mitchells, said: “There is a shocking number of people suffering through homelessness across Newcastle and Stoke, and being in the town centre, we see this first-hand on a daily basis. We are a community pub, and these people are a part of that community, so we want to do as much as we possibly can to help.”

Joanne Baker, Operator at the Old Sal, added: “We urge anyone who is able, to support us by donating what they can to their local Proper Pub or making a donation by visiting our Just Giving page. The entire purpose of this is to support those who are struggling and to show the same community spirit that got us through the pandemic, and we have been truly overwhelmed by the response so far.”

The February fundraising activity follows another series of events run by the pubs to raise money to purchase community defibrillators, which will be stored at each pub and accessible for anyone in the community to use during a life-threatening emergency.

Matthew Gurney, Operations Director, Proper Pubs, said “This is a wonderful example of what can be achieved when we all work together for a common goal. These fundraising initiatives and campaigns demonstrate that each and every one of our Proper Pubs is run by a community hero – a core value of being a Proper Pubs Operator. We wish the best of luck to all of those taking part in the sleep out, and hope that our other Operators will be inspired to come up with some amazing initiatives of their own.”

To donate clothing and other essentials for the city-wide hubs, please visit your nearest participating Proper Pub, or to donate vital funds, please visit the Mitchells Just Giving page. If you would like to support the community defibrillator fundraising, please visit your local Proper Pub.