Coronavirus: Campari UK launches relief fund for hospitality industry

Drinks firm kicks off Shaken Not Broken Fund with £100,000 donation

THE firm behind Appleton Estate rum and Wild Turkey bourbon has launched a new fund to provide financial and wellbeing assistance to hospitality workers amid the coronavirus crisis.

Campari UK has joined forces with industry charity The Drinks Trust and online tipping platform TiPJAR to set up the Shaken Not Broken Fund to provide support for the industry.

The drinks firm has kick-started the fund with a £100,000 donation and is now calling on people across the UK to contribute to a ‘virtual tip jar’ and tip hospitality workers as they would if they were in a bar or restaurant. Donors can select an area in the UK they wish to support, with Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Highlands and the Borders and the surrounding areas in each region all listed.

The Drinks Trust will administer the funds to hospitality workers, focusing on three main areas: monetary grants for those facing hardship; educational grants for those looking to train and increase their employment opportunities post COVID-19; and wellbeing grants including therapy services and mindful drinking advice.

Brad Madigan, managing director of Campari UK, said the fund aims to help hospitality workers facing hardship as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

“The total closure of the UK on-trade as a result of COVID-19 is having a very real impact on the livelihoods of many workers across the hospitality industry – and will continue to do so well into the immediate future,” he said.

“Now more than ever, our UK hospitality family needs all of our support.

“We want this to be a broad-based community initiative – building a platform that allows anyone to donate to the fund.

“We encourage suppliers and agencies alike that are involved in the hospitality industry, and consumers too, to show they care about the hospitality industry by contributing a virtual tip to front-line workers who run our amazing venues and make the world’s best drinks here in the UK.”

Ross Carter, chief executive of The Drinks Trust, said the Shaken Not Broken Fund will enable the charity to help “thousands of struggling hospitality workers nationwide”.

“The generous £100,000 donation by the company will propel us forward significantly, and we hope many more people come forward to donate too so we can help those hospitality workers hit hardest by the pandemic in their local area,” he said.