STEVEN Samson, general manager of The Merchant in Glasgow, together with nine others, completed a virtual journey of almost 600 miles on Monday (April 27) to raise money for the families of colleagues who lost their lives to coronavirus.
The ten-strong team from Stonegate Pub Company, who are all members of the pubco’s Aspirations training programme, raised £12,000 by walking a combined total of 590 miles over five days – the equivalent distance between each participant’s pub.
Walking almost 60 miles each in their gardens and local areas, the 590-mile virtual route took the group from The Merchant in Glasgow to Walkabout in Blackpool; on to Slug & Lettuce in Huddersfield; then to Be At One bar in Birmingham; to Old Library in Leamington; on to Sports Bar & Grill, Old Street in London; then to Minories; the Sports Bar & Grill, Canary Warf; then on to Quart Pot, Runwell; to the company’s head office in Porter Tun House, Luton; and finally to Tattershall Castle, Embankment, where they enjoyed a virtual drink together.
More than 700 of Stonegate’s staff and family members also got involved by running one mile and donating to the team’s Go Fund Me page.
Steven said: “The response from all of our teams was just incredible! To have so many people get involved with us was so uplifting and really shone a light on the team spirit that is rife in Stonegate. Everyone was so generous with their time and with their money to help the families of their colleagues – it was very touching.
“I did a lot of my miles from my garden which was interesting! There was a lot of mileage to cover in a reasonably small space, but I managed. I did spice things up with some fancy dress and having the support of the wider team all contributing their miles kept me going.”
