New initiative to support licensed trade charity The Ben
EDEN Mill has launched a new initiative to support Scottish licensed trade charity The Ben amid further COVID-19 closures and restrictions for the hospitality industry.
The Love Gin, Love Hospitality initiative will see the St Andrews-based distiller donate £2 from every 70cl bottle of Love Gin sold online to The Ben (and The Drinks Trust south of the border) to help the charity continue to offer support to people throughout the trade.
Launching the initiative last Thursday (October 8), Eden Mill chief executive and co-founder Tony Kelly said: “Although we understand the need for further restrictions being brought in across Scotland and throughout the UK to control the rapid spread of coronavirus, it’s coming down very hard on the hospitality industry and we know from conversations with our industry partners that hospitality is desperate for support. First reduced capacity and 10pm curfews, now a ban on alcohol sales and local hospitality closures; many bars, pubs and restaurants will struggle to survive.
“Bars, pubs and restaurants have staff trained to manage the safe consumption of alcohol since before COVID began, and hospitality has made huge efforts to regulate their spaces to be the safest environments. Banning alcohol consumption and closing hospitality can only serve to encourage the unregulated mixing of households as the public are tempted to meet at home, therefore accelerating the spread of the virus.
“Our Love Gin motto is ‘Share the Love’ and it is absolutely essential for us to show our support to an industry on its knees, so we’re donating £2 from every Love Gin 70cl bottle sold on our site. This summer we raised £10,000 for NHS associated charities, including CHAS and Masks 4 NHS Heroes, with our blue Original Gin bottle, so we can only encourage our caring and generous customers to join us again in supporting an industry close to our hearts which needs our help.”
Chris Gardner, chief executive of The Ben, said: “This is fantastic news for the charity. We are under great pressure trying to help those in the trade in need, especially in these challenging times.
“Thanks to all at Eden Mill for thinking of us, it will make a huge difference.”
