DRINKS and hospitality industry charity The Ben has a problem – the people who need its help the most, know about it the least.
According to James McGuire, one of The Ben’s newer directors, the charity enjoys high visibility amongst the older generation of venue and brand managers who drive its fundraising efforts by taking part in black tie events, golf tournaments and the like,
However, young people – who make up the majority of the drinks and hospitality workforce – either haven’t heard of The Ben at all, or do not fully understand the support it can provide.
Fact is, The Ben was created as a safety net for people of all ages who work in the trade and find themselves facing extreme financial hardship. From its funds, it can provide annual financial assistance as well as discretionary grants for emergency situations.
But how best to get this message out to the industry’s youngsters?
James, whose full-time role is as a National Account Manager for Bacardi, reckons the solution is for The Ben to start hosting events that are more relevant for young people – no black ties, no formality and as low cost as they can manage.
So along with the rest of the charity’s newly appointed leadership team, in particular his trustee colleague Iain Reid, co-owner of the Metropolitan Cocktail Bar & Restaurant, James has started putting together a calendar of The Ben Network events around the country, offering ‘new, fresh, fun, unique experiences’ targeted at a younger audience and open to everyone across the trade.
The first of these will be ‘The Ben at Boxhub’, in Glasgow’s Washington St on Thursday 10th August, featuring a selection of local DJs and what James promises will be a ‘huge’ headlining act, soon to be announced.
Later in the autumn, on Tuesday 3rd October, The Ben will host Boogie Bingo at Platform, under Glasgow’s Central Station Bridge.
“These are going to be good events. We are keeping the ticket prices way down for what is on offer, so they are going to sell out and we will lose money on them,” said James.
“We plan to keep on adding to the calendar, so there will always be new things for the industry’s youth to look forward to. We aren’t specifically saying that these events are for under-35s only – but everything about them is designed for the younger people in our sector.
“These parties are not about fundraising at all,” stressed James. “This is all about raising awareness. We want to bring young people into the fold – there shouldn’t be a venue in Scotland where you walk in and the people behind the bar don’t know who and what The Ben is.
“They also need to appreciate that the charity is there to help anyone in the trade who needs that help, not just retirees – that is the perception that we are trying to change. After 140 years, this is the year that it changes,” he promised.
