Do you work in hospitality? Have you ever worked in hospitality? I’ll widen the parameters a bit, do you know anyone who does? I’ll throw it wide open, would you like to support one of the UK’s oldest charities, while doing something that you probably do regularly: walk around our beautiful countryside?
On Sunday October 12, the annual Walk For Wellbeing fundraiser takes place at the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, in aid of Hospitality Action, or HA as it’s known in our industry.
Now in its sixth year, this national initiative was created by Rye resident Craig Prentice, founder and director of hospitality company Mum. Craig is also a patron of Hospitality Action, and his idea has raised £340,000 so far.
Hospitality Action has been supporting the UK’s hospitality industry since 1837. Over this long period of time, they’ve helped hundreds of thousands of people who’ve found themselves in difficulty or crisis.
It began as the London Coffee and Eating House Keepers’ Association. In the 1830s, there were an estimated 1900 coffee shops and stalls trading across our capital; so you see, there really is nothing new under the sun.
Its first president proclaimed its purpose to be “relieving aged and decayed members of the trade, their widows and orphans”. In time it extended to hoteliers and “dining house keepers, restaurateurs, ham and beef purveyors and similarly refreshment house keepers”…and I’m sure you know a few of those around town.
By 1926, they had outposts in Liverpool and Manchester. In 1952, they opened their first home; think of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, but for caterers. In 1972, aided by a donation of £100,000 from my husband Sergio’s mentor, Lord Forte, they purchased further properties in Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham.
Today, the charity focuses primarily on financial grants, counselling, and advisory support. It came to the fore again most recently, during the pandemic.
Maya Gilbert was supported with financial assistance. As the country was put into lockdown, she had just started her own business, aged 25. She was not eligible for furlough or any other government help. When Hospitality Action announced their COVID grants, they became a lifeline to help her through this difficult time.
As a thank you, she has spent the summer walking the entire England Coast Path, all 2,700 miles of it, and is hoping to raise £20k for HA in the process.
Her journey started in June in Liverpool and ends there 120 days later, tomorrow. She has a daily allowance of £10 and needs to walk on average 37 km a day to reach her deadline. Back in August, as part of the South Coast leg of her journey, Craig arranged for her to spend a night at The George. Usually sleeping in a tent, or living off the kindness of strangers, it was one of the best nights’ sleeps she’d had in a long time.
Between Friday October 10, World Mental Health Day, and Sunday October 26, there are 12 national hosted 20k walks, from Scotland to Cornwall, or you can just ‘Walk It Your Way’, which is what Sergio and I will be doing, along with Craig, at the Nature Reserve on Sunday 12.
My idea of a good walk is remembering where I parked the car. Sergio can walk for hours and Craig is hosting the 20k Battersea Park walk on Sunday October 19. So whatever your level of fitness, please join us, encourage others to take part, or simply donate to the cause.
And if the Hospitality Action, or Maya Gilbert stories, don’t touch you, I can try to guilt trip you. My 83-year-old mother, retired restaurateur and hospitality legend, with her new hip and new knee, will be doing her bit too and remember ‘Be a We not a Me’.
Image Credits: Craig Prentice , Natasha Robinson , Craig Prentice , Hospitality Action .