Charities from across the region came together last week (Tuesday July 3^rd) at a special celebration evening at St Austell Brewery. 

St Austell Brewery’s Charitable Trust organised the event to mark reaching a fundraising milestone of £300,000. 

The event, which was held in the Brewery’s Hicks Bar, brought together more than 25 of the local charities that have already benefited from the Charitable Trust together with invited guests and staff from St Austell Brewery. 

The Trust, which was launched in 2003, was set up by St Austell Brewery to raise money for local charities in the Brewery’s trading area within Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. 

On the evening, a cheque worth £10,000 was collected by Tamsin Cox from Cornwall Hospice Care, the Trust’s nominated charity in 2012. A quiz was also held on the night and the winning charity team, Merlin MS Centre, was handed a cheque worth £1,000. 

Jo Bond, who helped organise the event at St Austell Brewery, said: “It was a very memorable evening bringing together many of the charities that the Trust has helped over the years. Everyone involved with the Trust is very proud of the positive impact it has made over the years and to hear this first hand from a number of the charities on the celebration evening night was really touching.” 

Jo added: “We were also really pleased to donate £10,000 to Cornwall Hospice Care. The charity is particularly close to the Brewery’s heart as they provided invaluable support to a Brewery employee who unfortunately passed away earlier in the year.” 

Tamsin Cox, Community Fundraiser for Cornwall Hospice Care, said: “We were really pleased to be involved with the celebration evening at St Austell Brewery. This year alone it will cost Cornwall Hospice Care £6.8 million to run both Hospices’ so we are very grateful for such a substantial donation from St Austell Brewery Charitable Trust.” 

Jasmine York, Fundraising Manager for Merlin MS Centre, said: “We were overjoyed that we won the quiz and were awarded the £1,000 prize, thank you to my team for their help with the win.  We are extremely grateful for the on-going support from St Austell Brewery Charitable Trust and these much-needed funds will go towards continuing to provide essential therapy and support for people living with MS in Cornwall.”