Popular Didsbury pub raises thousands for Francis House

Customers and staff at The Fletcher Moss in Didsbury have raised more than £5,000 this year for their local children’s hospice Francis House.

Manager of the Fletcher Moss, Martin Devlin, has been a keen supporter of Francis House since he became manager of the Hydes Brewery-owned pub, more than 12 years ago.

Martin estimates that over the years, approximately £30k has been raised to support the hospice and the work that it does in the community.

Fundraising activities include ticket sales from weekly quiz entries and Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve fundraising events. Fletcher Moss staff also sold knitted Easter bunnies as part of the charity’s Easter Chick appeal and raffle tickets for hampers donated by Hydes earlier this year. Collecting tins are constantly on the bar for drinkers to pop their change in.

Big-hearted Martin also confronted his fear of heights, abseiling down the Trafford Centre to raise £1,400 for the cause.

Francis House provides appropriate respite and end of life care for children and young people with life-limiting illnesses and the necessary support and short-term care for their families. It supports approximately 2,000 people at any one time with respite care, homecare, sibling support, end of life care and emotional and bereavement support.

Martin commented: “I like to support a local charity as you can see where the money is going and what a difference it makes. Francis House is a fantastic charity and my customers really do get behind supporting it by donating generously and getting involved with fundraising initiatives.

“It’s an important local charity and customers like to see their donations supporting the incredible and tireless work the team does there. We will continue to support Francis House and should be able to raise even more money for them by the end of the year with the festive fundraisers we already have planned.

“Hydes have always been very supportive of our fundraising efforts and have generously backed us all the way with donations and merchandise,” added Martin.

Managing director of Hydes, Adam Mayers, said: “It’s great to see Martin and his dedicated team at the Fletcher Moss motivating customers to support such an important local cause. Supporting local charities is a crucial part of how Hydes pubs interact with their communities.

“It remains an activity that we have encouraged for years, working with individual pubs in their own communities and we will continue to do so moving forward.

“At Hydes, we fully recognise that pubs are an integral part of the communities they operate in and as they are often hubs for these communities, they must do everything they can to help deserving causes.”

Fundraising officer of Francis House, Kate Puc, said: “We’d like to express our thanks to Martin and the team at The Fletcher Moss for their ongoing support of Francis House.

“The support of the local community is vital to our hospice, and we are reliant on donations to continue our work caring for hundreds of children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their families.

“The Fletcher Moss is on the doorstep of the hospice and it’s great to have their customers supporting a local charity with such enthusiasm.”

To find out more about Hydes Brewery visit https://www.hydesbrewery.com/