Staff and customers of Joseph Holt brewery have surpassed expectations in their fundraising efforts by donating £710,266 to The Christie.
To mark the 175th anniversary of the Manchester born brewery, dedicated teams from across its 127 sites have held football tournaments, run marathons and even jumped out of planes.
Joseph Holts’ great great grandson and current CEO, Richard Kershaw, set the bar high for fundraising ideas by cycling the 600 mile return journey to Bilbao in northern Spain, to launch the appeal.
Kershaw, accompanied by sons Dave, Peter and Andrew, along with son-in-law Adam Maxwell and family friend Bill Lonergan, completed the journey in 7 days and said he was incredibly proud of what had been achieved for the milestone.
The sixth generation brewery boss said: “The Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute has and always will hold a special place in our hearts and the hearts of our staff and customers.
“We wanted to mark our 175th anniversary with a really ambitious fundraising target of £500,000 as we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate this event than by giving back”
Kershaw believes it’s the generosity and support of Holts’ staff and customers who he said got behind the appeal and worked to make it a reality after they exceeded their goal by over £210,226, or 42%.
He added: “Our pubs really are in the hearts of the community where they are located – and it was that sense of community which enabled them to raise so much money for the cause.”
The Christie has long been a beneficiary of the breweries community efforts in a partnership that has been going for over 100 years.
In 1914 Joseph Holt‘s son, Edward, raised the equivalent of £2 million for the then Holt Radium Institute, which would later become The Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute.
The Christie, in today’s vernacular, is the largest single-site cancer centre in Europe and the first UK centre to be accredited as a comprehensive cancer centre but demand continues to increase.
The money raised, which breaks records for donations to The Christie by Joseph Holt, will go towards a new Advanced Oncology Scanning Centre which will house four CT scanners, including one 4D CT scanner.
The extra machines will mean up to 45,000 patients a year can be scanned, compared with the current level of 24,000.
Proceeds will also fund complex internal fabric needed for the room which houses the 4D CT scanner as well as a new Joseph Holt reception area aimed at enhancing patient comfort whilst waiting.
Anna McIntosh, corporate development manager at The Christie Charity said: “We are incredibly grateful to Holts’ for its unwavering support.
“The money raised through its fantastic two-year appeal will have a profound impact on cancer care, funding the development of our new Advanced Scanning and Imaging Centre.
“This facility will house the UK’s first 4D CT scanner and will enable up to 45,000 patients a year to be scanned – nearly doubling the current capacity.”
McIntosh added: “Thanks to Holts and its supporters, The Christie is taking a significant step forward in speeding up scanning times and improving patient outcomes.”
Featured Image – Bilbao sponsored cycle 175th Anniversary Joseph Holt for The Christie. Credit – Joseph Holt
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