The Five Points Charity Partnership Scheme

Our first charity partnership of the year is The Hackney Winter Night Shelter, whose work in the coldest months of the year provide a warm bed and hot meal for our borough's homeless.

The Five Points Brewing Company team at the 2018 Hacney Half finish line

Over the course of 2018, like years before, The Five Points Brewing Company will continue to strive to be a socially responsible business and employer. Since we began in 2013, part of our ethos has always been that businesses have a responsibility to contribute to both the local and wider community around them. This year, however, we are improving our Charity and Community Support Policy.

Firstly, all of our staff members will be given a day’s paid leave to work on a charity or community project of their choosing. Secondly, we are initiating a new annual charity partnership scheme, where we will be partnering with two charities local to us, supporting their great work with fundraising efforts throughout the year.

The Hackney Winter Night Shelter

For seven nights a week across six months of the year, the Hackney Winter Night Shelter (HWNS) provides a hot meal and a warm bed for homeless guests who would otherwise be out on the street. Running from November until March during the coldest winter months, the shelter provides a lifeline for the homeless of Hackney, offering professional and holistic support to help guests rebuild their lives. We’re really proud that we will be supporting the Hackney Winter Night Shelter this year as one of our charity partners.

Far from Alone

More people are on the street in the UK than ever before. In November 2017, the housing charity Shelter published Far from Alone: Homelessness in Britain in 2017. Over the course of 2016-17, Britain’s homeless population increased by 13,000 people, with the total figure of homeless people estimated at over 300,000. That’s one person in every 200 across the UK, and, in some areas such as our borough of Hackney, this statistic increases to one person in every 44.

According to Shelter, Hackney has the 10th highest rates of homelessness in the country. As a business that calls this borough home, it’s incredibly important for us to support the HWNS’s vision of providing a safe route out of homelessness for everyone in need in our area. Over the next few months, the Five Points will be fundraising for the Hackney Winter Night Shelter, and some of our staff will be volunteering their services for the charity.

The Tryanuary Hackney Beer Hop

Our first event is the (now sold-out) Tryanuary Hackney Beer Hop, on Saturday, 27th January, where we’ll visit five Hackney Wick beer-spots, including our brewery tap Mason & Company. All proceeds from tickets, the raffle, and donations on the day will be gifted to the Hackney Winter Night Shelter. Look out for more fundraising events across the year – we hope to see you for a few merry beers to help us support a really worthy cause.

If you would like to volunteer your services for the HWNS, the shelter is run almost entirely by volunteers so they would love to hear from you! You can fill in an application form here, and email to [email protected].

Cheers!
The Five Points Team