Hundreds of pubs, clubs and bars across Sydney and New South Wales are benefitting from Bundaberg Rum’s Raising the Bar initiative, which is being officially launched in Sydney earlier this week.
The initiative is a $11.5m fund to help support jobs, recovery, and innovation in the Australian hospitality industry.
In addition more than 150 venues across New South Wales have received ‘Bear Cares Safety packages’ providing essential supplies of hand sanitiser, dispensers, floor demarcations, thermal scanners and PPE.
The COVID-safety kits, worth $1250, are removing an onerous cost burden from venues at a time when they are trying to rebuild from the economic hit of COVID-19 and get back to business.
Angus McPherson, Managing Director at Bundaberg Rum’s parent company Diageo Australia said: “Bundaberg Rum is proud to be supporting New South Wales hospitality venues to get back on their feet after such a challenging period. This industry is vitally important to this state’s economy, providing tens of thousands of jobs, as well as a sense of community.
“The Raising the Bar initiative won’t just instil confidence in patrons but will also help ease the ongoing financial burden of purchasing costly safety equipment and supplies such as hand sanitiser and PPE.”
NSW Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello welcomed the initiative, saying: “The NSW Government is committed to seeing a thriving 24 Hour Economy and our state’s pubs, clubs and bars play a critical role in this.
“The Raising the Bar fund is an important initiative to help Australia’s hospitality venues recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic in a Covid-safe way.”
Also at the official launch was NSW AHA deputy chief executive Sean Morrissey, who said: “2020 has been an incredibly difficult year for our 2000 members, many of which are the beating hearts of their regional and suburban communities.
“Bundaberg Rum’s Raising the Bar initiative is providing some welcome relief and a real cost-saving to many NSW hotels, helping them to get back to business and begin the journey of recovery.”