Nick East, licensee of the Jacobs Post in Burgess Hill is up to his old tricks again and the pub’s assistant manager, Jonny Acton is in the firing line.
Last year the team at the pub, with the help of their customers, raised almost £2000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) by locking Jonny in a DJ booth for 72 hours and tasking him with various challenges.
Let’s hope that Jonny’s not scared of heights because this year, to raise money for GOSH, he has agreed to live in a one-man tent on the flat roof of the pub which measures approximately 8ft x 12ft, for one week.
Moving in on Monday 27th August, or should that be moving up, Jonny will be raising awareness of the fundraising activity taking place at the pub by surrounding himself in banners and collecting donations from passers-by in specially designed buckets that can be dangled from the roof!
The humiliation doesn’t end there though. The team will be setting him challenges and sending up fancy dress costumes for Jonny to don as he takes in the view – hot dogs, big babies you name it, they’ve thought of it.
The team will also be calling on their customers to give them inspiration for the challenges and they’ll even have the chance to have Jonny do their own bidding, simply by donating £1 to the charity. All of the action will be broadcast live into the pub via their TV screens as well as on a live stream to the web.
Speaking about the activity, Nick East said: “Jonny is always game for a laugh and does everything with a smile on his face. He loves getting involved with fundraising activity and always contributes 100% so we’re glad to have him on our team. We’re always coming up with crazy tasks for him to complete, so this year is no different.
“Once again we are raising money for GOSH and hope to meet, or beat, the amount raised last year. The charity drive is part of wider activity by the Stonegate Pub Company, the company that owns and operates the Jacobs Post. The company’s South East Division of pubs and bars has pledged to raise £35,000 throughout August to supply the hospital a Newborn Bloodspot Screener, a piece of equipment that allows the screening of newborn babies for serious but rare genetic conditions such as congenital sickle cell disorders and cystic fibrosis.
“Last year, as a company we raised over £95,000 for GOSH, helping to purchase a mobile anaesthetic machine, so we hope we can add the Screener to the list.”
The team from the Jacobs Post were also part of the group who, earlier in the week, commandeered a hospital bed and pushed it from the Old Plough in Seaford along the coastal road to the Blind Busker in Hove – a total of 15 miles.
“We finally arrived at the Blind Busker in Hove after six hours of walking and had a well-earned drink, said Nick. “The team had a great time and I must say the public’s kind words and generosity was fantastic and we managed to raise just over £1000.”