Bounce City Cup - UK
The inaugural Bounce City Cup, already recognised as the City of London’s most coveted sporting event, was held in early October 2021 with over 200 bankers, fund managers, lawyers and accountants all battling it out for bragging rights, the trophy and a year’s free supply of Heineken. Our founding charity partner was The Charlie Waller Trust which supports young people in the UK suffering from depression. This was a cause very close to our hearts at State of Play given the mental health challenges that the whole hospitality industry faced during the pandemic with our businesses closed and our team members on furlough for long periods of time.
Bounce City Cup 2022 took on a World Cup theme. It was another epic night watching our supporters do battle with their paddles for a great cause – this time, The Izzie Wilson Trust. The Trust partners with The St George’s Hospital Charity to make children’s stay in hospital as happy as possible. The heady mix of fierce competition and ping pong thrills and spills raised thousands for this fantastic cause so our plans are already underway for the 2023 tournament.
UK Community
U3A is an organisation that seeks out places and spaces for people, not in full-time employment anymore, to keep their minds sharp, get out and about, learn new things, spark new interests, meet new people and keep physically active. They use our ping pong tables from time to time to do just this.
We have just begun our dialogue with this inspirational youth charity based in London but doing work reaching far beyond the capital. They use the medium of creative music and arts outreach workshops to empower young people, promote their wellbeing and provide opportunity. They do this work in hard-to-reach areas where young people are at high-risk of child exploitation, being a victim of crime or those who do not have access to opportunities. We are really looking forward to making plans to support their invaluable mission.
The Charlie Waller Trust has been supporting the mental health agenda since 1997 when it was founded by the family of Charlie Waller who took his own life whilst suffering from depression. The trust helps young people to understand their own mental health, to equip them to support themselves and those around them, and to empower them to talk more openly about the subject. We began our support for their work when they were the beneficiaries of our 2021 Bounce City Cup fundraising event. We hope to continue our partnership with them and the amazing work they do as it has such a positive impact on so many.
The Izzie Wilson Trust is supported by the St George’s Hospital Charity. Their simple ambition is to make children’s stay in hospital as happy an experience as possible by providing toys and games to take their mind off the challenge of an often long hospital stay. Izzy Wilson was a bright, sparkly 11 year-old who was diagnosed with Leukaemia in 2019. Complications caused her to suffer a stroke resulting in a nine week stay in St George’s Hospital. The experience had a profound impact on her, and she was keen to find a way to repay the kindness she had received from all the doctors and nurses who had helped her recover. She became focused on finding a way to make children’s stay more fun but sadly before she was able to bring her vision to life, she contracted a virus to which she lost her life. The Izzy Wilson Trust was founded in her honour. We supported the trust with the funds raised at the 2022 Bounce City Cup and hope to continue our partnership in any way we can.
US Community
Three Square is Southern Nevada’s only food bank and largest hunger relief organization, serving Clark, Lincoln, Esmeralda, and Nye counties. Since opening in 2007, Three Square has provided more than 528 million pounds of food to hundreds of thousands of people in need and earned a reputation as one of the most efficient and effective food banks in the country. The Flight Club Las Vegas team packed over 260 shelf stable meal bags for seniors and summer meals for disadvantaged kids who are food insecure and hungry in the community.
The Montrose Center empowers the Houston community—primarily lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals and their families—to live healthier, more fulfilling lives. A staple in Houston’s LGBTQ+ community, the Montrose Center has provided behavioural health, support services, and wellness programs since 1978, and its services are especially vital following the impact the covid pandemic has had on the country’s mental health.
For Pride Month, June 2022, Flight Club Houston partnered with the Montrose Center creating an exclusive Pride signature cocktail. All month long, guests could order the Pride Cocktail and 100% of the proceeds were both matched and then donated to the Montrose Center.
The Just One Project began serving groceries to food insecure communities in Southern Nevada. The Pop Up & Give Mobile Market was the first program to remove barriers and create access to fresh groceries. With thousands of Nevadans facing the reality of food insecurity, The Just One Project expanded its reach with the help of generous partners and hardworking volunteers. The Flight Club Las Vegas team supported by prepping and sorting food for distribution to approximately 200 vehicles/families.