Our Good Deeds

We have donated lots of gift vouchers as raffle prizes to various charities and individuals raising money for worthy causes. Since 2022, we have given out over £4500 worth of gift vouchers.

The charities and communities who have benefited include: local schools, nurseries, colleges, theatre groups, choirs, hospitals, nursing homes, rotaries, and sports clubs.

Some of the specific charities include: Falmouth Skate Park, Falmouth Spring Flower Show, Cornwall Music Service Trust, Falmouth Marine Band, Falmouth Primary Academy, Pink Wig events, Flushing Regatta, Penhaligon’s Friends, and Falmouth Working Boat Association. Additionally, national appeals include Sepsis Trust, Cornwall Children’s Hospice, Cornwall Hospice, Alzheimer’s Society, MacMillan Cancer Support, Ronald McDonald House Charities, The Lily Foundation, and Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

In addition we sponsor lots of local events. These include: Falmouth Gig Club, Falmouth Rugby Club, Penryn Rugby Club, Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival, Falmouth Week, Falmouth Town Council’s Charity Ball, and Truro Food Festival.

The Greenbank Community fund is one of our newest ventures, where members of our hotel team form part of a grant panel, who will regularly vote for the individual charities, communities, and projects we donate to. We’re excited to be deciding exactly where our money is being spent, and seeing the positive impact on these charities, both big and small. So you can expect even more fundraising activities in the future!

Our most recent donation of £500 went towards a trip to Birmingham for Falmouth Primary School’s Key Stage 2 choir. The group of 55 children have the exciting opportunity to perform as part of the National Music for Youth Festival, and we agreed that this was too wonderful an opportunity for them to miss. 

As proud supporters of the Cornwall Community Foundation, taking care of our community lies at the very heart of our ethos. This organisation works with thousands of local community groups and charities in Cornwall. Ranging from mental health support centres and food banks to children’s youth clubs, environmental causes and elderly social events, we believe that supporting CCF is a great way for us to raise money for a whole host of worthy causes.

In 2023, The Greenbank, and our sister hotel The Alverton, joined forces and raised over £8000 for two local charities under the Cornwall Community Foundation – Penn An Dre Resident’s Association in Truro, and Pendennis Leisure Centre CIO. One of the many examples of very localised, worthy causes and community projects.

Each year, we nominate a ‘Charity of the Year’, and pledge a goal amount to fundraise for this cause. In 2019, our chosen charity was Cornwall Air Ambulance’s New Heli Appeal. We pledged to raise £10,000, and far exceeded this goal with a whopping grand total of £34,000, from team sky-dives and a coastal walking challenge, to pub quizzes, charity auctions, and generous guest donations.

Six members of our team were brave enough to skydive for this amazing cause, raising around £4,000. Although, a decline in weather meant that only Managing Director, Ben Young, and Duty Manager, Jane Williams, were able to complete the jump.

Along with our sister hotel, The Alverton, we came together to walk 16 miles from Truro to Falmouth, making our way as a team along the South West Coast Path. Sponsored by Fal River Cornwall and Trelissick Gardens, the event managed to raise an incredible £3000 for Cornwall Air Ambulance’s New Heli Appeal. Setting off from The Alverton at 9.30am, this determined bunch were in Trelissick Gardens by midday, through Flushing and looping around Penryn. Finally we crossed the finish line at The Working Boat at 5pm, just in time for some well deserved pizzas and drinks.

We have partnered with Room to Reward, a unique charity that recognises the good deeds, extraordinary individuals and inspirational volunteers who deserve a treat. We donate our unsold hotel rooms to the charity, who choose from a list of nominated ‘Hidden Heroes’ to enjoy a relaxing stay with us.

To kick off Falmouth Week every year, we host a ‘pre-party’ for both participants and their family and friends to come together and celebrate before taking part in the always fabulous Pink Wig festivities. Each year we donate a portion of sales from our special Pink Wig cocktail menu, created exclusively for the event.

Now in its twelfth year, the Pink Wig night is not only an incredible way to raise awareness around breast cancer, but has allowed for thousands of pounds to go towards vital equipment as well as research into earlier diagnosis and better treatments for breast cancer.

In partnership with Man Down, a remarkable organisation dedicated to supporting mental health initiatives, we are proud to host the annual Dragon Boat Race event on 27th July for its third year. For every delicious morsel and refreshing drink purchased throughout the day, 10% of the proceeds will be graciously donated to the charity.

Join us for a heartwarming day of charity-driven excitement at our free Dragon Boat racing event! Gather with friends and family for a thrilling day on the water as teams compete passionately for the winning title.

In 2023, we were delighted to welcome the impressive Tall Ships for the first time in nine years back to Falmouth waters. As part of our sponsorship, we offered up some of our rooms to the weary sailors, and hosted a Captains Dinner in celebration.

In January 2023, we pledged our support to Cornwall’s beautiful landscape, age-old traditions and cherished communities by partnering with the Cornwall Heritage Trust. Through grant schemes, education projects and the managing of thirteen historic sites across Cornwall, the trust has been working to preserve and strengthen Cornwall’s rich and distinct heritage. With a lengthy history attached to The Greenbank and our sister hotel, The Alverton, we feel this partnership with both hotels makes perfect sense.

The Greenbank have been sponsoring the Falmouth Parish Church’s summer concerts for over 10 years, raising nearly £4,000 towards the Cornwall Music Trust. With an aim to bring vocal and instrumental tuition to children and young people around the county, this also helps with providing music tuition for children who’s parents may not be able to afford private tuition.

We have been a business member and supporter of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust for over ten years, and have previously hosted various events for the trust at The Greenbank.

Although we purchase most of our products from local companies, if we need to shop on Amazon, we have chosen the children’s charity Barnado’s to receive our charitable spend percentage.

Falmouth’s calendar is always brimming with interesting things to do that bring together communities and like-minded people to celebrate. From Falmouth Oyster Festival, Falmouth Week, to Falmouth Classics Regatta, Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival, and the Town Council’s Charity Ball – we’re extremely involved in what’s happening on our doorstep. 

The Greenbank sponsors Falmouth Gig Club, Falmouth Rugby Club and Penryn Rugby Club. We are also involved with Friends of Greenbank Gardens. One of our team members is on the committee, who meet monthly. As well as pledging our support to Cornwall’s landscape, traditions and communities by joining with Cornwall Heritage Trust corporate sponsorship programme.

We started the quizzes in May 2018 and raised £3800 in total. The charities we supported were: Cornwall Hospice Care, ShelterBox, When You Wish Upon A Star, Man Down, Ronald McDonald House Bristol, The Snowdrop Suite, and Crisis. Each team member chose a charity, as a cause close to their hearts. Find out more about our first year of pub quizzes here.

After a successful first year, we kick-started in January 2019 with a fresh batch of charities to raise money for. We supported: Falmouth Community Football Club, MQ Mental Health, Parkinson’s UK, Fishermen’s Mission, British Heart Foundation, Surfers Against Sewage, ShelterBox, Hospitality Action, The Lily Foundation, Cornwall Air Ambulance, Penryn and Falmouth Foodbank, Movember, and Crisis, raising over £4300 in total.

Nominate for 2024

We’re excited to carry on this venture next year to continue our support for even more fantastic causes. And if you’d like to put forward any charities for 2024, please contact our team via hannah.martin@theworkingboat.co.uk.

A key way we can exercise a lower carbon footprint is by looking at the transport we have available for our guests, who are often travelling from different parts of the country.

We encourage a greener way of getting around, by offering financial incentive schemes for guests who choose to arrive by public transport, actively promoting the Fal Mussel Card, and using our harbourside location to persuade visitors to arrive by boat or water taxi.

Our hotel is not just a place to stay, it’s an integral part of the community it serves. One of the most attractive features to our beautiful maritime town that draws thousands of visitors every year, are the coastlines. We undoubtedly have a duty to protect our beaches, and this is why we host a bi-yearly beach clean for Surfers Against Sewage, supported by Sharp’s Brewery.

We encourage our Greenbank and Working Boat team members to volunteer, along with members of the community, who are treated to refreshments on the house for their hard work. Our teams also get involved with Falmouth’s annual Spring Clean in March.

It’s no secret we love to host a get-together, especially in our Cornish pub, The Working Boat. During all of our events, we implement a reusable glass scheme, to eradicate any single-use plastic. This means we can wash and re-use again and again, offering the perfect eco-friendly solution that also avoids smashed glasses, keeping everyone safe and happy during a busy event!

At both the hotel and pub, we also offer free tap water refills to members of the public who want to re-use their water bottle.

It’s not only what we do, but how and where we spend our money, that speaks louder than words. Running a hotel requires a lot of purchasing from external suppliers. We have been putting our money where our mouth is, and have been praised for our responsible purchasing over the years. We’re proud to source our food and drink from local suppliers wherever possible, to showcase the wonderful produce Cornwall has to offer, as well as cutting down on our carbon footprint.

Our team are dedicated to recycling, and we ensure all of our staff receive training in this area to avoid any unnecessary waste. We use waste compactors to reduce our bin collections by half, and we’ve installed energy saving water pumps.

When it comes to coffee, our guests can enjoy a guilt-free cuppa, as we use biodegradable coffee capsules supplied by the Eden Project, as well as working with Cornico Coffee in their coffee recycling scheme.

Our marketing materials are all created from recycled paper, and plastic is avoided at all costs, as we opt for wooden signage and natural varnishes instead. The housekeeping team also use plant-based cleaning products throughout the hotel.

The Cornwall Good Seafood Guide is a local sustainability programme which supports Cornish fisheries, healthy seas, and sustainable species. We use this guide when purchasing seafood for our restaurant, to ensure we aren’t having a detrimental effect on the fishing industry or the marine environment.

Our hotel is a proud member of Plastic Free Falmouth, and we’ve been implementing our own in-house schemes to reduce single-use plastic in our hotel. We have abolished plastic straws, swapping them for biodegradable options in our bar, pub, and restaurant. We’ve also introduced branded refillable glass water bottles in all of the rooms in our hotel.

The Greenbank team are excited and proud to be pioneering a plastic-free future for the hospitality industry in Cornwall.