The Blue Ball Inn Worrall: Sheffield pub's 'local hero' hailed by Dan Walker for charity work

Emma Shepherd, licence owner of the Blue Ball Inn, in Worrall, has been praised after raising nearly £12,000 in 2023 alone.

The money was obtained through auctions, fundraisers, food collections and quizzes for a selection of local charities.

Emma, 53, has been called a ‘local hero’ for her efforts over the past two years as she allows the community to lead events at her pub without changing a penny.

Emma said: “Pubs are really important to communities all year round; they are the heart of village communities and places that are run by locals for the locals.”

The pub had a busy Christmas period. On December 23, it completed a ‘Turkey Run’ with a local community group called HOWWL which involved delivering 70 shopping bags containing a turkey and vegetables for local families to use over the festive period.

A yearly auction also takes place at the pub where local charities donate items and this year it made £6,450 for The Sheffield 1000, which donates £1,000 a week to Sheffield charities or organizations that don’t have financial backing.

TV presenter and Sheffield’s own Dan Walker, who is a patron of the charity, visited the Blue Ball in May to celebrate the pub’s partnership with the charity.

£600 of the money raised at the auction was also for a local boy called Ely Fearnley, 3, who had a rare form of brain cancer. The ‘ETMR’ tumour was a grade four and very aggressive, the pub is actively raising money for his family.

Over seven separate fundraisers at the pub, a total of £3,325 was raised for Ely at the Blue Ball Inn.

In the past year, the pub has also done lot of work with dementia charities due to 60% of its customers being 60 years and over. The pub’s staff are also trained to be dementia friendly and cultivate a safe space for people with the condition.

Charities such as ‘Musical Memories’ work alongside the pub, delivering social singing sessions with live music in order to boost levels of immunity, reduce stress, and improve mood and memory.

Emma said: “We come in contact with dementia a lot, we had a local that lost someone to dementia and we let her use the pub for a charity pub quiz for free. She raised £660 for a charity.”

The is owned by the company Admiral Taverns, which is delighted with Emma’s work.

Anthony Lowther-Knowles, the business development manager at Admiral Taverns, said: “Emma is a real asset to her community, constantly hosting events to raise vital funds for local charities, whilst bringing people together.”

Emma, who lives and works at the pub, refuses to take all the praise.

She said: “It is really lovely and I am very proud but it is a team effort and wouldn’t work without the amazing community who really engage with these projects.”

Since Covid, raising money for charities and as a pub has taken a toll on business.

With rising VAT for hospitalities and the cost-of-living crisis but Emma is trying to “evolve” her fundraising to keep people engaged.

Emma said: “We love what we do and that is really half the battle.”

The pub is looking to keep up the fantastic charity work throughout 2024.