Coinslot: What role does the Bacta Charitable Trust play – is it exclusively about raising money or does it also help engage with external stakeholders including charity patrons, politicians and consumer media?
Steve Hawkins: The Bacta Charitable Trust (BCT) was established in 1991 under the leadership of Sonia Meaden OBE. I checked with Sonia in preparation for this interview and she confirmed that the twin objectives in order of priority were firstly to raise money for charitable organisations but also to engage with a broad range of audiences including policy makers and politicians.
The latter was very much a secondary objective but working in a sector in which it’s extremely difficult to get an audience with politicians, demonstrating the positive social impact of the broadly based amusements and low-stake gaming entertainment sectors was and remains important.
However, I’m very confident that if the secondary objective didn’t exist Bacta members the length and breadth of the country would still be raising millions of pounds for lots of different charities.
Coinslot What charities have been supported?
Steve Hawkins: Again I spoke with Sonia and she confirmed that the first charity to be adopted by the BCT was the Princes Trust (now the Kings Trust) which ticked a number of different boxes not least the fact that it believed every young person should have the chance to succeed no matter their background or the challenges they faced. It helped and continues to help young people from disadvantaged communities and those facing the greatest adversity by helping them to secure employment or launch a business.
The Trust also adopted Macmillan Cancer Support, British Institute for Brain Injured Children and the RNID. Bringing us right up to date we have been supporting children’s charity Rays of Sunshine since 2013 raising over £750,000 with Little Lifts our most recent partner, providing free, thoughtfully curated Little Lifts Gift Boxes to every breast cancer patient in the UK who is receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment or undergoing surgery.
Over the years there’s no doubt that Rays of Sunshine has made a major impression on Bacta members. I would challenge anyone who has seen a video of a seriously ill young child having a wish granted by Rays of Sunshine not to find themselves discreetly wiping away a tear.
Coinslot: Rays of Sunshine and Little Lifts are both smaller charities – is this BCT strategy and how do you select which charities to support?
Steve Hawkins: Every charity out there does a wonderful job in terms of providing help to those in society who are less fortunate and/or funding medical research and treatment.
Although we have helped generate funds for bigger organisations I think the direction of travel is identifying those charities which don’t have big overheads in the knowledge that whatever funds that we generate go direct to granting wishes or paying for more Little Lifts Gift Boxes. The BCT interviewed both charities before agreeing the partnerships mainly in order to identify if there was a chemistry and a shared philosophy.
Coinslot: How important is the Smile! initiative that will be launched at Park Avenue?
Steve Hawkins: I think it’s a great initiative and one which reflects what our industry is all about which is delivering fun and entertainment. The industry has a quite magnificent track-record of raising money for a raft of good causes and Smile! aims to draw on that deep well of energy and generosity. It will be launched at the Park Avenue Open Day on June 4thand Smile! week will run through to June 11th.
What I really like about Smile! is that it’s so participative and involves members of the industry, their suppliers and their customers. The vision for Smile! is to see businesses the length and breadth of the country undertaking creative and participative fundraising initiatives which capture the imagination. Putting the industry front and centre stage in such a light will reflect the huge amount of positive work undertaken by businesses in their communities.
The target is to raise £10,000 in year one with the proceeds shared equally between Rays of Sunshine and Little Lifts. I think it has every opportunity of becoming a regular event for the industry and one it can really get behind.
Coinslot: What are the main sources of income?
Steve Hawkins: We have a number of regular events and initiatives which generate income. The Bacta Summer Ball, which is taking place July 4th raises over £20,000 and The Bacta Golf tournament which has been running for 24-years, generates £10,000 a year and has raised more than £200,000 over that period. Thanks to the generosity of John Stergides who donates the hire cost of stalls at Park Avenue we receive circa £6,000/year.
Phil Setter and the team at Whitehouse Leisure donate and match income from the sale of plush to Rays of Sunshine. This year’s Capybara has really caught the imagination to the extent that we could be receiving anything up to £20,000. Tickets for Wishes which was the brainchild of former Bacta President James Miller, has been an inspirational initiative.
At EAG we are fortunate enough to receive regular donations with Novomatic UK, MERKUR UK and Whitehouse Leisure being especially generous. We are incredibly fortunate to have the support of so many organisations and individuals who give their full support to continuing the work of the BCT which started in 1991.
Coinslot: Looking ahead to the biggest UK exhibition for the out of home entertainment sector(s) how will the BCT be using EAG?
Steve Hawkins: It’s the biggest show of its kind in the UK and a fantastic opportunity for me to meet with our community of supporters, thank them personally for their contributions and explain our plans for the year ahead.
For EAG 2026 we’ve allocated stand space for Little Lifts to provide them with a platform to engage with visitors and exhibitors. It’s also an opportunity to promote our relationship with brands such as Novomatic UK, Whitehouse and MERKUR UK.
Coinslot: What does the Bacta Charitable Trust calendar look like over the remainder of the year and into 2026?
Steve Hawkins: We’ve just finished the 24th Bacta Golf Tournament which is quickly followed by Park Avenue and the launch of Smile!. A month later we will be at our flagship event – the Bacta Summer Ball which is taking place at Coombe Abbey in Coventry.
In October its ACOS followed by January’s EAG Expo – the biggest out of home b2b entertainment event in the country. It’s a busy time powered by an industry-wide commitment to generate precious funds for two superb and deserving charities.
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