Roll out the banners

Pubs have less than eight weeks to prepare their festivities for 23 April - and there are plenty of ways to pull in punters

fundraising to help our national team

With England's national day less than eight weeks away, pubs need to start planning now to make the most of 23 April. Backed once again by Wells & Young's Bombardier, along with the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), this year's MA campaign to make St George's Day a national day to remember is back - and bigger than ever.

In the weeks leading up to 23 April, we will be offering a series of pointers to help you maximise what you can do on the day. But it's not just about the day itself - this year's focus is on how pubs can help build stronger links with their locals through ongoing charity work.

As part of this initiative, the BBPA wants licensees to use St George's Day to hold fundraising events to help the national paralympic team, Para-lympicsGB, raise the £1.4m necessary to

attend the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing. There are lots of fun

ways that you can use St George's Day to raise money for ParalympicsGB.

The road to Beijing

If you wish, all money raised by your pub can form part of the British Paralympic Association's (BPA) Road to Beijing Appeal. The total money you raise appears on a virtual map on the BPA's website. When you upload photos, or even videos, of your fundraising efforts onto the map, you and your customers can enjoy your five minutes of fame.

Take a look at www.paralympics.org.uk/roadtobeijing for more information.

One athletes's story of triumph

Multi-talented amputee athlete Jody Cundy took up swimming when he was five years old. He made an instant impact on the Paralympic scene, winning gold

at his first Paralympic Games in 1996, when he was

just 18.

Twelve years on and with three Paralympic Games under his belt for swimming, Jody announced he was switching from the pool to the velodrome to try his hand at cycling - having already won gold and set a world record in the team sprint at the 2006 Paralympic World Cup.

Months later, he travelled to his first world championships as a cyclist and was an instant success again, winning gold and setting a world record.

He says: "I got into disability sport when I was 10. I was competing in able-bodied swimming when a parent of a disabled swimmer told us about the Paralympics and how to get involved. I found a focus for my training - and since then I've been to three Paralympic Games and multiple European and world championships."

Bombardier gets ready with largest-ever push

Wells Bombardier is gearing up for its biggest-ever St George's Day with a record 4,500 kits being sent out to pubs. And with each kit worth more than £500, Wells Bombardier is establishing itself as the official beer of St George's Day.

Each kit contains an assortment of premium merchandise, including a book of two-for-one tickets to English Heritage sites, high-quality hats and traditional flags and bunting.

Wells & Young's marketing director Chris Lewis says: "The two-for-one tickets act as an incentive for customers to make repeat purchases of Bombardier - and with almost 5,000 kits going out in the on-trade, there is no doubt that Wells Bombardier will own St George's Day. We have made sure that the kits are extremely high-quality and will add value to a pub's offering by helping its customers celebrate St George's Day."

What I'll be drinking to toast St George

Rory McGrath, comedian

"One of my favourite British beers is Batemans XXXB. Like me, it's strong, it's bitter and has quite a bit of body and a fluffy head. Most of all, it's made by a small, independent, friendly, family brewery - and they need our support against the huge, faceless corporates. Oh, and I like beers with XXXB in their names; I think that's my shirt size."

How pubs are getting behind our campaign

Diane Ward is quite literally pushing the boat out this St George's Day. At Charles Wells' pub the New Inn, in New Bradwell, Milton Keynes, she will be extending the St George's Day party onto a canal boat at the end of her pub garden. And although Ward is Scottish, England's national day is set to be a bit of a bonanza for her this year.

She says: "We're holding a three-day beer festival, so I'll have plenty of Wells Bombardier available and also get in some local ales. There will be about 10 different ales for people to try, and we'll have Morris dancers and traditional English folk music over the weekend. We're also raising money for a charity called the Disability Friendship Group, so we'll have stalls with traditional English games to raise money."

Ward is also providing a variety of English food. "There will be a hog roast, a barbecue and a traditional carvery on the Sunday."

Decorating her pub in Wells Bombardier flags and bunting, Ward is looking forward to the family fun day. "We held a very similar event last August Bank Holiday - it was really successful and jam-packed all day. Holding a family event really can increase sales. It's so important to make use of these special days, especially considering the challenging summer pubs faced last year."