Special Olympics GB: our charity partner

Since 2018, Special Olympics Great Britain has been our main charity partner. Special Olympics GB provides opportunities for year-round, all-ability sports programmes for more than 10,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities – to help transform lives through sport.

Since the beginning of our partnership, Fuller’s support has allowed Special Olympics GB to deliver its work to more than 6,500 athletes at 95 all-ability, inclusive sports clubs – covering 27 sports across England, Scotland and Wales. This provides nearly 13,000 regular, hour-long sporting sessions per year, all delivered by a team of more than 3,800 volunteers.

What is an intellectual disability?

Intellectual disability (ID) is a disability characterised by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem solving) and in adaptive behaviour – which covers a range of everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 18.

There are 1.5 million children and adults with an intellectual disability in Great Britain. It is the most common disability in the UK. It’s caused by the way the brain develops and examples include Down’s Syndrome and types of autism.

People with an ID are often socially excluded and many are bullied. They have a shockingly lower life expectancy and 78% do not take part in any sport.

How does Fuller’s support Special Olympics GB?

We raise money on a corporate level in a number of ways including:

• 50p from every children’s meal purchased is donated. Apart from in those 34 sites where the kids’ meal donation goes to Dreams Come True 
• Our annual charity fundraiser. In 2023, we held our second Bridge Walk – 98 Fuller’s and Special Olympics GB colleagues walked 21 miles, from The Swan in Staines to One Over the Ait in Brentford – raising £20,000.
• Annual charity football tournament. In 2025, 30 teams from across Fuller’s and our partners played in a six-a-side football tournament. We raised £15,000 on the day.
• 90% of our Pennies donations go to Special Olympics
• We support all our pubs and team members across the Company to raise money in their own way.

We are committed to creating sustainable jobs for those with intellectual disabilities (ID) – tackling the 94% unemployment rate among the 1.5 million people with an ID in the UK

In 2024, we launched a guide to recruiting team members who are neurodiverse IDs. The guide was produced with help and support from LVS Hassocks – a specialist school for children with autism owned by the Licensed Trade Charity – and Special Olympics GB.

While a handful of our pubs – in particular The Cabbage Patch in Twickenham – are already active in this space, we identified an opportunity to build on this work. Team members with an ID may need shorter shifts and clear, often visual, instruction. They may also have a range of sensory needs, such as quiet spaces for respite, or the avoidance of loud, busy sessions. Against the backdrop of these minor adjustments, the benefits of a more diverse team are huge – building camaraderie and pride while helping to enrich the life of the new team member and their family.