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CHARITY HELPING MEN IN LONDON’S SEX INDUSTRY AWARDED CASH
Added: (Thu Feb 28 2002)
London, 28 February, 2002 - A charity dedicated to providing support to young men who are caught up in London’s sex industry, will be one of only ten UK charities to be awarded £25,000 at the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) International IMPACT Awards Ceremony held in London on 28 February 2002.
Earl’s Court based Streetwise Youth works with men aged between 18 and 30 years old who sell sex. Streetwise aims to show its clients how they can have a different life by building a positive trusting relationship with them. The organisation provides services including healthcare, food, laundry, counselling and re-housing. Seventy five per cent of the men who visit the organisation are homeless and many have mental health problems.
Streetwise was started in 1986 by a priest, Father Bill Kirk Patrick and an ex-sex worker. Originally operating from a flat in the Brompton Road the charity now boasts a team of seven full-time staff and three volunteers, and offers an invaluable service to London’s young male prostitutes.
Ciaran McKinney, Director of Streetwise Youth says: “It is great that we have been recognised for the strong support we offer which enables the young men to make alternative choices. The money from the award will allow us to continue our work to reach more men who can benefit from our service.”
The International IMPACT Awards, now in their fifth year, are run by GSK in partnership with the King’s Fund, a leading independent health charity. The awards reward small-to medium-sized registered charities with a proven track record in community health care. Nine other UK charities receive £25,000 while ten highly commended projects receive £1000. The scheme is running concurrently with a sister initiative in Philadelphia, USA, which is the US headquarters of GlaxoSmithKline.
Claire Hitchcock, Director European and International Global Community Partnership for GlaxoSmithKline says: “We are delighted to support the outstanding work undertaken by these community based UK healthcare charities. The charities have demonstrated that despite the constraints of their size they can make a dramatic difference to those in need within their community.”
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Issued by Prowse & Co on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline
For more information please contact:
Vicki Fletcher / Deborah Fields, Prowse & Co , 01372 363386 or e-mail
vicki@prowse.co.uk or deborah@prowse.co.uk
Editor’s notes
The international IMPACT Awards play a significant part in GSK’s Global Community Programme which aims to support the company’s commitment to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.
The acronym IMPACT derives from the criteria that winners must have demonstrated: Innovation, Management, Partnership, Achievement, Community Focus and Targeting Need.
In the UK GSK has a continuing programme of charitable activities, which places special emphasis on scientific education and medical research. In addition, GSK seeks to fund initiatives for improving healthcare in the UK and supports a variety of projects in the visual and performing arts, as well as the environment.
As one of the world’s leading research based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, GSK is dedicated to delivering innovative medicines and products that help millions of people around the world live longer, healthier and happier lives.
For company information visit GlaxoSmithKline at www.gsk.com
News release is available online at http://www.prowse.co.uk/newsf.html