Manchester Pride 2011, a Message from GHT

posted: 23/08/2011

Is it really that time of year again? Manchester Pride is fast approaching and there's only a few days now until the Big Weekend.

For the last few months we have been preparing for what we hope will be another successful and memorable campaign. This year our campaign - to tie in with the ‘Best of British’ theme of Pride 2011 - is ‘I Heart GHT’.

We decided on our slogan earlier in the year and it may look familiar to you given the recent riots which unfolded recently in Manchester and across the country.

Shortly after these events the ‘I Heart Mcr’ campaign took off. We fully support this campaign and what it stands for and we're proud to be part of this fantastic city.

We hope that our 'I Heart GHT' campaign complements the other similar campaigns that are around at the moment. We want to make sure that everyone knows about our services and how proud we are of them!

We look forward to seeing you on the Parade, at our stall in the Expo or at the Candlelit Vigil in Sackville Gardens on Bank Holiday Monday.

Have a happy, peaceful and safe Manchester Pride 2011 - from all of us at GHT.

Pre-Pride Event @ Gay Men’s Space

posted: 08/08/2011

Monday 22nd August
5pm – 8pm

Let’s get this party started! It’s the run up to Manchester Pride so to mark the occasion we’ll be looking back at Prides gone by.

Do you have any memories or memorabilia you would like to share such as old photographs perhaps?

If so, bring them along to the pre-Pride event. We’ll also be having a quiz and a display of some of GHT’s archive of photographs and past campaigns.

The Gay Men’s Space is open to any gay or bisexual man living with HIV in the North West of England.

For further information contact;

Dunkan@ght.org.uk
0161 274 4499
 

YouTube About GHT for Pride

posted: 24/05/2011

Manchester Pride has launched a new video which showcases George House Trust’s work. George House Trust is one of Manchester Pride’s fundraising partners.

The video was shot by FruitTV, a global online platform for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

Pride supports HIV Welfare Fund
In 2010 £27,500 from Manchester Pride went to support George House Trust’s Welfare Fund to help people living with HIV through financial hardship.
 

Rosie Robinson, chief executive of George House Trust, commented: “George House Trust has a long-standing relationship with Manchester Pride. It's really great that money raised from people partying at Pride goes to support people living with HIV, experiencing hardship. I think that's a wonderful connection to make.”
 

To view the George House Trust showcase video visit YouTube

August Bank Holiday Pride Tickets on sale – cheaper before 30 June
 

Tickets for Manchester Pride’s Big Weekend (Friday 26 – Monday 29 August 2011) are now on sale and can be purchased at ManchesterPride or at various venues around the city.
 

Early Bird tickets cost £15 plus booking fee and are available until 30 June.

From 1 July tickets will cost £20 plus booking fee.

For up-to- date information, follow the Pride festival on Twitter: @ManchesterPride
 

Manchester Pride Raises £115,000

posted: 26/10/2010

Manchester Pride 2010 raised £115,000 for charity, bringing the total since 2003 to £895,000. This year’s total is rather less than the most Pride ever raised, which was last year: £135,000.
The £115,000 will be used to support the Lesbian and Gay Foundation’s ‘Free Condom and Lube’ scheme, the George House Trust HIV Welfare Fund, and in grants over the coming months to various lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups and projects across Greater Manchester.

HIV Welfare Fund 

The £115,000 will be split like this:
25% to the LGF Condom & Lube Scheme (£28,750), providing free condoms across Greater Manchester
25% to the George House Trust Welfare Fund (£28,750), supporting those living with or affected by HIV suffering financial hardship - apply here
50% to these three funds (£57,500 in total)

• Community Fast Track Fund
• Community Events Fund
• Development Fund

Jackie Crozier, festival director of Manchester Pride, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and we’re absolutely delighted with the figure. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that everyone who supported Manchester Pride 2010 has made a positive contribution to the future of the LGBT community in Greater Manchester.”

“Manchester Pride is a team effort and it wouldn’t be possible for us to stage the event we do without the help and support of so many organisations and individuals from across the city. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to each and every person who helped us along the way.”
 

Applying for Community and Development Fund grants

For more information on how to apply for any of the community grants available, visit Pride

Image George House Trust volunteers collecting in St Anns Square: Graeme Vaughan www.photogas.com graeme@photogas.com

Celebrating Our 25th with Pride

posted: 06/10/2010

George House Trust made a big impact at this years Pride event in central Manchester. 25 years ago six volunteers set up the organisation that became George House Trust. We've been at the heart of 25 years of campaigning and support for thousands of people with HIV across North West England ever since.
 

25th actions
The LGBT pride festival over the late August bank holiday weekend gave us a chance to promote our services to thousands of people in Manchester city centre. We chose silver on red for our 25th anniversary colours in the parade, had some human birthday cakes, gave out hundreds of 25th stickers, wore amazing retro George House Trust 25 T-shirts, shook a lot of cans, ran a popular stall in the Expo, photographed suggestions for T-shirt campaign slogans, and organised the vigil in Sackville Gardens.
 

Thanks
We are, as ever, immensely grateful to everyone who supported us at Pride in a hundred different ways, including all who volunteered and gave money. The warmth in the faces of so many people in the crowds lining the city centre streets, clapping and cheering us around the parade route for our 25 years of collective community efforts brought tears to our eyes. Thank You.
 

We are still waiting for the official announcement of the amount raised by Manchester Pride that is to be distributed to HIV and LGBT projects.
 

Appreciations
We would like to thank Beverley Knight for closing the vigil, Antony Crank for being our compere and Jonathan Mayor for his rallying call to action.
 

Vigil poem
Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy wrote and read this moving poem for the vigil. She’s gifted the rights to George House Trust and we are happy for others to use this poem non commercially. 

VIGIL

When you lived,
no-one could hold a candle to you.
Tonight, small flames of memory
which scald the hands with wax tears
yearn to be tongues
uttering your name in light.

You burned bright,
illuminated right –
the vigilance of science,
the grace of tolerance;
this silence now
a deep, warm gathering of breath
to blow out guttering words:
stigma, ignorance, fear.
Let them know death.

One lit taper touches another,
contagious with fire,
and darkness glitters; brief flowers
each with its own smoke ghost -
they could be dancing, that close;
the living holding candles
for the lost.

CAROL ANN DUFFY August 2010
© george house trust Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence