Volunteering - a positive experience

posted: 29/07/2010

George House Trust’s annual volunteer survey has shown an increase in volunteer satisfaction with 95% feeling they get support “whenever they need it” (up 4%) 93% happy with the recognition they receive in their volunteering (up 6%) and 95% feeling well informed about volunteer activities.

“All I can say is that it is a great voluntary organisation to work for” (survey respondent)

Volunteers also gave positive feedback about the training they receive with 100% saying that volunteer training courses are of good quality (up 10%) 93% feeling that the induction training prepared them for their role (up 8%).

The benefits of volunteering are wide ranging: 80% say their confidence in their abilities has increased, 67% say they have developed vocational/job related skills and 97.5% have increased their understanding of different cultures and communities.
Of those volunteers living with HIV, 73% feel more confident disclosing their HIV status as a result of volunteering at George House Trust.

“Thanks to volunteering at GHT, it has given me more confidence to face the world as a person living with HIV” (survey respondent)

Volunteers support George House Trust in a wide range of roles and gave over 9600 hours in the year 2009-2010. To find out more about volunteering read the volunteering section of our website or come along to our next information session for new volunteers on Monday 20th September, 11am-1pm at George House Trust.
 

1 in 7 London gay scene men are HIV+

posted: 22/07/2010

HIV is far more common on the gay scene in major cities than most men realise. A new anonymous survey in bars and clubs in London shows 1 in 7 men on the scene there have HIV. Many on the gay scene across the country don’t even know they have HIV.

A few years ago the same survey showed Manchester, London, and Brighton all with 1 in 10 men on the scene having HIV. If it is 1 in 7 in London now, Manchester is unlikely to be far behind.

Using a simple anonymous HIV saliva test of 1,251 men in gay bars, clubs and saunas, 15.2% were found to have HIV. This is much higher than the Health Protection Agency estimate for gay men in London in general. Men using the scene are more likely to have HIV than gay men who aren’t regularly out on the scene.

1 in 7 Bus

There’s now a campaign running in London using the iconic red London Routemaster bus, with ‘1 in 7’ as the destination on the front. It’s to be seen in adverts in London gay magazines, on Gaydar, and as posters in London bars, saunas, and sexual health clinics.
 

Alan Wardle, Head of Health Promotion at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “Men who have seen the campaign in focus groups have been genuinely shocked by the ‘1 in 7’ figure. Yet the reality is that, after Brighton, London has the highest HIV prevalence of any city in the UK.

"Many gay men wrongly believe that you can tell someone’s HIV status by what they look like, how they act, or who they’re friends with. But you can’t tell whether someone has HIV by looking at them, and with a quarter of gay men who have HIV currently undiagnosed, he may not even know himself.
 

"The assumption that HIV is visible is almost certainly affecting whether men use condoms or not. 47% of gay men surveyed reported having unprotected anal sex with at least one partner, and a quarter reported doing this with more than one casual partner. With this in mind, it’s vital this campaign reminds men that the best way to protect themselves and others is to use condoms.”
 

Source

Gay Men’s Sexual Health Survey 2009 in 36 gay venues. University College London / Health Protection Agency. Between December 2008 and February 2009, HIV prevalence of 15.2% was recorded among 1,251 men taking OraSure oral swab HIV tests in 36 London gay bars, clubs, and saunas.
 

25th Party raises £1,800!

posted: 21/07/2010

A huge thank you to all our supporters who joined us for a fantastic party to celebrate our 25th anniversary on Saturday 17th July at the Midland Hotel. 

Through some generous raffle ticket buying and some unique auction prizes we were able to raise a fantastic £1,800 on the night.  

The entertainment was provided in style by a wide variety of entertainers: Jean Forrester, Kate McCabe, James Kelly and Side by Side.  All of our wonderful entertainers provided their time for free to support the event, so a huge thank you to them.  

Compere Jonathan

The evening was also compered by the fabulous Jonathan Mayor who did a fantastic job to steer us through the evenings proceeds, looking very dashing in his kilt.

We were also honoured by the presence of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Manchester, and also 2 of the founding members of George House Trust who both gave wonderful and inspiring speeches reflecting on the early days of the organisation.

Thanks to Prize Donators

Thank you to also to all the organisations who donated raffle prizes: 

Nicky Clarke Hairdressers, Slaters Clothing, Conley Beauty West Didsbury, Virgin Active Didsbury, Jurys Inn, Croma, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Namco Station Bowling, Lancashire County Cricket Club, AMC Cinema, The Atrium Apartment Hotel, Lush, Ramada Hotel, The Midland Hotel, The Cheese Hamlet Didsbury, Ben Cohen, Ibis Hotel, Bannatynes Gym, Gurkha Grill West Didsbury, The Body Shop

And also thank you to the people and organisations who donated our unique auction prizes which raised a total of over £500 altogether:

Julie Hesmondhalgh and Antony Cotton, Emmerdale, Dennis Wood, David Shenton

Happy 25th George House Trust!

Communications Manager Job

posted: 15/07/2010

NAT (National AIDS Trust) is recruiting a creative communications professional. The job deals with all NAT's external communications - raising awareness and understanding of HIV in the UK, improving the quality of media reporting of HIV and strengthening NAT’s profile.
Experience and skills

They want someone with

• at least three years' communications experience
• a sound knowledge of news, current affairs and specialist media
• good media contacts and
• a track record of gaining media coverage.

They are looking for

• excellent communication skills
• experience of developing and implementing communications strategies
• the ability to grasp complex subjects and translate them into clear media messages
• confidence in developing web-content and working with social media.
   

The person will be a team player with a flexible approach, good interpersonal skills, the ability to juggle a varied and demanding workload and to manage and motivate staff and volunteers.
 

Salary range: £28,771 - £34,150 based in central London, near Old Street tube
Closing date is 28 July 2010 at midday
Interviews on Thursday, 5 August 2010
 

Job Pack

• Download the application pack from NAT’s website 
• by e-mail request quoting the job title, together with your name and address 
• by phone 020 7814 6767.
   

Velvet - Glee Tops £719!

posted: 14/07/2010

Don't Stop Believing! at Velvet bar, Manchester last night raised a wonderful £719.33 at a packed and highly enjoyable evening. This benefit was arranged by Velvet hotel and bar on Canal Street and featured special guests Scooch who did glee! Scooch sang their classic hits and tunes from glee plus glee bingo and glee quiz games, all made for a great night.

All the proceeds from this event, including donations at the door (entry was free) were for George House Trust in our 25th anniversary year. The £719.33 raised included a good number of £20 notes.

Thank you all

George House Trust is very grateful to all those who came, enjoyed themselves and showed their appreciation and support for George House Trust so generously. 
 

Velvet 2 Canal Street Manchester M1 3EH
 

Scooch on MySpace