Community healthcare charities receive £300,000 from GlaxoSmithKline in recognition of their work

Issued: Friday 8 May 2009, London, UK

Twenty local healthcare charities were formally acknowledged last night for their community-based work, as GlaxoSmithKline awards a total of £300,000 at the annual GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards, run in partnership with the independent health charity, The King’s Fund.

Particularly important in these uncertain and challenging economic times, the GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards rewards and recognises the work of small to medium-sized charities in improving the health of people in their local communities. Over the last 12 years GlaxoSmithKline has given awards to 245 community healthcare charities in the UK, with donations totalling almost £3 million.  All funding is unrestricted, allowing the recipient organisations to focus on the biggest need for them personally.

This year five runners-up have each been awarded £3,000, five highly commended each received £5,000, with the ten winning organisations being awarded £25,000. These awards culminated in a ceremony last night at the ScienceMuseum, London, where the ten winners were celebrated and one overall winner was announced.

Helping to present this year’s awards was Sir Christopher Gent, Non-Executive Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline: “GlaxoSmithKline has a long history of supporting charities working to increase the health within their communities; charities that often suffer from lack of resources, money and recognition.  Through the GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards we aim not only to provide much-needed funding, awareness building and recognition, but also to support them in their future growth, meeting their training and development needs through the GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards Development Network.”

This year’s overall winner, Streetwise, a charity that supports young people of all backgrounds in Newcastle and the wider Tyneside area, covering sexual and mental health, drug and alcohol issues, received an extra £10,000, giving them a total of £35,000. 

Commenting on their £35,000 award, Heidi Douglas, Project Manager at Streetwise said:  “We are elated to been chosen as the overall winner of the 2009 GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards.  Being a small organisation in the northeast we sometimes feel overshadowed by national projects.  These awards are an incredible acknowledgment and validation of the pioneering work we undertake, and an opportunity for us to look back into our services and improve on what we do.”

Niall Dickson, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund, described the overall winner as an outstanding organisation that has a fun accessible style, yet works with serious issues, tackling them in an imaginative way.  He said: “Streetwise’s effectiveness stems from its open-minded approach and its understanding of teenagers and the issues that affect them. It provides practical and emotional support and has earned the trust of the young people who use its services. That trust means Streetwise can move from strength to strength, continuing to provide a much needed source of help and advice for young people in Newcastle and the wider Tyneside area.”

The ten winning charities work across a wide range of health-related issues, from national support for families coping with a rare condition to local projects dealing with a disorder or lack of a specialised regional service, all showing an impressive commitment to providing quality care in the communities they serve.  In addition to Streetwise, these were:

beat: A national charity based in Norwich, dedicated to individuals and their families affected by eating disorders.  It aims to improve the way services and treatment are provided, and offers a message of hope to those suffering from eating disorders, through support and information and working to challenge perceptions of the conditions.

The Clive Project: Improves the lives of people with young onset dementia and their families throughout Oxfordshire.  It aims to help people live life to the full by offering specialist services and continuity of care, from initial diagnosis to death and bereavement.

Derry Well Woman: Provides women in the northwest of Northern Ireland with a woman-centred health service to improve the health and wellbeing of women, families and consequently communities.  It also leads a cross-border network, empowering women to negotiate for better healthcare.

Infertility Network UK:  A national charity, based in Sussex.  It raises the profile of infertility issues nationally, enabling those affected to make informed decisions and supporting them throughout the infertility process.

The Junction – Young People, Health and Wellbeing: Offers open access and referred health programmes to 12-21 year olds in northeast Edinburgh, targeting the most disadvantaged and hard to reach. Its main interest areas are sexual health, substance misuse and counselling. 

Multiple Sclerosis Centre Mid Argyll:  Works to provide a positive environment where those affected by MS can access specialist support in an isolated rural area of Scotland.  The centre was built purely through local fundraising and is now also used by people with other disabilities as well as the community at large.

Paul Sartori Foundation: Operates through Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales, and believes in offering people a choice as to where they should die.  It provides a range of home care services and support for people at the end of their life and their families.

Straight Talking Peer Education:  A national charity that recruits and employs teenage parents to deliver an interactive peer education programme to 13-16 year-old students.  They present the realities of pregnancy and parenting to enable teenagers to make wise choices about their future.

Unique – Rare Chromosome Disorder Support Group: supports and informs families with rare chromosome disorders, both in the UK and internationally, and has built up a comprehensive database of the lifetime effects of these conditions.

END

Enquiries:

Emma-Fleur Hartley
PR for GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards
020 7486 6660
07920 475750
emma@gunpowdermedia.co.uk

Photographs are available on request.

Notes to editors

About the GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards

The name ‘IMPACT’ derives from the criteria that winners must have demonstrated in their application submissions: Innovation, Management, Partnership, Achievement, Community Focus and Targeting Need.

About the GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards Development Network

The Network, now in its second year, is funded by GSK and hosted by The King’s Fund. It provides a free tailored programme of support to the winning and highly commended charities, through training workshops and networking opportunities.

About GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies and is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. In 2008, GlaxoSmithKline’s community investment was £124 million (valued using average cost of goods) and targeted health and education programmes in almost 100 countries.  GlaxoSmithKline is one of the largest charitable givers in the FTSE 100.

For more information please visit: www.gsk.com/community

About The King’s Fund

The King’s Fund is a charity that seeks to understand how the health system in England can be improved. Using that insight, it helps to shape policy, transform services and bring about behaviour change. The King’s Fund’s work includes research, analysis, leadership development and service improvement. It also offers a wide range of resources to help everyone working in health to share knowledge, learning and ideas.

For more information please visit: www.kingsfund.org.uk/

Registered charity number 1126980