Gscene News Archive

As the reality of the Aids Memorial being unveiled in late autumn gets ever closer, the Aids Memorial Project has decided to work in partnership with Sussex Community Foundation, using the Aids Memorial as a focus to build a permanent fund to support the LGBT community in Brighton & Hove in the future.

Sussex Community Foundation is a charity that inspires local giving to meet local needs. It helps local people and organisations to support the causes they care about in Brighton & Hove.

At present it manages funds on behalf of American Express, Veolia, Hans and Marit Rausing, Comic Relief and others, helping them to reach the local community groups that they would not otherwise know about.

Set up in 2006 by the Duke of Richmond, the Foundation has already supported several LGBT services in the city, including Brighton Ourstory, the Gay Elderly Men’s Society (GEMS), The Sussex Beacon and the MindOut project. In total the Foundation has given out £1.3 million in grants to community groups across Sussex, including £416,000 to 153 groups in Brighton & Hove.

Once the Aids Memorial is complete, the Foundation will work with representatives from the LGBT community in the city to build a fund that will maintain the Aids Memorial and provide grants to address the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Brighton & Hove and to support the development of the LGBT community within the city.

A further £15,000 is needed to pay for the installation of the Aids Memorial in New Steine Gardens and to help establish an ongoing fund to maintain it and help develop other LGBT community organisations in the city.

If you would like to contribute, please send donations to LGBT Community Fund (Aids Memorial Project), Sussex Community Foundation, Suite B Falcon Wharf, Railway Lane, Lewes BN7 2AQ or donate online via www.sussexgiving.org.uk

The Sussex Community Foundation will be able to claim back Gift Aid for the project, so every pound you donate is in fact worth much more to the Aids Memorial Project if you are a UK taxpayer.

Kevin Richmond, chief executive of Sussex Community Foundation, said,
“The Foundation aims to inspire local giving to meet local needs. We are delighted to be helping the LGBT community to both commemorate those who have died as a result of HIV/Aids and also build a lasting fund to help the LGBT people in the city to support each other and build a strong, supportive community.”

Lib Dem Cllr Paul Elgood, whose idea the memorial originally was, said:
“We are very excited that the Aids Memorial is nearing completion, and that Romany Mark Bruce has proven to be an outstanding choice for the project. This mechanism will ensure that the final phase of fundraising will be completely open and transparent and ensure that other good causes benefit in the longer term through the Aids Memorial Project. We hope that the memorial will both capture the community’s imagination and create a lasting legacy for those lost to Aids.”

To donate please go to:
www.sussexgiving.org.uk/donate/brighton-AIDS-memorial-appeal.php