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NAT Launches Fundraising Appeal

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Charity sets target of £25,000

NAT (National AIDS Trust), the UK’s leading charity dedicated to transforming society’s response to HIV, has launched a fundraising appeal to raise awareness of its work for the gay community and to secure support needed for the future. 
 
Over the next 12 months NAT has set a target of raising £25,000 from regular monthly donations. Last year NAT received just £2,500 from individual regular donations. 
 
Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT, says;
 
“It is a very difficult economic climate and I appreciate everyone is feeling the pinch; but with more gay men than ever before living with HIV and high-rates of new infections it is even more important that an independent charity is working to keep HIV on the agenda in the UK. 
 
Many other charities in the sector have broadened their remit to include the whole of sexual health and now NAT is one of the few UK national charities focused solely on HIV.
 
Often NAT works behind the scenes lobbying MPs and fighting to ensure the rights of gay men with HIV are on the agenda and campaigns to prevent HIV and promote testing are not sidelined.  We need to get better at telling people about our vital work so that we can ensure it continues.
 
We will be out on the streets at London Pride and I encourage people to come and speak to us about our work and to visit our website. You’d be amazed at how much we are doing!”
 

In the past year NAT’s achievements include:

  • Surveying over 1,800 gay men with HIV about their experiences at work and using the results to educate employers about HIV and the rights of people with HIV at work
  • Securing changes to the Equality Act so that it is unlawful for employers to ask gay men about their HIV status before a job interview offer and to protect gay men from HIV discrimination by association
  • Working with the police to produce guidance so that investigations for alleged HIV transmission are reduced and people with HIV are treated sensitively and fairly
  • Securing full legal protection for hate crimes motivated by HIV
  • Getting the government to include information about same-sex relationships and HIV in new guidance on sex and relationship education
  • Securing a review of the blood donor ban for gay men

Over the next 12 months NAT will be campaigning to keep local funding for social care services for people with HIV, reviewing the changes to the benefit system for people with HIV and continuing work to reduce late diagnosis of HIV and ensure young gay men get the information and education they need.  
 
To reach their target NAT needs just 200 people to sign-up to donate £10 a month. 
To find out how to set up a monthly donation to NAT and other ways of how you can support NAT visit www.nat.org.uk
 


Notes to the editor:

For further information please contact:
Katherine Sladden
Communications Manager
NAT
020 7814 6733
press@nat.org.uk
 
NAT

NAT (National AIDS Trust) is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to transforming society’s response to HIV. We provide fresh thinking, expert advice and practical resources. We campaign for change.
Shaping attitudes. Challenging injustice. Changing lives.
www.nat.org.uk