GHT Homepage Press Releases Cancellation of Mardi Gras 2002

Cancellation of Mardi Gras 2002
18th Aug 2002

Mardi Gras has been cancelled - Operation Fundraiser must continue

George House Trust - together with our partners in "Operation Fundraiser" - the joint fundraising intitiative for August Bank Holiday weekend 2002 are outraged that Mardi Gras 2002 has had to have been cancelled.

We fully support the Village Business Association in its decision to cancell the event - and deplore the reasons behind that cancellation around public safety and the inability of the authorities to find a solution to this issue.

We support the call for a demonstration on Satuday 24 August 2002 and George House Trust will participate fully in that demonstration. We will continue to raise the profile of people with HIV and the issues affecting people with HIV over the weekend.

Nevertheless, the fundraising aspect of the weekend must, and will, continue. And we thank the lesbian and gay community for their continuing support to HIV and lesbian and gay charities.

"Operation Fundraiser" is the joint fundraising effort of George House Trust, the Lesbian and Gay Foundation and Body Positive North West to raise funds over the bank holiday weekend. It is the first time that the charities have been directly invovled in the fundraising over the weekend, and the first time that the communities HIV and LGBT charities have worked together in this way. Cutting out any uneccessary extra structures has meant that for the first time 100% of what is donated over the weekend will go to charities with noting deducted for administrative expenses or the cost of the event.

Despite the cancellation of Mardi Gras "Operation Fundraiser" will go ahead. The charities rely on this income to fund our vital work.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many individuals who will donate money over the weekend, the Village Business Association and the venues of the Village for all their hard work and for collecting charity funds on our behalf. Operation Fundraiser is very grateful for their continued support.

Every penny raised this year will go directly to the charities – the Lesbian and Gay Foundation, Body Positive North West, the George House Trust, as well as a whole host of smaller charities, through Community Development Fund Grants. Please give generously.

Together with the other charities we will also make every effort to ensure that an HIV vigil takes place on Monday night at 9.30pm. More details will follow.

The Village Business Association has rightly given the £30,000 donated by us the community to stage Mardi Gras stright to Operation Fundraiser. As an expression of our commitment to the principle of a Lesbian and Gay festival we have set this money aside to ensure that we start building today for a succesful event for next year. We hope that in 2003 we have a succesful festival that not only raises money for our charities, but is also a celebration of the region's lesbian and gay community.

ends


Notes

All the money raised by Operation Fundraiser over the bank holiday weekend will go to support HIV and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender charities:

25% to the Lesbian and Gay Foundation to support its work with lesbians and bisexual women

25% to George House Trust, to support people living with HIV through its Welfare Fund.

25% to Body Positive North West to support much needed building development work

25% to the Community Development Fund, to enable small and unfunded community groups throughout Greater Manchester to make a difference to the lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Gender people locally.