CSJ AWARDS 2007
The Centre for Social Justice Awards 2007 celebrated the achievement of 14 charities and one local authority in spectacular style at an event joined by top celebrities, senior politicians and community leaders.
The CSJ Awards were hosted by JPMorgan Asset Management in the impressive Great Hall on Victoria Embankment and drew sponsorship from the the Pears Foundation, the Telegraph Group, Sovereign Capital, Accenture, Lewis Communications, JPMorgan Asset Management and Westpac.
Award presenters include John Reid MP (Lab), Sir Menzies Campbell QC MP (Lib), David Willetts MP (Con). Celebrities included Dame Kelly Holmes, Simon Callow, June Sarpong, Jon Culshaw (who entertained the audience with impressions of Geroge Bush, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown), John Bird (The Big Issue), Richard Briers and Julian Fellows. Mark Nicholas, TV Cricket Commentator and Telegraph writer, provided entertaining commentary throughout the evening as compere.Each of the following organisations won a £5,000 Award for their effective work tackling poverty::
- Civitas for their supplementary schools in Tower Hamlets and Yorkshire
- Open Door North East , helping refugees and asylum-seekers on Tyneside
- One North East, rehabilitation project for alcoholics in north-east London
- OXPIP, parenting support and education in Oxford
- Save the Family, intensive residential support for struggling families in Cheshire are north Wales
- Bristol Fathers, Teenage Parents Project, a Bristol charity doing innovative work with young fathers
- Time for Families, relationship education for inmates and their partners in prisons throughout the country
- God’s Golden Acre, caring for AIDS orphans in Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa
Birmingham City Council received the Local Authority Award from David Willetts MP for their outstanding partnerships with local voluntary organisations. (A non-cash Award.)
The following groups were highly recommended:
- Eighteen and Under, a project helping child victims of sexual abuse in Dundee
- FRC Group, a social enterprise providing employment to long-term jobless in Liverpool
- Sunlight Development Trust, a hub of community activity in Gillingham, Kent
- XLP, working with gun and gang culture in Peckham, SE London
- Tree Aid, helping poor African families generate income through responsible use of forests
Iain Duncan Smith MP presented a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' to Bob Holman in recognition of the inspriring example he has provided in his life-long work on the Easterhouse Estate in Glasgow.
Picture: God's Golden Acre, a work rescuing AIDS/HIV orphans in South Africa and supporting indigenous Zulu culture, provided the audience with a thrilling performance from their current UK tour. More details of tour details available here.
