The 2014 Charity Times Awards were hosted last night and we’re extremely proud of our partners Meningitis Now, who won Campaigning Team of the Year.
Meningitis Now is a national charity that was formed in 2013 – from Meningitis UK and the Meningitis Trust – to help save lives and rebuild futures by funding research, raising awareness and providing support for people affected by meningitis.
In 2014, their Beat It Now campaign succeeded in getting the new meningitis B vaccine introduced. The campaign has been one of the charity’s proudest achievements to date and will make a difference to many thousands of families.
Just:: has been working with Meningitis Now as part of our pro bono initiative A Just:: Cause for four years. We’ve helped to train them up in campaigning and public affairs, offering strategic advice and practical support.
When we started working with Sue Davie and her team, they had never campaigned on any issue so it is wonderful to see them win this national award just a short time later.
Our Head of Public Affairs, Jon Spiers, was lucky enough to accompany Sue as her guest to the awards ceremony, and we’ve no doubt his pride almost equaled her own.
So what now? Although the Department of Health has agreed to introduce the meningitis B vaccine, the negotiations between Government and the manufacturer are still going on, so we continue to support Meningitis Now as they work towards the ultimate objective of seeing the vaccine available on the NHS.
You can read more here about our work on the Beat It Now campaign.