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Ten charities from across the UK have won a GSK IMPACT Award, which recognises excellence in health and wellbeing, and received £30,000 in unrestricted funding.

The flagship GSK community investment programme has been running for 18 years, during which time it has awarded more than £5 million in unrestricted funding to charities across the UK.  This year’s winning organisations were selected from more than 350 charities who applied for the GSK IMPACT Awards, which are run in partnership with The King’s Fund.

Winning charities are also given access to a free training and development programme and are invited to join the GSK IMPACT Awards Network. This Network offers previous winners the opportunity to develop their staff and provides a forum to share and learn from each other’s experiences and expertise. This year’s winners will join more than 60 previous winning organisations from across the UK, who have committed to ongoing professional development, collaboration and delivering outstanding services to patients and communities.

An overall winner, who will receive an additional £10,000 in funding, will be announced at an award ceremony recognising all winners to be held at the Science Museum in London on Thursday 14 May 2015.

The ten winners are:

• Alzheimer’s Support – a charity  improving diagnosis and support for people with dementia in Wiltshire
• CoolTan Arts – based in Southwark, helps improve the lives of people in mental distress through creativity, self-advocacy and volunteer opportunities
• Cut Films Project/Deborah Hutton Campaign  – based in Islington, helps prevent smoking among young people through peer-to-peer education and campaigns
• Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust – based in Islington, is the only UK charity supporting women affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities  and focuses activity on raising the profile and understanding of the disease and ways to prevent it 
• National Council for Palliative Care – a members’ organisation campaigning to help everyone approaching the end of life have the right to the highest quality care and support  
• Neuromuscular Centre – a Cheshire-based charity that provides physiotherapy, training and employment opportunities for those with degenerative neuromuscular conditions, as well as assistance for their carers  
• Off the Record – a Bristol-based charity helping young people to improve their mental health and wellbeing 
• RESTORE – an Oxford-based charity supporting people with mental health problems to gain or maintain employment 
• The Junction – this is the second award for this Leith-based charity, which helps children and young people make positive choices that promote their health and wellbeing and reduce harmful behaviour
• Wave Trauma Centre – a Belfast-based charity offering care and support to anyone bereaved, injured or traumatised through the violence in Northern Ireland.

The winners were selected by a judging panel of health and charity experts including broadcast journalist Fiona Phillips; Gilly Green, Head of UK Grants at Comic Relief; Sir Christopher Gent, Chair of GSK; and Sir Chris Kelly, Chair of The King’s Fund.

Katie Pinnock, Director, UK & Ireland Charitable Partnerships at GSK, said: ‘These awards recognise charities that make an incredible difference to many people’s lives right across the country. The programme has grown immensely since we started in 1997, and we are extremely proud of the way it has brought people together, enabling them to share knowledge and learn from each other. Each year we are impressed, inspired and moved, not only by the innovation and talent in the work our winning charities undertake, but by the commitment and dedication of everyone involved.’

Lisa Weaks, Third Sector Programme Manager at The King’s Fund, said: ‘Charities provide important services and support in our health and social care system. These winners show just how much can be achieved with relatively limited funds, through the passion and dedication of the organisations and their volunteers. Their work spans the whole of our lives – they can help prevent young people from making detrimental decisions like taking up smoking, or provide support for people at the end of their lives so they can make the right decisions for them and their family. Their energy and commitment is inspirational.’