The HIV charity Lunch Positive was formed as a small community group in 2009 following the closure of the 25 years established Open Door HIV project. Volunteers from Open Door founded Lunch Positive to continue providing community based support, valuing and being led by people with HIV, widely reaching and involving people in meaningful ways. Lunch Positive became a registered charity in 2010, and true to its founding values has gone on to involve and support hundreds of people every year.
Over the last year Lunch Positive has provided the weekly HIV lunch club, regular over 50s supper groups, food and friendship groups outside Brighton & Hove, and has worked in a range of local partnerships to provide advice, information and additional support to people with HIV. During the current Covid-19 situation, the charity has paused its usual social gatherings and is providing a highly effective emergency response to people with HIV needing food and social support.
Every week, over 250 meals are prepared and delivered to the community. A team of volunteers are making regular ‘friendship calls’ to check-in and keep people socially connected. To achieve all this, the volunteer team, now numbering over 50 people, gave over 6,500 hours of time during 2019. The team was proud to be awarded the Golden Handbags Community Award for Volunteering, reflecting commendations from people that the charity had reached.
Gary Pargeter, service manager, said: “Lunch Positive is a truly community based organisation. Volunteering is absolutely central to everything we do, and our team of volunteers is diverse, enthusiastic, and totally dedicated. Our members and volunteers are amazing! Over the last year we’ve been talking as a group of members and volunteers, reflecting on what makes Lunch Positive a success, and what people value most about using the HIV lunch club and other services. Always, the answer is peer-support, people, friendship and community.
All credit to our members, volunteers, friends and supporters. Without you, we wouldn’t celebrating our 11th birthday this year! Thank you, we look forward to serving the HIV community for the future!”
