Ian McKellen to support gay teen runaways at Village Drinks charity event

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

Sir Ian McKellen is to share an exclusive evening with members of Village Drinks, the UK’s leading community group for gay professionals, organisers have confirmed.

The event is to be hosted at the Century Members’ Club on Sunday 14th December and is being organised as a charitable venture in aide of the gay homeless charity, the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT).

It will follow the group’s annual Christmas Party being held at the Café de Paris on December 8th.

Sir Ian, who is best known for his starring roles in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, will be taking questions, mixing with the crowd and bringing along some very special guests of this own to meet members of the influential and popular network.

He will also give a talk about his life and career.

“I am delighted to be lending my support to this special festive evening organised by Village Drinks, whose wide network of influential members can only help to spread the word about AKT and the work it does,” Sir Ian said.

“Raising money and highlighting the issues faced by these young homeless people is a constant challenge.”

Neil Spring, the founder of Village Drinks, said: “We want to use our network to promote the best causes that we possibly can.

“The Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT) is a cause to which everyone at Village Drinks feels very close, indeed. Its tireless work to help homeless young people never ceases to amaze us.”

Village Drinks now has a membership base of 10,000 people, with events running in London, Bristol and Brighton.

All ticket monies for this event will be donated to the AKT.

Tickets are available now at:
https://www.villagedrinks.co.uk/

The Albert Kennedy Trust was set up in 1989, after 16 year old Albert Kennedy fell to his death from the top of a car park in Manchester whilst trying to escape a car load of queerbashers.

Albert was a runaway from a children’s home in Salford and was depressed. His short tragic life had been filled with rejection and abuse from society.

Manchester’s gay community was moved into action by the Trust’s founder patron Cath Hall, a heterosexual foster carer who admitted she could not meet the full range of needs of gay & lesbian kids coming through her care.

As a result AKT was formed, and in 1990 became a Trust.

AKT’s Mission is to ensure that all lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people are able to live in accepting, supportive and caring homes, by providing a range of services to meet the individual needs of those who would otherwise be homeless or living in a hostile environment.

The Trust provides appropriate homes through supported lodgings, fostering and other specialist housing schemes and enables young people to manage independent living successfully.