G-A-Y and Heaven’s Jeremy Joseph wants to ‘change lives’ with new foundation
"I want it to change mine & others for the better."
Words: Alastair James; pictures: G-A-Y
The owner of G-A-Y, Jeremy Joseph, says he wants to “change lives” with a new charitable foundation named after the iconic gay bar.
After revealing in June that he was considering selling the London bars Jeremy posted on Instagram on Tuesday (26 July) to reveal what decision he had made about the bars, and Heaven’s, future.
In a lengthy statement, Joseph said he had, for a time, felt like “I had no purpose” and had been in a rut.
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“Owning an LGBT business is more than a business. It’s part of a community, it’s a legacy for generations to come, a responsibility to make sure we don’t lose any more LGBT venues and to create longevity for safe havens.
Referring to the “several options’ he alluded to in June prior to taking a break from the club Jeremy continues, “I knew I wanted to create a legacy, something that makes G-A-Y unique. I also wanted to feel I had a purpose again, not just opening the doors but more than that.”
Wanting to “actually achieve something and change lives,” he reveals he has set up the G-A-Y Foundation, “to support people so they can live their true lives, including those within the trans community; to be able to fund IVF treatment for people in need, to be able to do things that will change lives & do more to help with Mental Health especially men with eating disorders as someone who lives with one, I’ve realised the impact is more than just about your body but the effects on your day to day life.”
He shares that he is consulting with the Charity Commission, which allocates charitable status in the UK, about gifting 24 percent of the G-A-Y group to the foundation, so it can benefit directly from the nightclubs.
This percentage, Joseph says, will also allow him to remain in control of the business, and “should anything happen to me then 100 percent of G-A-Y Group will be owned by The G-A-Y Foundation,” which Jeremy says will create “a long-term legacy for the future of clubbing”.
Nothing that things are still in motion and there are no guarantees Jeremy hints at a plan B and says that in the meantime he’s hoping to raise £110,000 to benefit eleven charities: The Albert Kennedy Trust, Mind LGBTQ, Naz Project, Amnesty International, Kaleidoscope Trust, Mermaids, ILGA, UK Black Pride, LGBT Foundation, Peter Tatchell Foundation & the British Heart Foundation.
Each will get £10,000 and all are “linked to something very exciting, that will be revealed very soon.”
Closing his statement thanking those who have supported him Jeremy says, “The pandemic has educated me & has changed people’s lives, I nearly let it destroy me, but now I want it to change mine & others for the better.”
The G-A-Y Foundation website details raising money on a “case-by-case basis” and lists a number of things the charity wants to help out with including the costs of purchasing PrEP, counselling, funding for trans people, and IVF treatment among others.
The Attitude July/August issue is out now.