You have until 31st August to Donate To Our akt Fundraiser! #WearTheCape

To celebrate Pride month, the team here at Embryo commissioned notable artist Tom Quaye (a.k.a Manchester Tom) to create an incredible piece of artwork that captured the essence of Pride, with the goal of raising money for the wonderful Manchester-based charity LGBTQ+ charity akt.

Once Manchester Tom had worked his magic, people were welcome to donate what they could to akt, in return, we would send them a digital download of the piece!

As Pride month comes to an end so too does our fundraiser and we’re delighted to say that, at time of writing, we managed to raise £685 them!

Speaking about the fundraiser, Ross Green, Managing Director of Embryo said: “It’s been fantastic to be able to set this fundraiser up to help people LGBTQ+ youth in Manchester.”

“We were delighted to get Manchester Tom on board to help us raise money and, on behalf of everyone at the company, we’d like to thank him for dedicating his time and skill to creating such a powerful piece of art.”

The Artwork

Set against the backdrop of Manchester’s main artery, Oxford Road, the image created by Manchester Tom showed a young person staring up at individual beams of light. Each beam of light represented a colour on the LGBTQ+ flag and the whole image was drenched in this purple hue which gave it a dreamlike quality.

A Bit More About akt

akt, an abbreviation for the Albert Kennedy Trust, is a Manchester charity that was formed over 3o years ago by Cath Hall. Since its early days akt has been committed to helping people in Manchester who have found themselves homeless or fallen on hard times as a result of coming out as LGBTQ+ to their families. The charity provides housing and long-term care to help ensure that these vulnerable young people have a bright future ahead of them.

Deputy CEO Carrie Reiners said about the donations: “We’re so grateful to everybody that continues to support the work we do at akt.”

She added: “While many of the young people we support in Manchester have experienced discrimination for being LGBTQ+, the city as a whole is loving and welcoming of everybody and we love that Manchester Tom has captured that.

“We’re also so pleased he’s chosen to support akt with the image, and the proceeds from the image will help us to ensure that no one young person has to choose between a safe home and being who they are.”

You can donate directly to akt by following this link here.

How Young LGBTQ+ People Are Affected

• 24% of homeless young people identify as LGBTQ+
• 77% believe that coming out to their parents was the main factor in them becoming homeless
• akt has helped over 50,000 LGBTQ+ since 1989

Can I Still Donate?

Yes! Our campaign will end on 31st August so you still have some time to make a donation and receive your artwork!

Everyone at Embryo would like to thank Manchester Tom for creating an amazing piece of artwork and to akt, who do such vital selfless work to help the young people of Manchester.

And finally, if you, or someone you know, is at risk of becoming homeless because they are LGBTQ+ do not hesitate to get in touch with akt.