The 2005 Third Sector Excellence Award for PR Strategy has been awarded to The Salvation Army and The Methodist Church. Third Sector is the weekly magazine for the charity sector and this was the inaugural event for the awards.

|TOP|The award, presented at a dinner for 500 charity and fundraising representatives in London, was given for the major changes that were made in the Gambling Bill due to the joint campaign run by The Salvation Army and The Methodist Church.

As a result of the campaign, the number of Super-casinos has been reduced from an unlimited number down to one, and fruit machines have been removed from 6,000 premises visited frequently by children. The campaign involved a range of public affairs techniques, PR tactics and grass-roots mobilisation.

Major Bill Cochrane from The Salvation Army commented: “This great award recognises the hard work put in by the whole team who work on press and public affairs and our close working relationship with our Methodist colleagues.”

He continued: ”The achievements of the campaign were huge and it is very rewarding to see this recognised by our peers in the voluntary sector as well as knowing that The Salvation Army and the Methodist Church have succeeded in working to help protect children and vulnerable people. |QUOTE|

"However we are still concerned that the building of a Super-casino is likely to lead to an increase in problem gambling and a range of social problems so there is still work to be done at local level and that’s where Christians can play their part."

Rachel Lampard from The Methodist Church says: “We didn’t launch this campaign for our own benefit. We did it because we had serious concerns about parts of the Gambling Bill, and justified fears that it would lead to an increase in problem gambling. But we made our points, the Government listened and we now have a Gambling Act that is better for people than it otherwise would have been.”