Inde endent Examlners Re rt to the Trustee5 of the Heather Club I report of the accounts of the Heather aub Re8i5tered (harlty 1015598 for the year ended 31° December 2025 as follows: •cthffj res nslbllltlÈs of trust•8s and èxaminer Exarnlne the accounts (under sertlon 145 ofthe 2011 Art) To followthe procedures lald (iown In the general dlrectlons glven ty the charlty commlssloners (under sectlon 145151 Ibl of the 2011 Act) and To State whether particular rnatters have come to rny attentbon Basls of Ind ndent examlners re My examlnatlon wa5 carrled out In accordance wlth the General 01CtIonS by the Charfty Commlssloners. An examlnatlon Indudes a revSe4V of the accountlng record5 kept by the charlty and comparlson of the accounts presented wtth those records. It also Indudes conslderation of any unusual Items or dl%losures In the accounts and seeklng explanatlons from you 05 trustee5 concernln8 any such rnatters. The procedures undertaken do not Provlde all the evldence that would be requlred In an audlt and consequently I do not e¥pre55 an audlt oplnlon on the vlew glven by the accounts. Ind nde mln In connectlon wlth my examlnatlon. no matter has come to rny attentkn: l. Whlch 8lves rne reasonable cause to belbeve that In any materlal respect the requlrements a. To keep accountin8 records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 act. and b. To prepare accounts whlch accords with the accounting records and compty wlth the accountln8 requlrements of the 2011 act have not been met or 2. To whlch In my oplnlon attentlon should be In ¢rder t¢ enable a proper understandlng of the accounts to be reached. Sandra Mellish FCCA SJ Me1115h Accountancy Servlces Ltd Imex centre18Iz5pal 575- 599 Maxted Road Hernel Hempstead HP2 7DX
The Heather Club talement Janua 2025 114COME 2025 EXPENDITURE Oonatlons & Grants Mernbers Sub5 HCF Grani Luton AITPOrt Grant Other Giant Oonatlon5 Tradln8 Income Other Incoffle 37,684.ClJ 20.23Q23 MeaLs Rent Refreshments 12,554.89 9,643.75 784.39 11.115. 7.604.14 Mlni Bus aub ActMd•s Dac(xum Dance aass Ou11nA(1yltle5 5.655.30 226.10 975.tsj 757.01 Bank Interest Investment Interest Glft ald Bank transfers Cash & cheques rec'd Glfts Other Expense5 Insurance l HR DBS Checks 1.321.70 335.50 178.C(J Staff Adrnln Adfflln Manager employmenl costs Drfver employment c*)sts AdrtIsIng Tralnln8 bank char8es Telephone other Expense5 ITIwebyie 573.60 595.20 28.578.77 3,373.81 Totil Incorn• 78345.17 10.77 312.60 77.07 2.957.40 250.80 Total Exp•n 67.613J6 Op•nlng Bank balanos •$ at 111125 Treasurers Alc Investment Alc 35.725.07 30.918.27 Plu5 total Income Le55 Expenses 78.245.17 67.613.86 ao4n8 balane4 7127465 Breakdown of dosinK balan¢es •$ * 3VIV25 Treasurers Alc Inve5tfflent Alc otal 52.239.97 25,034.68 77.274.65 Variance
Annual Report of the Heather Club
Introduction
volunteers (as well as members) it is perhaps inevitable that there will be a degree of churn as, individuals decide to step down from the Heather Club.
The biggest impact on the Heather Club was undoubtedly the resignation of our Manager, and recruiting a suitable replacement.
New Management
The Manager, Kim Adams, told us in July that she wished to step down to enjoy retirement with her husband. Kim had introduced a number of innovations and left the Heather Club in good shape and very kindly agreed to stay in post, until a new manager could be found, providing that this was by the end of the year as she has some travel plans.
One of our trustees, Yasmine Moller, indicated that she would like to apply for the post so in line with good practice, we asked her to step away from any conversation or discussion connected to the recruitment process and all minutes that she received were redacted. In order to comply with the regulations of the Charity Commission, we also had to gain their consent for Yasmine to submit her application.
Once we received consent from the Charity Commission, she was able to apply and be included on the short list of four people who had applied to be manager, and whose application qualified them for an interview. Every stage of the recruitment process strictly adhered to our equalities policy, and Yasmine was appointed entirely on merit.
We then had to write to the Charity Commission and explain our decision and to answer secondary questions posed by them as part of their process. These rules were closely followed to ensure that any appointee are not appointed because they are friends or relatives etc of any of the other trustees and that there is no bias towards a fellow trustee.
We received permission to appoint Yasmine Moller as our new manager. The whole process took from September to December to complete and this was only thanks to the Charity Commission fast tracking their decision.
Yasmine then had to resign as a Trustee. The handover was completed very smoothly, and Yasmine has also hit the ground running, bringing a new vision to the operation of the Heather Club.
Yasmine successfully completed her six-month probation period in June.
Resignation and Appointment of Trustees
Resignation of Trustees Norma Dean, after decades of service to the Heather Club had decided that she must step down as a trustee. Thankfully, she will remain as our President.
Kim Adams agreed to become a Trustee and brings useful insight to the Trustees as she has direct experience of managing the Club.
Colin Cartwright, who was the previous Chair of the Trustees has submitted his resignation and oRicially stood down at the AGM.
Recruiting new Trustees
Due to these resignations, we have two vacancies for the position of Trustee. We would hope to fill these with people who have skills currently missing from the team. Eg Social Media, Marketing and Communications and HR. Other skills will also be welcome.
Finances
Thanks to the eRective management of the Heather Club, we were able to announce that there would be no price increase for the current year.
Membership
Sadly, but perhaps inevitably, we did lose some valued members of the Heather Club, as they passed away, or moved into care homes. It is always a sad moment when the member is no longer able to attend, but we are always pleased to welcome new members.
Our current membership is very healthy, and this makes the Heather Club a lively place to be and I must pay tribute to all our volunteers who give so much of their time to the Heather Club.
We are now working at full capacity and so are adding new requests to a waiting list. Once we are able to recruit more volunteers, we will be able to reduce the waiting list. Unfortunately, demand will always outstrip supply.
Volunteers
Our volunteers are the life blood of the club and without them we simply could not operate. However, we are always in need of more volunteers, as some of our volunteers need to step down, after years of sterling work or their ability to carry out the more strenuous tasks diminishes.
Trustees
The Trustees too, deserve praise, with each trustee having responsibility for one aspect of the club or another.
Our new policy of assessing upcoming grants against our own criteria, rather than chasing all grants regardless, is now paying oR and one of the trustees is doing sterling work in assessing all grants that are directed to him.
Again, another trustee is responsible for ensuring that all our policies are relevant, up to date, and that a selection are reviewed as a standard agenda item at each meeting.
Unachieved ambitions.
It would be very easy, but somewhat erroneous, to present a very positive report extolling all the successes of the Heather Club, but that would not be the complete picture.
Our commitment to oRer some free places to people who are in no less need, but unable to aRord the fees, has rather run into the sand and we must renew eRorts to take this forward. We have had little take up of this scheme, but we feel that is a failure of our promotion rather than an issue with client base or what we are oRering.
Conclusion
Our priorities for the coming year are to recruit more volunteers for both the on-site volunteer and to the board of Trustees, and to oRer free places to 4 new people who meet our criteria.
[th] 2026