2024-03-31-accounts

VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

2023-24

Empowering our community to realise its full potential

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

CHARITY NUMBER 1076392

COMPANY NUMBER 03725459

REGISTERED OFFICE

1, Thorpe Close, London W10 5XL

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Anne-Hélène Biosse-Duplan Chair Joseph Carim Jennifer Clarke resigned 23/9/24 Maria-Iuliana Dinu Bashir Hassan Muskaan Khurana Vice-Chair Marley Obi Michael Pearson resigned 3/5/24 Rossana Rocchini Treasurer Tina Learmonth appointed 18/11/24 Linda Thomas appointed 23/9/24 Aria Wong * appointed 18/11/24

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Michael Ashe Company Secretary

BANKERS

CAF Bank Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA

SOLICITORS

Russell-Cooke Solicitors 2 Putney Hill, London SW15 6AB

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Shruti Soni Limited 117a St John’s Hill, Sevenoaks, TN13 3PE

LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 | VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION	1
CONTENTS	2
CHAIR’S FOREWORD	3
REPORT OF TRUSTEES	5
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT	5
OUR YEAR AT A GLANCE	7
OUR OBJECTS, VISION & MISSION	8
OUR VALUES	9
OUR ACTIVITIES & MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS	10
CORE SERVICES	11
COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS	14
SPECIALIST SERVICES	18
WELLBEING	18
INSIDE OUT	23
EMPLOYMENT	26
INFRASTRUCTURE	28
FINANCIAL REVIEW	29
RISK MANAGEMENT	29
STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE	31
RESERVES POLICY	32
INVESTMENT POLICY	32
FUTURE PLANS	32
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY & GOING CONCERN	34
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE’S RESPONSIBILITIES	35
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES 36
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	37

CHAIR’S FOREWORD

The Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea is the oldest volunteer centre in the UK. It has been the central hub for volunteering in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) for 55 years, recruiting, placing and celebrating volunteers. Operating from offices in Ladbroke Grove and a number of outreach venues across the borough, this year we supported 1,035 people on their volunteering journey, successfully registered 532 of them for at least one role, and engaged with more than 80 local organisations. Together with these organisations, we shaped and co-designed high-quality roles for volunteers, enabling a diverse range of people to enrich their lives while helping those around them.

Through our specialist programmes, our team serves some of the most marginalised residents in the borough, enabling them to overcome the specific barriers they face by using volunteering as a route to employment, improved health and wellbeing, and increased independence. The support that we provide to our volunteers and clients can be life changing – resulting in development of valuable new skills and experience, greater focus and self-confidence, and stronger connections with the rest of the community.

Despite facing a challenging environment this year, the Volunteer Centre, along with many of its peers, remained steadfast in our mission and priorities. By staying focused on the community we serve, we successfully navigated these challenges and made noteworthy progress.

After bidding farewell to two Wellbeing colleagues as they accepted promotions elsewhere, we battled a testing recruitment market. Despite this, we successfully hired talented new staff for those roles and our Employment and Market Ambassadors programmes. Staffing challenges resulted in unspent income, increasing our restricted reserves. We also welcomed a new Communications Officer, our first Community Champions Apprentice, and our first Head of Specialist Services, as we restructured and integrated our casework programmes to increase effectiveness.

Despite the cost pressures faced by all organisations reliant on fixed public sector grants and contracts during high inflation, we remained committed to investing in our people and their wellbeing. This included not only training but also maintaining regular reflective practice sessions for staff supporting clients dealing with mental ill-health and thoughts of self-harm.

We invested in seeking structural solutions and having a larger impact on these issues beyond our doors, too. We continued to chair the borough’s Cost of Living group, working with voluntary and statutory partners to address the poverty and inequality that are often at the root of poor health, and present major barriers to volunteering and participation in the civic life. We helped establish the new multi-sector Transformation Board, collaborating to improve the operating environment for community organisations in K&C and to improve outcomes for local people. And we developed a strategic Safeguarding group with RBKC, the Young K&C Foundation, Kensington & Chelsea Social Council, and our opposite

CHAIR’S FOREWORD | ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 | VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

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numbers in Westminster in order to ensure a more consistent and effective Safeguarding practice across community and statutory organisations in the two boroughs.

This progress took a huge amount of effort, not just from our professional team, but from the volunteers that work alongside them. Our dedicated Champions, Ambassadors, Volunteering Advisers, and Befrienders directly deliver services, while our excellent administrative colleagues track our achievements . Additionally, my amazing trustee colleagues oversee everything, setting the strategic direction and keeping us on course. When we talk about making progress in challenging times, those challenges are ultimately faced by our clients and our colleagues, and our achievements rest on their shoulders.

Our ability to achieve also rests on the shoulders of our funders. We are proud to have secured another three years of core funding from RBKC via their Voluntary Sector Support Fund, and proud that our local authority is one of few left in the UK that empowers its community organisations in this way. Alongside this, they directly support our Market Ambassadors and our work with disabled adults and with residents of the estates around Grenfell Tower. We are extremely grateful to the Campden Charities, who granted us exceptional support this year. For the first time, we were fortunate enough to be supported by the Hollick Family Charitable Trust, for our work with people with criminal records. We also owe our ability to empower this client group towards independence to the outstanding support of the Henry Smith Charity. For our Wellbeing work in North Kensington, we are deeply grateful to the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust, North West London NHS, and our friends at the Kensington & Chelsea Social Council.

Thank you to all our donors and partners, our team, and most of all our clients, for making this year successful and stimulating in an ever-demanding environment.

Anne-Helene Biosse-Duplan

Anne-Hélène Biosse-Duplan Chair of the Board of Trustees

CHAIR’S FOREWORD | ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 | VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

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REPORT OF TRUSTEES

The trustees present their annual report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024. The trustees confirm that the financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the recommendations in ‘Accounting & Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice’ (issued in October 2019).

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

The Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea (abbreviated ‘VCKC’ and known as the ‘Volunteer Centre’) was founded in 1969 and incorporated under a memorandum of association on the 5th of July 1999 and amended by special resolution on 14 November 2014. It is governed under its articles of association.

ROLE

The trustees, for purposes of the Companies Act, are also the Directors of the charity. During the year the trustees have had no beneficial interests in, or contracts with, the VCKC.

TRUSTEE APPOINTMENT, INDUCTION AND TRAINING

The Board of Trustees makes appointments to the Board at its discretion. The Board endeavours to ensure that its membership contains people with a broad mix of skills and experiences and that the backgrounds of the members reflect a balance that is appropriate to the charity’s mission and activities. Trustees receive induction and training, and both formal and informal opportunities for learning during their term.

In addition to the opportunities for skills and knowledge development provided by scheduled meetings of the Board and its committees, specific training sessions are arranged as required.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

The organisation is overseen by a voluntary Board of Trustees who are responsible for strategic planning and reviewing policy and are accountable for the Volunteer Centre’s resources. The Board has three committees: Finance; Policy, Procedure and Personnel; and Resourcing. Each committee has specific terms of reference and can co-opt non-trustee members possessing relevant skills and experiences. The respective Chairs are appointed by the Board. Day-to-day running of the Charity is delegated to the Chief Executive who operates within defined terms of reference and authority, leading a team of paid staff and volunteers.

PAY AND REMUNERATION OF STAFF

VCKC’s pay policy aims to offer fair pay to attract and retain appropriately qualified staff to lead, manage, support and deliver its aims. VCKC’s trustees are responsible for setting remuneration levels for its senior staff - the Chief Executive Officer and Operations Manager. In order to inform the setting of appropriate pay for these staff, VCKC considers

REPORT OF TRUSTEES | ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 | VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

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insights from its HR advisers, local and regional peers, and regional and national infrastructure bodies. Staff salaries are increased annually, as far as possible in line with inflation. They are formally revised where it is appropriate to reflect changes in professional responsibilities.

INVOLVEMENT OF VOLUNTEERS

Despite the challenges volunteering has faced across the UK, we have continued to receive exceptional support from our core volunteers. With the successful recruitment of our new Market Ambassador Officer, Sristi Kumar, we relaunched our Volunteer Market Ambassadors Programme. Our friendly volunteers can now be seen meeting, greeting, and assisting visitors every Saturday at the vibrant Portobello Road and Golborne Road markets.

This year, we also played a key role in organising volunteers for major local events, including the Great Exhibition Road Festival and Age UK’s 10th edition Valentine’s Gala. Our dedication to offering flexible, low-commitment volunteering opportunities remains strong, ensuring ongoing community engagement through diverse roles that make a meaningful impact.

RELATED PARTIES

VCKC does not have branches or subsidiaries.

REPORT OF TRUSTEES | ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 | VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

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OUR YEAR AT A GLANCE

532 VOLUNTEERS REGISTERED IN AT LEAST ONE ROLE IN KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

247 PEOPLE AIMING TO IMPROVE THEIR MENTAL HEALTH GOT THE SUPPORT THEY NEEDED TO VOLUNTEER

80 ACTIVE LOCAL VOLUNTEERING ROLES EACH MONTH

WE MADE IT EASIER FOR VOLUNTEERS TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES AND FOR ORGANISATIONS TO MANAGE THEIR ROLES BY LAUNCHING OUR NEW VOLUNTEERING PLATFORM!

40 REGULAR CLIENTS AT OUR NEW EMPLOYMENT HUB

72 WELLBEING SESSIONS DELIVERED (WORKSHOPS, ACTIVITIES, TRIPS) ASIDE FROM REGULAR 1:1 SUPPORT

1562 RESIDENTS REACHED BY OUR COMMUNITY MATERNITY CHAMPIONS

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OUR OBJECTS

To promote any charitable objective for the benefit of the communities and inhabitants of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and other parts of London in general (hereinafter called the “area of benefit”) by associating volunteers and organisations in a common effort to advance education, protect health, relieve poverty sickness and distress, and in furtherance of these objects but not otherwise through a) advise and support persons willing to volunteer promoting volunteering b) giving advice and support to organisations in the involvement of volunteers in furthering the organisations charitable purposes

To promote the impact and value that volunteering and community involvement can have on responding to and supporting the needs of local communities and social exclusion, and to undertake and arrange voluntary work in education, social services and similar charitable activities among those in need thereof.

OUR VISION

OUR MISSION

Kensington & Chelsea is a place in which everyone is able to volunteer, contributing to the community and their own wellbeing.

We empower people and communities to develop themselves through rewarding volunteering, promoting positive change in Kensington & Chelsea.

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OUR VALUES

V ALUING PEOPLE

We treat everyone with care, integrity and respect - empowering them to realise their potential and make a positive difference in the community.

C OLLABORATION

We use our local understanding to help organisations and groups adopt good practices and champion accessible and rewarding volunteering.

K NOWLEDGE

We connect and empower communities to come together using local resources to meet local needs.

C ATALYST

We are a catalyst for local impact, with volunteers, partners and the community, taking opportunities, acting decisively to tackle the causes of shared problems.

OUR LOCATION

Since our foundation in 1969, we have been based in North Kensington. Our office is located right by Portobello Road, giving us great access to the borough we serve.

Address:

1 Thorpe Cl, London W10 5XL

OUR VALUES AND LOCATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 | VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

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OUR ACTIVITIES

The Volunteer Centre is both an infrastructure organisation working with other public benefit organisations and a direct delivery organisation supporting individuals directly on a one-to-one basis through its own programmes. Our main activities and programmes are:

CORE SERVICES COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS SPECIALIST SERVICES

HOW WE MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS

Measures of success differ across our programmes, each tailored to the programme’s design. This design incorporates input from clients, staff, trustees, partners, and best practices, while also considering the requirements specified by the programme's funders and negotiated during the application process.

VCKC is working towards establishing a set of outcomes, underpinned by its Theory of Change framework, that will be common across all its programmes. The key benefit of this approach is to enable trustees and staff to assess more effectively the changes and impact made by VCKC as a whole. We are close to completing the implementation of our new Client Relationship Management (CRM) platform, provided by Plinth, which will make it much easier to analyse our impact and report on it internally and externally.

Our primary measures are set in terms of outcomes - did clients achieve the positive change anticipated when they joined the programme - with targets for the number of clients achieving the outcomes over a particular reporting period. Secondary measures are set in terms of outputs - did clients get to a milestone that we consider necessary to achieve a desirable outcome. For example, an output measure common to all our programmes is that a client is placed as a volunteer with an organisation of their choosing. Tertiary measures are sometimes used at the specific request of a funder; for example, the number of clients recruited to a particular programme, or from a particular catchment.

----- Start of picture text -----
PRIMARY MEASURE: SECONDARY MEASURE: TERTIARY MEASURE:
OUTCOME OUTPUT SPECIFIC REQUEST
NO. OF CLIENTS
POSITIVE CHANGE CLIENT COMPLETING
RECRUITED TO A PARTICULAR
EXPERIENCED BY CLIENTS NECCESSARY PROCESS
PROGRAMME
NO. OF CLIENTS
E.G. IMPROVED SKILLS, OR E.G. CLIENT RECRUITED FROM A
BETTER RELATIONSHIPS VOLUNTEERING PLACEMENT PARTICULAR CATCHMENT
----- End of picture text -----

OUR ACTIVITIES | ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 | VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

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CORE SERVICES

Our Core Services, funded by RBKC, are designed to connect volunteers with meaningful opportunities across our community. Led this year by our Operations Manager, Liz Woodman, and our Volunteering Officer, Angela Weir, we support the needs of people eager to volunteer and local organisations seeking to enhance their volunteering programmes. Our aim is to foster community engagement, provide opportunities for personal growth, and address social isolation, enhancing the wellbeing of both volunteers and those they support.

This year we managed over 80 active roles each month on average and introduced 86 new opportunities across 40 organisations. We successfully registered 532 volunteers for at least 1 role, including 143 concerned about their mental health and 104 feeling isolated or lonely. Through these efforts, we not only support local charities but also provide valuable opportunities for personal development whilst strengthening community bonds among our volunteers.

KEY VOLUNTEERING EVENTS IN 2023-24

We worked closely with the Kensington & Chelsea Over-50s Forum and RBKC to deliver a successful Coronation Big Lunch event (7 May) at Kensington Town Hall. We recruited 73 volunteers to support the planning, preparation, and delivery of the event, 65 joining us on the day. We designed the job descriptions, inducted and managed the volunteers (including an additional 23 recruited by our partners) for the set-up and on the day itself, led by Moska Saidy, who we recruited as the Project Coordinator with funding from RBKC.

During Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June) we were invited to attend two events at the Town Hall to encourage RBKC staff to volunteer. Angela, alongside two of our fantastic Core volunteers, Ralph and Monica, attended. Feedback from RBKC was really positive and we engaged 25 budding volunteers. This was also a great opportunity to demonstrate our impact to our core funders!

At the Great Exhibition Road Festival (17 & 18 June), we were proud to work with Imperial College to manage the recruitment and deployment of volunteers. Etty Dunn-Howe, our Wellbeing Programme Officer, was Volunteer Coordinator for this event. Etty said “I feel incredibly privileged to have worked on this inspiring event. As volunteer coordinator I was in charge of a fantastic team of volunteers who supported partners from the Science Museum

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and Imperial College London to engage with the vast array of exciting talks, workshops and performances that brought together the incredible institutions on Exhibition Road.”.

Over the festival weekend, we deployed 22 volunteers. The volunteers worked in shifts on the information desks, and as roaming guides, greeting members of the public as they arrived, providing them with maps and helping to navigate and answer questions. Not only did visitors to the festival benefit from our volunteers but the volunteers benefited too and they really enjoyed themselves.

“I had an amazing experience volunteering at the Exhibition Road Festival…I hope I can volunteer with them again next year” - (Sunday Volunteer)

Etty concluded, “It was a pleasure to be a part of and we are incredibly proud of the work of our volunteer team across the weekend, particularly when it started to rain at the end of Sunday and, just as the bands continued to play, our volunteers put on their clear plastic rain ponchos and continued to smile talking to festival guests.”

To support our local voluntary sector in their volunteer management, Liz ran a training course focusing on recruiting and supporting young volunteers (6 February). This was part of K&C together week, alongside KCSC and Young K&C. It was a really beneficial event, helping to inspire organisations to more meaningfully engage young volunteers in their volunteering programmes.

We were responsible for the deployment of 55 volunteers, assisting over 350 guests at the tenth annual Valentine’s Gala Concert (9 February) hosted by Age UK Kensington & Chelsea, as part of their ongoing efforts to combat isolation among those over 55.

Ana Urbina was Volunteering Co-Ordinator at the gala and said “Coordinating the volunteers on the day reminded me of the positive value of volunteering. Witnessing people from different organisations…. coming together, and for 4 hours, becoming a team to deliver this afternoon full of music, love, cake, and companionship… It was wonderful to see the volunteers having fun decorating… taking selfies with their old and new friends – and catering the most efficient afternoon tea I have ever seen! Their friendly attitude and eagerness to help was contagious and simply made the atmosphere ten times better.”

RE-INTRODUCING OUR VOLUNTEER MARKET AMBASSADORS

We were excited to restart our Market Ambassadors volunteering programme in October 2023 after it had been on pause for a year. Thanks to new funding from the Council’s Markets Office, we were able to do a complete reboot and recruited Sristi Kumar to be our new Market Ambassadors Officer.

Market Ambassadors provide valuable support to visitors and stall holders at Portobello Road and Golborne Road markets. The team help visitors get the most out of the markets, guiding them to landmarks, local eateries, and the best places to shop; while also translating for people, signposting them locally and around London, and even helping

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people find lost things - and people!

In the first 6 months after relaunching, we had 33 new Volunteer Market Ambassadors. An average of 4 Ambassadors joined us each Saturday, and some weekends many more! Starting in winter, we braced the unpredictable weather - as this is very much an outdoor role. Despite this, our new Ambassadors remained enthusiastic and faithful, with many becoming regulars and returning multiple times each month. A mammoth 1715 interactions with the public was recorded over this initial 6 month period.

The benefit of this role is not only to visitors and market stall holders, it is also a flexible, supportive and inclusive volunteering opportunity. It allows people to explore volunteering at their own pace, and it is great for those who want to volunteer without commitment. Sristi has witnessed how it allows volunteers to: reconnect with the community and learn more about its history; foster a sense of belonging; to enjoy time away from caring responsibilities; to socialise with people from other parts of the world; and to learn new skills and improve employment prospects.

CORE KEY STATS

• This year, over 1,000 people used our Core brokerage service

• We successfully registered 532 volunteers for at least one role

• Each month we had an average of 80 active volunteering opportunities. 86 of these opportunities were brand new

• We engaged with more than 80 local organisations

• Among those who volunteered, 143 individuals expressed concerns about their mental health, and 104 identified as being isolated or lonely. By connecting with the Volunteer Centre, they received the support they needed to volunteer

• Our volunteer survey, sent to 400 people who the brokerage service worked with during the year, showed:

• 65% of respondents felt their skills, knowledge or confidence improved as a result of their volunteering

• 63% said they felt more emotionally healthy as a result of their volunteering and that they are better connected to other people or have better social networks as a result of volunteering

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COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS

Our Community Champions programme recruits and supports volunteers to improve awareness of Public Health campaigns, strengthen healthy behaviours and identify barriers to health and wellbeing in the places they live.

They work together, and in partnership with public services, to develop ways to overcome these barriers and deliver sustainable solutions to health, housing and social care issues. Champions show how local people can work with statutory services and voluntary organisations to improve outcomes.

The Volunteer Centre’s Community Champions project, led by our Community Champions Manager Ewa Kasjanowicz, works with the residents of Lancaster West and Silchester estates in Notting Dale ward, and is one of six across Kensington & Chelsea.

OUR WORK IN 2023-24

This year our programme had 16 Community and Maternity Champions volunteering, reaching 1,562 residents. We ran a variety of local, free and regular activities, such as women-only yoga classes - which due to its popularity, is now offered in three separate sessions per week.

‘L’, a community resident who attends the yoga said:“ Attending Jaya’s class has given me a feeling of roundedness and calm alertness which I have carried and taken with me into my day when I leave. I noticed that this has supported me to deal with my Grenfell-related trauma and any challenges that arose in my day in a more calm and peaceful way.”

We also offer outdoor walking and exercise sessions, meditation and chair-based exercise classes (in partnerships with Age UK K&C) and supported trips to events in the borough and around London. This included exhibitions at Kensington Palace and community days at Kew Gardens. Our seaside excursion is also an annual highlight, as one attendee said “ It was the best trip we’ve ever attended by far!!! Organised, comfortable, enjoyable, vibrant, exuberant, magical, child-friendly, extravagant, unlimited—FANTABULOUSLY DONE!!!"

Above all, we spend time connecting and having meaningful conversations with residents. Everything we do is based on relationships, which are underpinned by trust and respect. These relationships, cultivated over years, are a tremendous asset. They enable us to promote prevention and early intervention to both residents and decision-makers, without stereotyping local people or the people working with them. Working on a small scale, but over a long period, the people we work with know that they can rely on us, so we are well positioned to take risks and innovate to improve results.

Our Maternity Champions delivered buggy walks for local parents of young children, each ending with a nice hot beverage and chat. These aid the development of mutual support networks and promote the feeling of normality and of confidence, which can be especially

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elusive to first-time parents. They also supported Magic Mums at Rugby Portobello Trust, offering breastfeeding peer support and promoting sustainable choices at their Nappy Natters and Baby Stuff Swap event.

As always, our work involved a lot of signposting, particularly in response to rising poverty. We continued to assist residents in receiving: debt advice; Council Tax support; warm spaces; free meals; and other forms of practical assistance. Our Employability services were also in high demand. We shifted the narrative around poverty, framing it at as a systemic issue rather than an individual one, which helped lower the stigma for residents in seeking support.

On the creative side, we continued our weekly clothes upcycling sessions for women and girls. Set up to promote sustainable fashion, this workshop has become a safe and supportive space for sharing, and for fostering intergenerational connection. Participants found that the sewing and embellishing activities to be calming and therapeutic, and that the gentle atmosphere encourage natural and flowing conversations. This became the unintended, but most important outcome of the project. It showed us, once again, that, if we provide a basic, safe and welcoming space, groups grow organically towards what matters most to them Everyone is both a giver and a receiver in these sessions, which changes the ‘user’ and ‘provider’ dynamics for the better.

For the Community Champions programme, each year seems better than the last one, because each year we get more embedded in the local community. Connections are built and sustained, our understanding deepens, and our presence in Notting Dale becomes more deeply rooted and naturally integrated.

COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS | ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 | VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

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THE APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME

In May 2023, a new apprenticeship scheme was launched across the Community Champions programme in Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, aiming to offer existing volunteer Champions a more formal and structured path to employment. It was also a great opportunity to increase capacity in our Notting Dale programme.

Our apprentice, Lauren, contributed to many of our initiatives, focusing particularly on Maternity Champions activities, such as buggy walks, trips and picnics for parents and babies. She also delivered a series of very popular baby massage classes and supported other activities such as the clothes upcycling, chair-based exercise class and women’s only yoga sessions. She built her own personal and professional connections within the community, which bolstered her standing in the role and improved her future employment prospects.

Screen, Detect, Protect

We secured a Community Chest grant to run a 6-month Screen, Detect, Protect Cancer Awareness Campaign . The competition was high and our application was praised for its depth and person-centred approach, rather than the usual disease-centred approach.

As everything Champions do is based on relationships, we avoided simply instructing people on what is good for them. Instead, we explored the issue together with local residents to address the underlying barriers to cancer screening and treatment, such as pain, shame and embarrassment. This was done through a series of workshops and events that addressed the women in the North Kensington area, using the networks we have

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developed through other activities to carry out.

We know that many awareness campaigns use fear as a key motivator. This can be effective, but can also result in avoidance and denial. For this reason, we choose to emphasise selfcare and self-love; reframing cancer screenings as an expression of this positive motivation, alongside other constructive ways of looking after our physical and mental health. This gentle approach, combined with practical information, seemed to work well for our audience, who gave us some great feedback.

We also ran workshops on patients’ rights and self-advocacy skills, which strongly resonated with local residents. We learned that people often do not have confidence to speak up in healthcare settings and instead sometimes end up avoiding NHS services altogether.

At the time of writing the report, the campaign is ongoing. It is difficult to predict how much our efforts will translate into increased cancer screening uptake, but our numerous conversations, often raw and unfiltered, have made us understand the North Kensington community better than we ever did. And we will continue growing and sharing that understanding with local people and organisations who want to help us empower people to improve their health!

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SPECIALIST SERVICES

Our Specialist Services team, led since January 2024 by our new Head of Specialist Services, Amalia Loizidou, consists of our Wellbeing, Employment, and InsideOut programmes. Catering to people with relatively complex requirements, we work with clients over a period of months to build community integration and achieve better health, wellbeing and employment opportunities. Using a personalised development plan centred on volunteering and experiential learning, along with training, mentoring, coaching, and advice, we provide our clients with practical support in these areas!

WELLBEING

Our Wellbeing Programme offers a comprehensive package of tailored support for disabled people and those living with mental health needs in RBKC. We provide clients with 1-2-1 support, based on personalised development plans, alongside a variety of group activities such as trainings, workshops, community events, and tailored volunteering placements. Our aim is to foster holistic learning within a supportive and safe environment, allowing clients to engage on their own terms.

We respect and listen to our clients, empowering them and helping them recognise their personal progress. We also provide a platform to celebrate and showcase our clients’ inspiring work, including aphorisms, personal mental health journey testimonies, play readings performed in local theatre groups, and poems created during our volunteer-led sessions. We share their work on our website and social media, highlighting their achievements and personal growth.

This year, the Wellbeing programme was delivered by our Wellbeing Officers, Louisa Schepes, Etty Dunn-Howe and Jaya Alvarez-Murray. It was funded by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the North West London NHS Integrated Care Board (via Kensington & Chelsea Social Council), and the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust.

INTRODUCING ‘TAG TEAM SHREDDING’

Overhearing a client answer the question 'What are you doing?' with 'I’m working' sparked the bright idea to create shredding sessions that felt more like a social, valued working environment for our Wellbeing Officer Jaya. It lead to her creation of “Tag Team Shredding”, which evolved from 2 clients volunteering separately to shred paper once a month into a social and inclusive work experience with over 4 clients working all together. The volunteers meet up to shred paper over a cup of tea, sometimes singing along to music, discussing their weeks or simply enjoying the friendly environment.

‘Tag Team Shredding’ has increased productivity within the Wellbeing schedule, optimised property usage, and expanded the number of clients volunteering each month. It has also allowed us to deepen partnerships with local organisations and residents and

demonstratated our commitment to innovation. We continued to strengthen relationships with Piper House, a local supported living organisation, as well as the local Learning Disability Resource Centre, Certitude, Integrity Care, and other local agencies that provide support workers for many of our clients.

“T hank you very much for the update and the support our people receive from you. You will always have our support. You are doing a good job already” Shamsuddin Burug, Registered Manager at Certitude, Barlby Road site

EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT WITH SUPPORTED ACCESS

Supported Access, the newest initiative within the Wellbeing programme, targets young disabled people aged 16-25 in RBKC. This programme is designed for people living with and without mental health needs, offering tailored support to help them achieve their employment goals. Supported Access is a collaborative effort between our Wellbeing and Employment Hub staff, using personalised development plans, 1-2-1 support, and assistance in finding suitable volunteering, paid work, and training opportunities.

Currently, we are developing a relationship with Overbury, a leading UK construction and regeneration group, to provide tailored and accessible volunteer placements and apprenticeship schemes. These opportunities are available to referrals received from Community Living Well Youth Navigators and other local stakeholders.

WELLBEING ACTIVITIES

All of our Wellbeing clients, including Supported Access, Stepping Stones (working with Kensington & Chelsea adults with long-term health conditions) and Community Connections (for North Kensington residents aged 18-64) have access to our monthly activities. We also organise events and trips to places like Kew Gardens and Saatchi Gallery.

For a full list of wellbeing activities, please see next page.

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OUR WELLBEING ACTIVITIES INCLUDE

WELLBEING & SELF-CARE

WORKSHOPS: We deliver workshops to help clients build self-care skills and improve mental health, such as ‘understanding anxiety’, ‘wellbeing in nature’, and ‘mindfulness and relaxation tips’. These workshops connects us with partner organisations and we often develop and deliver joint sessions of different kinds.

SOCIAL/CREATIVE

WORKSHOPS & TRIPS: To counteract our isolation and anxiety, we offer creative and social workshops, including our evening Wellbeing Art workshops. Our trips to accessible workshops and performances (e.g. National Theatre productions, Kew Gardens and the Royal Academy of Arts) were particularly popular this year, and provided opportunities for people to meet and for informal chats around wellbeing and self-care, which are often more fruitful than formal approaches.

MEDITATION SESSIONS: Our Wellbeing Officer, Jaya, offers spaces to wellbeing clients to a session she provides on a weekly basis outside of VCKC. This has received amazing feedback on how people with complex needs feel energised and happier with themselves after attending. Through the sessions relaxation and positive affirmation tips are delivered in a way that helps to reduce anxiety and enhance selfconfidence.

VOLUNTEERING

PLACEMENTS: We match clients to tailored, accessible and supportive volunteering placements with external organisations.

We also create opportunities within our own organisation for people to volunteer. This involves working with clients to come up with an idea, and then to develop their skills, knowledge and confidence, to get there - all backed by ongoing supervision. 3 of our wellbeing workshops are currently facilitated by wellbeing volunteers.

GARDENING GROUP: We offer

a gardening group in partnership with W11, the Lancaster West estate team. Wellbeing volunteers help to keep a community space welcoming and beautiful while learning about plants and gardening techniques from an experienced gardener. This is also an opportunity for people to get to know each other and build connections in a positive, safe, supportive environment

OTHER SUPPORT: Phone calls to clients with mental health needs to provide them with self-care tips, build resilience and help them keep engaged with counselling services. We also remind them to attend activities they have expressed interest in and signpost and forward referrals, for example: to advice agencies for housing and debt case work and to talking therapy.

WELFARE CHECK CALLS: We offer welfare calls, texts and emails to clients who feel isolated and/or anxious

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WEEKLY YOGA WITH JAYA!
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WELLBEING CASE STUDIES

I first came in contact with the Volunteer Centre roughly 2 or 3 years ago. I was missing purpose and structure to my week and it was getting me down. My anxiety complicated my ability to find and commit to voluntary work and so I embarked on a mission to succeed with the help of Etty and Jaya. Upon reflection, I’m really pleased that I was able to access this service as it’s had a substantially positive impact on my life!

Throughout my time working with the Volunteer Centre, I’ve dabbled in various activities and groups - to not only occupy my time but to boost my confidence too, the latter being initially much needed! I was given the freedom to explore various opportunities without a pressure of having to fully commit, which I found incredibly helpful considering I wasn’t even sure where my interests lay. I found it extremely helpful to be able to freely explore these activities whilst on my journey of personal discovery. I had a go at many things, ranging from gardening, to the playreading group and boxing. I felt fully supported too. For example when I went for an interview at the Nourish Hub, Etty walked me there whilst simultaneously prepping me for the interview. Afterwards, she waited for me to be done so that I could debrief her. This was a hugely beneficial experience as I’m not fully versed in the whole interview process. I particularly liked attending the English conversation workshop. Not only was it intellectually stimulating but also an arena to grow in confidence with regard to conversing with others.

All of these seemingly small experiences have culminated in me being able to take some ultra positive steps forwards! I felt inspired to seek out a voluntary position with St Mungo’s, a charity dedicated to helping people who find themselves homeless for an array of reasons. I once resided in one of their supported housing projects, so I was aware of their inclusive ethos and the huge impact they have on people’s lives. I wanted to be a part of that. Talking with their volunteer coordinator really solidified in my mind how much I wanted to do something that will ultimately affect people that are in a position that I once was in myself. There wasn’t a role centred around policies but after showcasing my skills and previous experience, I suggested volunteering within that arena. Somehow, luckily, they created a role for me!

So there I was, a ‘quality and continuous improvement volunteer!’. I even got my own lanyard which is cool! Initially I found the office environment extremely daunting and bordering on intimidating. But the staff have been exceptionally friendly and ever so welcoming! My role is to look at their policies and procedures and give my viewpoint and feedback from an ex-client perspective. I’ve reviewed policies such as client visitors and client safeguarding and it’s nice to have such positive feedback, it reinforces that I’m actually doing a good job and contributing effectively. I’ve found it both intellectually and socially challenging, but I’m so proud of the progress I’ve made. I even won a St Mungo’s volunteer award which was incredible!! St Mungo’s

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have extended my placement for another six months which I feel is a testimony to the hard work I’ve put in. I have my own personal mantra, ‘progress is a process’ and I honestly believe that if I didn’t build the foundation blocks I built whilst working with the Volunteer Centre, then my volunteer placement at St Mungo’s wouldn’t have been possible.

My next steps are focused around continuing the progress I’ve made thus far and really strengthening the foundation blocks. Ultimately I’d love to get into paid work but I know that’s a journey within itself. A journey, that I believe I have started. Life can be unpredictable and you never truly know what’s ahead but it’s such a lovely and satisfying feeling to reflect on past years and truly recognise the progress being made. Sometimes it’s just about taking subtle steps forward, but those steps accumulated can take you a long way!!

• AMC (Wellbeing Client)

I did meditation for the first time in my life and I now feel so relaxed, thank you very much, it was amazing.

• AJ (Wellbeing Client)

I laid down on the mat, I relaxed, in meditation, without noticing I felt tears come, is that sadness happiness, I don’t know, but I sleep one hour deep sleep, I felt like I was on the seaside, I was on holiday, when I got up, I really felt peaceful, peace of mind, it was so nice. - Anonymous Wellbeing Client

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INSIDEOUT

Our resettlement programme, InsideOut, funded by the Henry Smith charity until 2025, helps people with criminal convictions re-integrate into the local community. Delivered by our InsideOut Coordinator, Jason Hudson, we prioritise ex-offenders with complex needs and at higher risk once released from custody, including older people, those living with addiction, institutionalised offenders, and people with mental health issues. We offer a tailored, 1-2-1 service – with personal development plans for clients that identify their needs and the personal and professional goals they want to achieve. With the support we provide, clients gain skills, knowledge and confidence, access to a wide range of essential services, volunteering, work experience and employment, and so increase their capacity to reintegrate into their local community.

Over the past year we have seen an increase in clients who are struggling with the cost of living and managing their benefits and housing payments. This is seen alongside an increase in clients coming to us, who have either been released from custody into homelessness and/or who are struggling to navigate life in their community and housing. Our aim is to limit the amount of clients being released from custody into homelessness, as lack of affordable housing and rent increases force clients into desperate situations. We aim to get all clients the support they need to maintain a productive lifestyle, and this includes access to safe and stable housing, as without it, access to employment is restricted. We seek to work with the Prisons Service to ensure this is secured upon release. For instance, we have been working with the housing officer in HMPS Downview to provide adequate housing for some of the most complex cases where there are multiple underlying issues that bring clientback to custody, such as substance misuse.

InsideOut has also experienced an increase in referrals from Wing Officers who are worried about offenders in custody. They make these referrals when they know that the offenders don’t have access to regular support in the community. Most of these referrals centre around housing, or mental health issues upon release. We also support clients struggling to maintain their mental health by making referrals to local organisations such as Latimer Community Art Therapy (LCAT) and family therapy, as well as connecting them with substance misuse organisations like Turning Point and the Kensington & Chelsea South Mental Health Hub.

Since December 2023, we have been working with the community youth offending team (YOT) to support 16-24-year-olds in transitioning out of the youth probation system. This includes helping clients access education, apprenticeships, and employment opportunities. Five of the under-24 referrals came from YOT. One of them enrolled in the Headmasters Hairdressing Academy, another is finishing his A-levels in July 2024, after which we will continue to support him in pursuing a career or further

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education, and one secured a construction role as a fitter’s mate immediately after InsideOut provided PPE. InsideOut has also seen an increase in clients who cannot take steps towards volunteering and employment because of their uncertain immigration status, including those who have lost their right to remain due to being held on remand and are no longer entitled to any form of funding, often waiting months, even years, without community support. Jason found these cases particularly challenging to navigate, as the clients were often extremely agitated and frustrated with their situation. One such client came to our offices for help, deeply distressed after being released without charge, but still not having his right to remain reinstated. He explained that his situation was dire, as no borough agencies would assist him, and he lacked the funds for legal advice. This uncertainty severely impacted his mental health, leaving him unsure of how to proceed and where to turn for help. In response, we set up a council account, completed a duty of care referral, and contacted immigration authorities to understand the status of his case and explore ways to expedite the process – and were delighted when the client’s right to remain was promptly reinstated much to the client relief and gratitude. The client undertook to come back to InsideOut for help with volunteering/employment once his housing was sorted out, which he did.

INSIDEOUT KEY STATS

We have provided 19 disclosure and CV workshop sessions for clients both in and out of custody, including three through-the-gates sessions

64 clients have engaged in one-to-one sessions

31 clients have participated in training

12 clients have secured long-term employment

41 clients are now involved in long-term volunteering

INSIDEOUT CASE STUDIES

J is a disabled person with a criminal record who referred himself to InsideOut in early September 2023. He had previously engaged with us during lockdown, looking for work and accommodation as he was sleeping on his father’s kitchen floor. J’s situation had since become a lot more complex, as his father had passed away and J was isolating, all dramatically undermining his mental health. His family are not local and he struggled to make friends, since meeting people made him uncomfortable, and this meant that he was very isolated. This was worrying as he was struggling to find purpose and activities to engage within the community.

Jason addressed this first issue by interviewing him and finding out what he thought would help him the most. J expressed his desire to volunteer somewhere where he could help people. After having a conversation with Angela, VCKC’s Volunteering

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Officer, J was offered a volunteering position with VCKC – assisting with registrations and the provision of guidance to potential volunteers. He gets on really well with Ralph, another VCKC volunteer.This made a big difference to J’s life and mental health. Since starting, J has engaged with his mental health worker again and it has given him a sense of purpose. Jason can really see the difference in J’s confidence

LW, a InsideOut client, struggled as her new accommodation was unfit to live in and an unsafe environment for her autistic child. She was unable to cook in her kitchen for 3 months due to damp so bad that she had slugs on the wall. When Jason spoke to her, she was worried that she could not afford the property she had been placed in and that she would be considered intentionally homeless if she left, and thus ineligible for Council housing. We contacted her housing provider (Notting Hill Genesis) to secure safe and appropriate housing.

EDS, an Inside Out client, was released into homelessness during lockdown and required support in making a formal complaint to the probation service. In the last 6 months he started his own community project: Loves Kitchen. It’s a small project that offers free meals to those that cannot afford them, and the elderly in the community, on a weekly basis. EDS has also started the RU4 driving project run by the Upper Room. He plans to buy a car, allowing him to travel to buy larger quantities of ingredients at lower cost, which in turn helps his business whilst increasing the amount of support he can provide to the community.

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EMPLOYMENT

Our Employment programme needed to be completely rebuilt in the summer of 2023, following the sad demise of our Head of Employment, Ola, in 2022, and a hiatus due to recruitment challenges. Delivered by our new Employment Support Officer, Ruth Daniel, the Employment Hub welcomed 20 clients between its start in August and the end of the financial year.

Dedicated to supporting people overcoming significant barriers to employment, we offer support to:

• Young people, aged 16–25, via our Supported Access Programme. We focus on assisting young disabled and learning disabled people, as well as those experiencing mental health barriers. Our goal is to help these young people transition smoothly into the workforce by providing tailored support, signposting to training, and personalised career counselling

• People over 25. We offer additional support through funding from Campden Charities; this financial assistance is aimed at overcoming employment barriers and facilitating job placements. Our services include skills development, job search assistance, and ongoing support to ensure long-term employment success

Our services are available exclusively to residents of Kensington & Chelsea, including people living with the psychological aftermaths of the Grenfell Tower Fire. We are sensitive to the needs of the community and use the team’s lived experience to ground our understanding of the barriers many local people face and the potential to overcome those barriers with the right combination of motivation and support.

Rebuilding the programme from scratch required us to work systematically on a number of activities in parallel. Upon launching our Supported Access programme, we expected the majority of our referrals to come from RBKC teams supporting disabled older children and younger adults, and their families. Surprisingly, we only received 2 referrals from these sources in our first year. Instead, we used existing VCKC and new referral relationships with voluntary sector partners, and broke new ground by connecting directly with supported housing providers, schools and further education colleges. We also worked to raise our profile with RBKC teams to benefit their clients.

Being a North Kensington resident herself, Ruth has taken advantage of her knowledge of the borough’s residents and the services they trust to restart the Employment Hub. She revitalised old connections and built new ones, with e.g. the Cardinal Hume Centre, Caxton Youth, HealthWatch, and local food banks. Alongside this, she developed new activities, referral protocols, and forms for the Hub, drawing on her experience supporting disabled people to provide clients with a range of ways to mobilise their capabilities and resilience, gain experience, secure paid work, and build their independence.

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EMPLOYMENT HUB CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING DEPRESSION AND EMPLOYMENT BUILDING CONFIDENCE

Z’s journey began with a shared assessment of their goals, interests, and the barriers they faced. Battling severe depression and low self-esteem, and feeling isolated by the deterioration of relationships within their immediate family, Z struggled to envision a positive future.

Despite lacking a strong interest in the field, Z expressed great determination to pursue a career in IT. We agreed that their first priorities were to build confidence and to improve communication with family, who were both encouraging and constraining Z. We met every week, following an agreed mentoring plan to develop coping and communication skills. As Z’s overall health improved and capacity for more challenging activities increased, they were able to research IT courses taught online.

With patience and persistence, Z reached the point of being able to commit to a fourmonth training programme in the fundamentals of IT. Each step of the journey so far has built foundations for the next step, each achievement increasing self-efficacy and resilience and opening up more opportunities. Z is much more confident of reaching their employment goals with the support of the Employment Hub in the coming months. Watch this space!

27 Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea A Company Limited by Guarantee er = c > ee Annual Report 2023-24 & ow 12

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INFRASTRUCTURE

Recent crises in our borough, including the Grenfell Tower fire, the pandemic, three distinct rounds of new arrivals, and the sharply increased inflation and poverty of the last three years, have highlighted the critical role of small informal groups/networks and charities in identifying and meeting local needs quickly. This has increased the reliance of statutory services on the charity sector, highlighting the role of the Volunteer Centre as an important infrastructural organisation. Owing to our commitment and reliability, the statutory services often reach out to us to collaborate on wider issues, including coordination of crisis responses for small grassroots groups alongside support for their volunteering systems, volunteering policies, safeguarding practice, and training).

THE GRENFELL TOWER FIRE

The immediate and longer-term effects of the disaster at Grenfell Tower from the limited perspective of VCKC are described in previous annual reports, and in much broader and more comprehensive terms in “A Journey of Recovery”, the Public Health Joint Strategic Needs Assessment report following the fire. The period of this report includes the sixth anniversary of the fire, and key stages of the public enquiry. The disaster response literature makes clear this period of time after a disaster is often very hard on those directly affected, the wider community, and the people trying to provide support to those people.

The trustees are conscious at all times of the need to act transparently, with compassion, and to take as much time and flexibility as necessary to deliver value for money, to those affected directly by the fire, the wider community, and the public in general, as well as to specific funders. The Volunteer Centre has a continuing role in supporting community advocates and their voluntary involvement in the strategic and tactical response to the fire, in the social and economic context in which the fire happened. This includes the demands of local people that money allocated and spent in the name of those affected by the disaster should deliver value for money to those affected, and that it should be spent in a way that improves their long-term outcomes, and their ability to direct and improve their own lives for years to come.

COST OF LIVING

Our CEO continued to Chair the borough’s Cost of Living (CoL) group this year, facilitating the joint work of community and statutory partners to improve outcomes for the poorest households in the borough, while seeking ways to address local poverty and inequality long-term. The CoL partners worked to connect advice agencies to food banks with the aim of enabling food insecure people to get support beyond their immediate crisis, improving their incomes, reducing their debts, and giving them a better chance of a sustainable future. They also collaborated with the Volunteer Centre’s CRM partner, Plinth, with the aim of increasing our collective understanding of the determinants that make poor households insecure and keep them that way. The CoL partners hope to use Plinth across as many frontline agencies as possible, alongside RBKC’s Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) database, coordinating our efforts to give local people consistent support to escape from poverty.

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COMMUNICATIONS

The year began with recruitment to the permanent Communications Officer role, with our new colleague, Emilia Wik. The Board developed a new Communications Strategy and, as part of the process, reviewed the mission, vision and values of the Volunteer Centre, which are set out at the beginning of this report. The Strategy frames and focuses our day to day work with social media, our website, monthly newsletter, and other opportunities to both listen and speak, connecting the many routes we have to promote volunteering to our diverse audience.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The Charity’s income was £640,145 in the year ended 31 March 2024 (£533,752, 31 March 2023). The total expenditure was £574,792 in the year to 31 March 2024 (£483,100, 31 March 2023). The unrestricted funds carried forward on the 31 March 2024 was £289,231, whilst £47,367 of restricted funds were also carried forward. This compares to an unrestricted balance of £250,945 carried forward on 31 March 2023, and a restricted balance of £20,300. The unrestricted funds include designated funds of £3,556 (£3,556, 31 March 2023).

As trustees we take seriously our responsibility to deploy the funds we hold in trust in support of our charitable objectives. As set out in detail in the earlier sections of our report, a key challenge this year has been filling professional vacancies for which we had secured funding. This is the principal cause of the increase in both our restricted and unrestricted reserves. A significant amount of our restricted reserve represents funds received from RBKC for the delivery of our Supported Access project, some milestones of which we were not able to meet because of these professional vacancies. We set out below our developing approach to mitigating this risk. We remain committed to investing in our capacity to deliver our charitable objectives, in particular in our people, but also our systems and resources, and will designate funds accordingly as appropriate.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Board reviews risks to the effective operation and sustainability of the Volunteer Centre regularly, assessing the major risks that the charity is exposed to at the finance committee meeting prior to every trustee meeting as we address existing (or identify new) risks. The risk register is updated at least twice annually and appropriate systems and procedures are established to mitigate the internal and external risks that the charity faces. Our policies are updated to reflect internal processes and legal and regulatory changes as and when they occur. Our core policies – safeguarding, data protection – are reviewed annually and our others at least every other year. Outside of disaster response, principal risks and mitigation strategies are:

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STAFF RECRUITMENT

Though the environment for recruiting and retaining paid staff remained challenging this year, we were able to cover some vacancies with temporary staff while recruiting successfully to six permanent posts, making use of promotional support and advice from our local and regional peers and professional networks. The Volunteer Centre’s budget reflected our desire to offer competitive salaries in the context of high inflation while appreciating that greater competition for limited funding is a major constraint on our ability to offer salaries in line with rising costs.

CORE AND PROGRAMME FUNDING

The Volunteer Centre maintains good working relationships with a range of current and prospective funders, building mutual understanding and helping to identify shared objectives. The Board’s sub-committee charged with the co-ordination of the development of funding convenes in advance of, and reports its work to the trustees at, each full Board meeting.

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

The Volunteer Centre gathers data on its performance from regular monitoring of its work with clients, from periodic generation of case-studies based on client and staff experience, from surveys of staff and trustees, and from its routine financial processes. It retains this data (in compliance with its regulatory obligations) and reports it internally to staff and trustees, and externally to funders, regulators and the wider public (again subject to compliance with regulatory obligations). The Volunteer Centre is currently simplifying and integrating its systems, and investing in resources to support this process. The Volunteer Centre regularly reviews its organisational structure to promote collaboration between all programmes and organisational resilience.

DISINTERMEDIATION AND CHANGES IN THE VOLUNTEERING ENVIRONMENT

As noted above, our data, and that of national and regional actors in volunteering, suggests that there has been a fundamental shift in regular volunteering post pandemic, with many older people not returning to volunteer, many younger people not yet volunteering regularly, and many potential volunteers seeking much more flexible or specific roles in order to manage constraints in their lives like work, childcare, and education. One-off and event-based volunteer numbers have recovered much more quickly post-pandemic, emphasising the importance of flexibility to volunteers, and perhaps also reflecting the nature of much of the pandemic volunteering. With the Cost of Living crisis, financial barriers to volunteering have also become more apparent.

In mitigation, the Volunteer Centre has made considerable structural improvement to its communications planning, with greater clarity of objectives and audiences, better matching of audiences to channels, and regularity of content, all of which enable our Communications Officer and wider team to be more proactive and to take opportunities at a hyper-local level. We are more methodical in platforming our partners and ensuring we have mutually supportive endorsements. Next steps include developing the capacity of our Core team to adapt further the range and accessibility of local volunteering placements.

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In mitigation, the Volunteer Centre has made considerable structural improvement to its communications planning, with greater clarity of objectives and audiences, better matching of audiences to channels, and regularity of content, all of which enable our Communications Officer and wider team to be more proactive and to take opportunities at a hyper-local level. We are more methodical in platforming our partners and ensuring we have mutually supportive endorsements. Next steps include developing the capacity of our Core team to adapt further the range and accessibility of local volunteering placements.

SAFEGUARDING

Safeguarding remained a priority for us this year, though fewer incidents of concern were raised compared to the previous reporting period. We reviewed and updated our Safeguarding policy in light of statutory guidance and our annual review of Safeguarding practice, and ensured staff training was refreshed. We continued to undertake collective work on VCS Safeguarding capacity and practice with our VCS and statutory partners, adding vulnerable adults to our focus on Safeguarding children.

STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE

A three-year funding agreement with RBKC, starting in August 2022, gave us the exciting opportunity to work much more consistently with younger clients through our new Supported Access programme. We set out to work with Kensington & Chelsea residents from 16-25 with a wide range of long-term conditions and additional needs, enabling disabled and learning-disabled young people to set and attain their volunteering and employment goals. This meant developing new partnerships with referring agencies, employers and volunteering programmes. The recruitment challenges we refer to elsewhere in the report meant that we did not meet all the project goals we set in the first year of the project, but this year we were able to fill our Employment vacancy and, with our new Head of Specialist Services in place, we are looking forward to not only meeting our targets in the year ahead, but recovering as much as we can on preceding years.

Despite the challenges of rapid adaptation during the pandemic and immediate postpandemic years, the Volunteer Centre has continued to review its operating environment regularly and make improvements to our plans and our practice in light of what we learn.

This year that process resulted in the development of a new Communications Strategy, including a review and restatement of our Vision, Mission and Values. This provided additional impetus to continue the restructuring process we began in 2022-23. This year we worked to create a Specialist Services team under a single manager, integrating the Employment, InsideOut and Wellbeing programmes to increase our effectiveness for our clients.

In 2024-25 we plan a fuller reassessment and revision of our objectives and programmes, led by the trustees, but with the contribution of our paid staff team, volunteers engaged in delivering our services, our partners and our funders.

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RESERVES POLICY

The Board has examined the charity’s requirements for reserves in light of the main risks to the organisation. It has established a policy whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets held by the charity should be equal to at least 3 months of the charity’s total expenditure. This reserve is intended to ensure that the charity can continue to operate in the event of an emergency, or a sudden cut in funding. The level of reserves available to the charity at 31 March 2024 was £285,675, above the minimum target of 3 months of the Charity’s total expenditure (total expenditure was £574,792, so 3 months was £143,698). We increased our unrestricted reserves this year, primarily due to staffing vacancies (arising from recruitment challenges and delays in implementing the restructuring of our specialist services). The Board keeps under review the extent to which existing activities and expenditure could be curtailed, should circumstances require such action.

STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE INVESTMENT POLICY

The unrestricted funds in reserve fluctuate and can be called upon temporarily to meet immediate cash flow needs. They are held in higher yield savings accounts with UK banks at levels protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

FUTURE PLANS

To achieve success in our multi-year strategy, we committed to five specific objectives:

• Develop our “Volunteer Journey” model to offer a tailored, flexible, personalised service to potential volunteers across all our programmes and provide them with opportunities with local organisations which correspond to their goals and needs. We made substantial progress this year, recruiting temporary staff to help in implementing our new client relationship management system provided by Plinth (formerly Time to Spare). We concentrated on our Core team, as improved technology delivering better management information and a better volunteer journey can have the impact on most clients that way. We migrated Core clients to the new system this year, checking with every registered person to obtain their informed consent. Work on Core implementation should be completed in 2024-25, alongside the transition for both Specialist Services and Community Champions programmes.

• Strengthen our relationships with local and hyper-local organisations, improving their capacity to engage volunteers, shape additional rewarding volunteering roles, and offer bespoke resources and training. We stepped up our direct training and 1:1 support of our volunteering-involving partners to increase the number of volunteering roles as well as the accessibility of some of them.

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• Continue to (i) offer dedicated long-term specialist support to ensure access for all to life changing experiences through volunteering and (ii) build a track record around employment and community contribution as a result of volunteering. As mentioned in this report, this year we adapted our organisation structure to be more collaborative and efficient and continued to enable clients to overcome barriers to both volunteering and paid work in significant numbers, and influenced statutory services to take a more joined up approach, too.

• Provide volunteering best practice advice and training to individuals and organisations. Participate in local groups and forums, acting as an advocate of voluntary action as well as a connector, a facilitator of partnerships, a trusted intermediary and contributor to social capital. With a continuing leading role in the borough’s response to the Cost of Living crisis, a proven track record in bringing our partners together to create shared recommendations around healthcare or co-design of RBKC’s Service Standards, we are proud of the many collaborations we are part of, learning with and from our peers and partners, and the opportunities thus created to tackle the structural barriers to wellbeing, access and inclusion.

• Aim to be a high trust learning environment, supported by accredited systems, with open communication and effective feedback between team members, such that all understand their roles, how they connect to our strategy and feel motivated, supported and valued. Improving our appraisal process so that it connects more directly with our organisational strategy and objectives, and provides a systematic input from the team, has helped us move this objective forward, as has the introduction of a digital HR system. Both staff and volunteer handbooks have been updated to further develop the systems to underpin our high trust culture. Team members have been encouraged and supported to take a leading role internally, and to represent the Volunteer Centre externally, demonstrating the organisation’s trust in them

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FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY & GOING CONCERN

At the time of writing this report, and having given consideration to internal and external factors, the financial position of the charity (including the level of its reserves), the ability to continue to raise sufficient funding for its operations, and the uncertain economic situation, the Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea is financially sustainable and a going concern. While inflation levels remained high, the charity continues to attract funders thanks to the concrete benefits it brings to the local community.

Hiring continues to be the primary risk to the organisation. Recruitment market conditions, as well as the high costs of living in London and the salary constraints of charities, mean recruiting people of the right experience remains very challenging. Despite this, we welcomed six new skilled colleagues this year.

As mentioned above, we have a robust risk management process in place: we review the changes to the risk register at Board meetings twice each year at a minimum and update it as necessary as we address existing, or identify new, risks. Our core policies are updated to reflect internal processes and/or legal and regulatory changes, and reviewed at least annually.

We have robust processes in place to continue to offer services if there was to be another lockdown due to a pandemic or other unforeseen circumstance. We are now better connected to local emergency preparedness infrastructure then in previous years as a member of the Borough Resilience Forum.

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STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

a) Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;

b) Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

c) Make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent; d) State whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; e) Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006.They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

This report, which has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006, was approved by the Board on 19 December 2024 and signed on its behalf.

Signature: ____ Date: _____ Anne—ttolene Biosse—Duplan 19 December 2024

Full Name: _______ Anne-Helene Biosse-Duplan

Position: _______ Chair of Trustees

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES | ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 | VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA

I report on the financial statements of the company for the year ended 31 March 2024 as set out on 37-47.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS OF REPORT

As the charity’s trustees of the Company (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law), you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited for this year under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”).In carrying out my examination, I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1. Accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; or

2. The accounts do not accord with such records; o

3. The accounts do not comply with relevant accounting requirements under section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Shruti Soni FCCA FCIE Date: ____ 19 December 2024 Shruti Soni Ltd ● Chartered Certified Accountants 117A St Johns Hill, Sevenoaks TN13 3PL

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT | ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 | VOLUNTEER CENTRE KENSINGTON & CHELSEA

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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