2021-05-04-accounts - Abingdon Damascus Youth Project

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Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From Period start date 5 May 2020 To Period end date 4 May 2021 Charity name: Abingdon DAMASCUS Youth Project

Charity registration number: 1098966

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	To promote the development of the personal, social & educational potential of all young people between the ages of 11 and 18, and up to 25 years where there are special circumstances, who live in the area encompassed by Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Councils and in particular those who are disadvantaged by adverse social conditions. Our current work is focussed in the rural Oxfordshire villages of Drayton, Appleford, Milton, Sutton Courtenay and Steventon (DAMASCUS) and the neighbouring Abingdon town. We also engage and support young people through the Abingdon and Didcot secondary schools to synergise the school and community support.
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	Our activities promote a shared sense of belonging with youth advocacy and leadership in the community as the focus, and build intergenerational bridges for sustainable communities. Over the years the needs have widened with the advent of the internet and social media and increased awareness of mental health through adolescence and vulnerability of young people to exploitation. Thus, bespoke early intervention and prevention is at the heart of all we do. Street work by our youth workers and other volunteers identify needs before they escalate, and builds trusting relationships with disengaged vulnerable young people in need of support whom we then support through focused goal-oriented one-to-one sessions. We also undertake: Development and training of young leaders in the community. Inter-generational community interaction through community projects (village fetes, inter-generational workshops, litter pick, helping the elderly in the community, cricket, football etc.). Regular sports, arts, and music fun activities to raise confidence and self-esteem. Young people led participation in county workshops and forum, presentations at project AGM, parish council meetings etc. Youth Drop-in sessions in village halls.

	SORP reference
		Drug and alcohol misuse, health and relationships and sexual health education, employment workshops. Collaborative working with schools and other organisations Development and training of staff and volunteers.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	In planning our activities for the year, the trustees have given due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in deciding what charitable activities the charity should undertake. Recognising that ‘one size does not fit all’, the benefits are delivered through diverse but holistic and empowering approaches to young people within their communities and working in partnership with other statutory and voluntary bodies that are also involved in the lives of our young people. Our activities in this reporting year were adapted to enable continuing support to young people during the pandemic including during periods of lockdown. Our intergenerational work came into its own as young people were able to provide socially-distanced and covid-safe support to the elderly and isolated. We are proud that we were able to support young people, their parents, and their communities through the ongoing pandemic. This year we also led activities around reflecting and strengthening youthwork practice in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in largely White British communities through county-wide fora hosted by Oxfordshire Youth. Staff are inducted in policies and procedures and all activities are risk assessed. Safeguarding is high on our agenda with a constantly reviewed culture of vigilance.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

	SORP reference
Policy on grant making	Para 1.38	Not Applicable – grant making is not a material part of our charitable activities
Policy on social investment including program related investment	Para 1.38	Although we do not make grants, the ultimate outcomes of our work programmes for which we seek funding, are about supporting and strengthening young people’s skills and capacities to participate fully in education, employment, training and have a safe, responsible and fulfilling social life in cohesive communities.
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	Volunteers play an essential role in the project. Volunteers help in the youth drop ins; when required with specific study support and with arts and crafts and music activities.

	SORP reference
		One volunteer coordinates and ensures DBS certificates are up to date
Other		The trustees use their professional skills and give their time freely to ensure accountability and management of the finances, grant conditions, fund raising and all health and safety and safeguarding obligations. We do not have a paid manager or chief executive. In addition to the chairman, treasurer and secretary, the charity also has a trustee who is the designated voluntary Line Manager and is responsible for managing staff and other volunteers and ensuring the day-to-day operational activities are delivered in line with the objects of the charity in line with the public benefit requirement as well as raising funds for the charity.

Achievements and Performance

	SORP reference
Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	In addition to our core work of regular engagement with young people through our street work we carried out the following activities in 2020/2021 Covid19 Work As a team we were quick to act and move our support for young people online as everyone was told to stay at home. We created new social media pages, were doing live updates and contacting individual young people via phone and video calls to ensure everyone was safe and coping during the first national lockdown. We found many young people were struggling to do their schoolwork because of their environment, lack of resources or parent capacity to support to them. Because of this we were supporting young people with homework questions, delivering resources and create digital escape rooms for young people where they had to use Maths and English skills to escape. During this time, we were getting a lot of concerns from young people regarding the elderly and isolated in their communities and decided to put a list of items and contacts together for ‘care packs’ which they then helped us to deliver. Instagram Live Due to strict rules around Covid-19, at times face to face sessions were not permitted so the team quickly found other ways of engaging with the Young People via Instagram live. We would advertise times to meet online and run activities and play games via this method, games such as Pictionary or a quiz. TATTS (Talk About The Tough Stuff) TATTS has become an online safe place for a discussion-led forum by one of our Young Leaders.

Primarily started and largely based around race and living in a rural area, it has also become a safe place to talk about mental health and wellbeing.

Youth Drop-In’s / Support Groups

Our usual youth drop-ins had to change this year to fit in with covid19 guidance which meant they turned from drop-ins to invite-only youth support groups for our most vulnerable young people aged 10-18. The support groups would be themed each month on topics that met the young people’s needs such as Coping In Lockdown, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Sleep Hygiene and Relationships.

Gazebo Drop-Ins

Similar to the youth drop-ins, the gazebo drop-ins also had to be made invite only for our most vulnerable groups during the lockdown however, as restrictions eased, we were allowed to reintroduce the sessions as a drop-in and were allowed to deliver sporting activities to keep young people healthy during lockdown.

Street Work

Street work or detached youth work happens every evening where youth workers will be out on the streets,

engaging with young people, building relationships, identifying issues, and creating bespoke support opportunities. It is in street work where we often meet with young people who are not engaging with any other services and are usually vulnerable or at high risk of slipping through the net of other support services.

Educational Issue-Based Workshops

We have delivered a number of educational issue-based workshops including Staying Safe in the Community, Online Resilience, Healthy Relationships and THC Aware. This year we have also developed and delivered workshops to parents to give them advice on supporting their teenage children during lockdown. Topics included THC awareness, Online and Offline Relationships and Mental Health and Wellbeing. We have also greatly focused on relationships and sexual health as we identified a number of young people were in unhealthy relationships and needed support.

Youth Ambassadors This year we have trained 2 groups of Youth Ambassadors who have been trained in Youth Leadership and Advocacy and each group has chosen an issue to advocate for. The Youth Ambassadors from South Abingdon focused on general health and tobacco as a topic and presented a tobacco workshop at some of our groups to other young people. This group also focused on liaising with the town council to consult young people on their needs and to advocate to improve recreation facilities.

The Sutton Courtenay Youth Ambassador group focused on advocating for better youth facilities in the village by creating a questionnaire, consulting young people, and feeding back their finding to the parish council. Boot Camp This project was created and delivered by our youth worker specialising in sports coaching who was inspired to get young people, particually those who shy away from sports, involved in a physical activity. It also allowed young people to explore a way of exercise they wouldn’t necessarily have tried through schools or other clubs. "I have so much more energy than I thought! I'm waking up earlier and want to do more with my day than just

school, eating food and sleeping and I’m going to bed earlier too!" Young person 13 - South Abingdon

"The boot camps are so much fun. We get to play lots of games and get fit as we do it! Also, No one likes burpees here anymore!" Young Person 11 - Sutton Courtenay

Active Reach

This project ran over the summer in South Abingdon, it was for the community with the aim of getting people moving. A competition was held where together the goal was for the residents to walk and upload their steps to see if within the target weeks the calculated steps were the same as walking the coastal paths around England. As well as this Active Reach activity packs were made and distributed to families with activity cards and equipment for fun games and exercise the whole family could do at home.

Sports sessions

When covid rules allowed we added additional sports sessions into our week allowing the young people to come along and enjoy some outdoor activities, fresh air and exercise. We would often play sports such as rounders, cricket, and dodge ball. This really helped non active children, gain confidence to get involved in sports.

Doorstep Bingo

During the main lockdown as rules started to change, Doorstep Bingo was started as an introductory way to start getting the elderly residents who had been shielding out of their houses again an something to look forward too. We would walk with the Young People

delivering bingo slips and then once a week we would gather in front of the house with the Young People helping to set up the area, bingo call, deliver prizes and have general conversation with the residents.

" The bingo has been amazing for me. During the first 8 weeks of lockdown I hadn't got changed out of my pyjamas let alone left the house. Now every Wednesday I have something to get dressed for and can get some fresh air". Elderly Resident, Sutton Courtenay

"Calling the bingo numbers each week has boosted my confidence so much in recent weeks, I was always the shy quiet kid now look at me, All the twos, its two little ducks (quack quack)". Young Person 14 - Sutton Courtenay

Litter Picks

Young people thoroughly enjoy looking after the environment by running community litter picks. We do several throughout every year at young people’s request.

‘’We love litter picking, you never know what you might find and it’s good that adults seeing us doing something

good in the village coz they usually moan about us’’ – Young person, 13. Aquarius

We partnered with Aquarius to deliver substance abuse and anxiety workshops at our gazebo drop-ins to young people at risk of or are misusing substances so they can better understand the risks and get support.

“I didn’t know what to expect but actually that was really good” – Young person, 17.

Police workshop in Abingdon

We invited PC Russ Massie to visit our young people under the gazebo to talk about the relationship between young people and the police. There was lots of good conversation around the laws, changing of the laws and the best approach from both police and Young People. The Young People learnt about stop and search rights and what info the police can legally ask for without a charge. It was a very interesting session and one we will repeat.

Since this workshop, two of the young people who attended were so inspired we have been able to support further communications between them and Russ Massie to further their knowledge about recruitment into the police force.

Fishing Project

We incorporated fishing into our 1-2-1 support sessions ensuring they were covid safe and enabled a calm space for talking and learning new skills

"Coming to these 121s and going fishing has helped me realise who my real friends are. I have made so much progress at school lately because now I’m not playing the fool in class. On top of that I’ve learned new skills and made some great memories". Young Person 14 - South Abingdon

"I had one aim today and that was to catch a pike on a lure, an hour later and I had it. If only finding a job was this easy!" Young Person 17 - South Abingdon

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41	We have supported over 500 different young people throughout the year of whom 200 regularly attended our sessions. 41 different young people were given 1-2-1 support for as long as they needed it - 11 were given general wellbeing and emotional support 12 were supported in re-engaging with education, employment or training 18 were supported with mental health
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41	Not Applicable
Investment performance against objectives	Para 1.41	Not Applicable
Other

Financial Review

Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	On 4th May 2021, the charity held total funds of £121,553
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	Trustees place all funds not immediately required in the project’s gold account with CAF Bank Limited (CAF Bank Limited is a subsidiary of the Charities Aid Foundation). The trustees have a policy of maintaining a reserve to enable the recruitment and retention of proficient and credible youth workers in the event that no new income is received in the year. Thus, in setting a level of reserve trustees have regard to the stability of employment to staff over at least a one-year period as at the core of our work is building strong and trusting relationships with young people. The trustees are also aware of the elapsed time from applying for a long-term grant to the award of such a grant and the need to ensure that there are sufficient finances to keep the project going in the interim.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	£121,553
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	Not Applicable
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	Not Applicable
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	There are no uncertainties

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:	Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:	Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	The principal sources of funding in 2020/2021 were Home Office, Parish, Town and District Councils, South and Vale Community Safety Partnerships, Active Oxfordshire and #iwill (54%). Other grants were from Sovereign, Indigo, Peter Baker, Oxford Community Foundation, and parochial charities (41%) Individual donations, receipts and Gift Aid (5%)
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46	Not Applicable
A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46
Other

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter)	Para 1.25	Constitution
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO)	Para 1.25	Unincorporated registered charity
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	All trustees retire from office at the AGM thought may seek re-election. Nominations for the Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and Line Manager are invited and elected at the AGM. Additionally, up to four members may be elected at the AGM. The DAMASCUS Parochial Church Council may appoint a trustee.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees	Para 1.51	The Charity has a Designated Safeguarding Lead who ensures all trustees and other committee members and workers (voluntary and employed) are DBS checked. Trustees have a Safeguarding policy in place and all staff and relevant volunteers receive safeguarding training.
The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works	Para 1.51	The Charity employs both qualified and trainee youth workers (FTE 2.8 in 2020/21) whose day to day work is managed by the voluntary Line manager who is also a trustee and responsible for safeguarding and the induction of new staff and volunteers. Young people make an input into the services through the development of young community leaders as this is a community- based project. Positive intergenerational engagement is key to community cohesion which in turn provides sustainable support to young people within their communities and thus partnership working is integral to the charity’s work. The Charity is affiliated to Oxfordshire Youth through whom the DBS checks are undertaken.
Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51	Not Applicable
Other

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	Abingdon DAMASCUS Youth Project
Other name the charity uses	ADYP
Registered charity number	1098966
Charity’s principal address	9 Chapel Lane Sutton Courtenay OX14 4AN

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)
MRS PAT NAPPER	Chairperson	Elected at AGM
MRS ANNE WHITEHEAD	Secretary	Elected at AGM
Mr HANS SUNDIN	Treasurer	Elected at AGM
MRS RITA ATKINSON	Line Manager	Elected at AGM
MRS AUDREY HOLLOWAY		Elected at AGM
MR SIMON MURRAY		Elected at AGM
DR MARK WHITTAKER		Elected at AGM

– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved

Director name None

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name	Dates acted if not for whole year
None

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets Not Applicable held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of adviser Name Address
Bank	CAF Bank	25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA.



Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

Not Applicable

Other optional information

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s)	Signature(s)
Full name(s)	Full name(s) Patricia E Napper	Rita Atkinson
Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc)	Chairman	Line Manager

Date09 January 2022	09 January 2022

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