G-Force Annual Report – Charity No 1110767 - Period April 2022 to March 2023
By Mark Ashcroft – Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Paul Huxley – CEO
Overview
This was the most challenging year to date for G-Force as Tina, the Project Manager and member of the Management Team (and wife of our CEO Paul Huxley), was diagnosed with lung cancer in May 2022. This means that two of the three Mngt Team that plan and deliver most of the work we do were taken out of the picture for long periods of time with Tina having to endure a series of medical interventions and Paul supporting Tina through her treatment.
This had a real impact on what we could do as an organisation with the result being that we had to refocus on what was most important and where we could get the best value for our communities. As the year progressed other issues also impacted G-Force as members of the Board of Trustees suffered serious illness as did other close relatives and friends of the G-Force family.
The Board of Trustees would like to express their gratitude to all out supporters and funders for their understanding and support through this difficult time.
For clarity G-Forces work has always focused on distinct communities; the major ones being Broomwood and Oldfield Brow and to a lesser extent Broadheath. As well as this we also focus on thematic groups where our skills can bring most benefit.
The Annual Report this year is broken down into these areas of work but as is the way, many of these areas overlap, compliment, and support each other.
Community Cafe on Broomwood
The Community Cafe opened in April 2009 and has run successfully ever since. It currently employs four local people.
The importance to G-Force of the Community Cafe cannot be over emphasised as it is the face of G- Force on Broomwood and the gateway to all our other services for those living in that area.
The café has managed to ‘ride out’ most challenges during that time (including the pandemic lockdown) and has always paid its way. The future of the Community Cafe was however thrown into doubt by the impact of the increases in Gas and Electricity prices following the conflict in Ukraine. At one stage the monthly gas and electricity bills had increased by almost fourfold. Thankfully our friends at Oglesby Charitable Trust (who had funded the opening of the cafe back in 2009) stepped in and agreed to cover the excess costs for a 12 month period. This gave us the time to plan for the future and with this help we managed to make the changes needed to ensure its survival.
The Trustees would like to say a special thank you all the ladies who work at the café for helping so much during the health difficulties mentioned above.
The G-Force Centre
I am pleased to report that the Centre roof has now been replaced and repaired where needed and that it is now totally leakproof and has a 20 year warranty too. This is a massive weight off our minds as the interior was getting damaged more and more by some very major leaks. Our heartfelt thanks go to the good people at Zochonis Charitable Trust who provided the vast majority of the funding needed, and to South Trafford Food Bank who helped with the rest. It was such a relief to us all when this was done. I went to the centre the day after the first major storm following the roofs completion and it was great to walk in and see everywhere dry.
The work on upgrading the Kitchen in the Centre (funded by Morrisons) led by the volunteers from Farrat Isolevel Ltd unfortunately came to a standstill during this period. It is though 90% completed and we are hoping to finish it off in the coming financial year.
South Trafford Food Bank are still using the Centre and we continue to have a great working relationship with their team. We marvel at the tremendous work they do and often find ourselves working together to combat food poverty locally. The Café on Broomwood is a prime example of this, being a distribution point for Food Bank Vouchers.
There are currently no other activities being delivered at the Centre. It does though continue to be used as our storage facility for toys, donated food, our gardening, environmental and fun day equipment and our other resources too. The Centre is a wonderful asset and one which we appreciate.
The roof being repaired
Our Partnerships and strategic work
During this year Paul (our CEO at G-Force) decided to step down as Chair of both the Broadheath and Broomwood Partnerships as he felt unable to give the time needed to drive them forward. Paul facilitated the smooth handover of the Chairmanship of the Broomwood Partnership to Cllr Sean Ennis with TMBC Officers taking the lead in helping the Broadheath Partnership re-establish itself.
We intend to keep our links with both these Partnerships either through continued membership or by being an active Partner in the area. During this time administered all three Partnerships, supported Partners in their search for external funding, delivered Platinum Jubilee Community Fundays in each of these areas and took the lead in delivering Broadheath Community Association’s Community Funday.
The Oldfield Brow Partnership is now well established and is recognised by most agencies as a very fruitful and mature conduit through which they can converse with active and proactive members of the community. It continues to have great connections with the local community, statutory and voluntary agencies and the local Councillors too.
The development of a Pocket Park on the waste ground opposite the shops in Oldfield Brow has now been completed and it was officially renamed at the opening ceremony as the ‘Calm Corner’; a name chosen by the local School Boy Andrew Brown. The event was also attended by the Major of Trafford and the Deputy High Sherif of Manchester who planted a Tree awarded from the Queens ‘Tree of Trees’ that was on display outside Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations. This development has been very well received by the community and is a real indication of the future potential of what can be done through the Partnership.
Buckingham Palace
The Cowfield and the old Allotment site in Oldfield Brow
We continue to work closely with TMBC to ensure community input in the development of the Allotment site (destined for housing) and the adjacent to the Cowfield Recreation area where we are pressing for the ‘Community Infrastructure levy’ ( previously known as Section 105 funding) to be spent. There are lots of other wins too during this time with the second Boys 5-a-side football team still going strong and still being supported by G-Force as are other community activities throughout the year such as the Platinum Jubilee Funday , various litter picks, bulb planting, gingerbread decorating at the School, weekly art classes, new waste bins in the community and the moving of the football nets in the Cowfield.
The link with the Church on the Brow continues with the
Church now hosting the weekly Oldfield Brow Community Grocery that started in Oct 2022. This project is being supported by a whole host of local volunteers and each week over 50 attendees come along and are able to purchase a wide range of fresh fruit, vegetables and other food types, all at rock bottom prices. The church supports this SMCA Project (being
delivered by G-Force) by offering its resources FOC along with a room dedicated to the project. The Church’s willingness and their openness to allow their building to be used by the community is now making a real difference. It remains the only accessible community building in Oldfield Brow and has the potential to become an even stronger community hub bringing benefits for the whole community. This too is something we actively promote.
The ‘Love Oldfield Brow’ WhatsApp group continues to be a great way to communicate. The active member been very successful in creating interest and debate.
The Accessibility Audit (commissioned by SMCA) arrived before Christmas but action on it has been delayed until after the local Elections in May 2023.
Our thanks go again to SMCA for commissioning all our work on Oldfield Brow. We must also thank the local Councillors and the Friends of the Cowfield all of whom have been very active and supportive of the Partnership and the work of G-Force during this period. The School deserves a special thank you too, as it continues to be the beating heart of Oldfield Brow with a reputation second to none.
Making hot meals for the homeless in Manchester
This project has been running for a while now and is led by Hazel and her team of volunteers. This year, with the kitchen at the Centre being renovated, we moved to cooking the meals at the Church on the Brow. We also provided a hot Christmas meal for 100 people at the Christmas Party held in St Peters Square in Manchester. Hazel deserved great credit for leading on the project and for her care and dedication in wanting to provide wholesome and home cooked meals for these most vulnerable people.
Our work helping struggling families includes…
Free lunches distributed during school holidays for kids living on Broomwood
We have continued to develop this free service and during this period over 3000 meals have been given away ‘free of charge’ from the G-Force café on Broomwood alone. Our thanks go the South Trafford Food Bank for supporting this project. Any child or young person living on Broomwood can just call in and pick up a meal of their choice.
This year we also launched two Community Groceries: one in Oldfield Brow and one in Broomwood
The Oldfield Brow Community Grocery was launched in October 2022 and the Broomwood
Community Grocery followed in February 2023. Both have been very popular attracting between them over 100 attendees each week. Between both locations the attendees are purchasing nearly £3k worth of groceries each week for approx. £600. Both these were ‘steps of faith’ as we had no guarantee of weekly stock being renewed, but even so the food comes in each week
and our thanks go to the many organisations supporting this initiative. This included Tesco, Sainsburys, Marks & Spencer, Cook, Fareshare, Nisa and many others organisations and private individuals too. The weekly income then allows us to purchase extra produce not donated so that we have a great range of wholesome, heathy, and fresh food for those that attend. I should also say that this project is supported by many local volunteers who come along each week giving many hours setting the groceries, serving customers and the packing everything away. They are amazing.
This year we were also able to distribute free Christmas Toys to struggling families with over 60 families benefitting. The bulk of the referrals came from our local schools. We sorted and then delivered the gifts straight to the schools for them to forward to parents. We are again in great debt to Mission Christmas for their generosity, without them this project just wouldn’t happen.
Community based Art classes
This year we ran the two regular weekly art classes, one at Leverett Close Sheltered Scheme (which was delivered free of charge) and one at the Heyes Lane Congregational Church. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, the one at Leverett Close had to stop before the Summer Holidays and hasn’t started up again but the remaining class is going from strength to strength.
Here are a few examples of the art produced.
The Christmas Giant Gingerbread creations
This became a regular Christmas activity at G-Force and one
that all the children look forward too. In total we sent 1200 gingerbread creations into three schools: Broomwood, Broadheath & Oldfield Brow, as well as delivering it
to other groups in the community. Our thanks go to all the volunteers who helped put the packs together and helped to deliver the activity too, we just couldn’t have done it without you. Some activities are worth doing for the lovely memories they create and this activity is one of those. It started over 20 years ago and has become a G-Force tradition that our old members from that time still talk about and look back on with affection.
Coffee mornings and the Over 50’s Christmas Party
The coffee mornings have now been running for over 12 years in the café organised by local volunteer, Joan Lloyd. These coffee mornings raise funding to help towards the cost for the annual over 50’s Christmas party. The coffee mornings are held on the 1[st] Monday of each month and this year they raised over £700. The Conservative Club in Altrincham hosted this year’s party with over 70 people in attendance. We also managed to get the local Singer Colin Paul to come along and entertain us. It was a very successful event.
Pictures taken at the Over 50’s Christmas Party
Free trip to Altrincham Garrick Panto
We have got to say thank you again to the Garrick Theatre for their generosity in donating tickets to G-Force. We were able to distribute over 40 free tickets to local families so they could see the Pantomime and from what I have been told it was a truly magical and amazing night.
Volunteering in G-Force
This year we had over 50 individuals volunteer at G-Force and between them they gave over 1500 volunteer hours in support of our work. We are in debt to each and every one and we can say without a doubt that without them G-Force wouldn’t be able to deliver the services to the community that we do. Our heartfelt thanks go to every single person involved.
Finally, our most sincere thanks go to the following organisations for their help and support during this year
Seamons Moss Community Association, Farrat Isolevel Ltd, Oglesby Charitable Trust, Zochonis Charitable Trust, The Church in the Brow, Fairshare, Cook in Wilmslow, South Trafford College, Aldi, Asda in Broadheath, Fairshare, Nisa in Timperley and Oldfield Brow, South Trafford Food Bank, Marks & Spencer, Sainsburys in Timperley and Altrincham, South Trafford Foodbank, Altrincham Baptist Church, Martins Bakery, Trafford Council, The National Lottery, Truck Care, Tesco at Altrincham and on Broomwood, the National Trust and Oldfield Brow School for the Harvest festival donation. We must also thank all those individuals who also made donations (large and small) to help our efforts in addressing food poverty and sustain the work of G-Force.
We appreciate and value your support, thank you so much.
The Trustees during this period were as follows:
| Mark Peter Ashcroft | appointed 11-1-21 Jacqueline Ann Marsh | appointed 11-1-21 |
|---|---|---|
| Barbara Taylor | appointed 11-1-21 Wendy Ashcroft | appointed 11-1-21 |
We confirm that all the work done during this period was in line our aims and objectives detailed in our constitution adopted on 19[th] June 2005 and that G-Force is an unincorporated Association.
Registered Office
65 Briarfield Road, Broomwood, Timperley, Altrincham, Cheshire WA15 7DD
There are currently no formal policies and procedures for the induction and training of Trustees.
REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 REGISTERED CHARITY: 1110767
INDEX TO THE FIt4ANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 Page ACCOUNTANTS REPORT STATEMENT OF THE FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 2to4 BALANCE SHEET NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
£1 £.1 ,.14 INDEPENI)ENT EXTERNAL EXAMINERS REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 The aceounls (financial slalemenlsl have been prepared in accordance wilh the Slalemenl ol Recommend Practice.. Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing Ih4r accounts In ae¢tsrdan¢e wlh Ihe Finan¢al Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 1021 issued in October 2019 and the Financial Reporting Standard applic8b1e in the United Kingdom and RepubSic ol Ireland IFRS 1021 and the Charities Act 2011 and UK Gener8lly Accepted Practic& as il applies from 1 January 2019. The accounts lfinan¢ial slalem¢ntsl have been prepared lo giv8 a 'lrue and lai¢ view and have . departed from the Caanlies IAccounls and Reports) Regulations 2008 only lo the extent Tequired Its provide a'tru9 and lair view,. This departure has involved following Accounting 8nd Reporting by ChariliÈ5". Statement ol Recommended Piactice applicable lo charities preparing their a¢counls in accordance with the Financ81 Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 1021 issued in October 2019 rather than the Aceounling and Reporting by Charities". Stalemonl ol Re¢ommended Practice effective from 1 Apiil 2005 wli¢h has since b68n withdrawn. In aOrdanCe wlh the request of G-Force Charity., lo examine its Reports and A¢counls Iwithout Ihe undertakirg ol an Audlt} lor the year ended 31st March 2023 Based in the Information given, invoices & receipts prowded, overviews ol prqecls and explanatsons received I have pleasure in recommending the Reports 8 Accounts setting out the dealin9s of G-Force Regislered Charity". 1110767, as a true and 8CCLtrale record &gn8d Hilton Jones Limited Chartered Cortified Accounlanls Hollinwood Business Centre Albert Street Oldham Loncashire OL8 3QL
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 Year ended Year ended 31 March 2023 31 March 2022 Income and Expondlture Incoming Resources Albert Hunl Trusl A5da Awards for Ml BCA Broadhealh Comm Assoc Broadheath s¢hool income Broomwood school income Cafe Tiading Income Cash for Kids Grant Community grocery Donations & Misc income Fo(Kl bank Rent Friday Arl Club Fun day$ income Gift Aid Hidden Talent Projeel Hits Radio IVH Grant Just givin9 ineome for minibus Job Retention S¢heme Morrison grant kitchen al Newstead Oglesby Trust Packed lunches Incom¢ Sale mayoral fund Sale ol Minibu5 Sainsburys SMCA THT sla7 Inveslmenl Fund Timperley Boxing TMBC Trafford F¢)od bank grant Tfafford Food Bank Rent Zochonis Tiusl- grant for new roof 2,000 600 9,947 445 9,990 750 1.260 2,196 1,880 87,225 350 74,194 6.934 7,625 7,000 130 1,272 18,449 1,298 426 167 1,600 1,900 1,500 280 9,035 18,600 35,000 24,854 1,200 2,500 7,500 500 30,000 9,890 170 12.178 1,238 7,000 7,000 27.950 4,916 3.500 65.000 Total Incoming Resources 312,906 195,442
G-FOt2 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 Year ended 31 March 2023 Year ended 31 March 2022 R88ources Expend8d Accountancy Bouncy castle inspection Cafè advertising Cafe food & drink Cafe m8intenance Café Repairs Cafe Telephone and broadband Cafe Utility Bi115 Café bins Calé Sundry Christmas Gilts Food Project G-Force Centre Cleaning G-Force Centre paIrS below £501 G-Force Centfe Tel & Broadband G-Force Centre TV Licen G-Force Centre Utilities C951 of activities Liabilty In5uran¢e Licence & Membership Fees Legal Costs Minibus fuel Minibus insurance Minibus Road Tax & Repairs Newslead centre - Uliliy bills Newslead centre - refurbishment Newslead teft - phone and internel Newslead centre - Roof repair Posiage, printing & stab'onary Pension paymen15 Project costs Wages & Nal Ins Staff Expenses Telephone. mobile & Ipads TMBC VSC exp Travel Trailer seNice$ Website. compulw & Inlern8t- comm grocery Volunteers Expenses Depreciation 792 261 720 77 25.486 624 1.968 663 8,435 1,310 1,353 25,411 1,348 691 18,026 683 440 225 4,299 1,384 89 414 159 4,136 6,383 1,933 249 2,964 2,137 138 734 1.893 1,855 2,281 12.930 690 85.614 425 3,149 10,731 140,527 1,055 1.068 730 5,823 131,804 802 2.050 450 3.079 1,763 456 723 1.756 158 241 293 322 Total of Resources Expendèd 300,377 204,846
-FQRCE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES . continued FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 Year ended 31 March 2023 Year ended 31 March 2022 Total Resources brouoht forward from 1st April 205,543 214.947 Net movement in Resources for the year 12,529 9,404 Net movement an Assets Funds at 31 March 218,072 205,543 All activities are classed as continuing. Movements on reserves and all recognised gains and losses are shown above.
G-FOt2CE BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2023 31 March 2023 31 March 2022 Total Total Fixed Assets Bld book value of Tangible assets Additions 200,724 200,965 200.724 200,965 Current Assets Cash at bank at year end 17,348 17,348 4,018 4,018 Creditors Amounts f Ilin due wi ne ear Café income banked after 1st April 2022 560 Net Assets 218,072 205,543 Funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds 215,796 2,276 202.440 3,103 Total funds 218,072 205,543 Approved by the trustees on Trustee Treasurer 2oZ Date
,G-FOt2CE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS AS AT 31 MARCH 2023 FIXED ASSETS TURES Tl &FI DING MOTOR TOTA COST At 1 April 2022 8,801 200,000 28,297 37,098 Additions Disposals At 31 March 2023 8 801 200.000 28 297 237 098 DEPRECIATION At 1 April 2022 8,581 27,552 36,133 Depn this year 55 186 241 At 31 March 2023 36,374 NET BOOK VALUE At 31 March 2022 220 200 000 745 200,965 At 31 March 2023 165 200,000 559 200,724
Minutes of the G-Force AGM Held on 22nd Jan 2024 at 7pm at the G-Force Cafe rrrustees Present ark Ash¢roft, Jackie Marsh & Barbara Taylor nt Team resent Hazel Berrisford & Paul Huxley Members Present Nnne Hun18r- David Huxley- Jez Quirk- Grant McKenzie- Laura Clark- Kery Hindle- lan Taylor- Chris ooth olo ies my Huxley - IA*ndy Ashcroft- Val Qulrk- Leslle Thack8r- ltsm Moetlng 8tart8d at 7pm Action Required W•lcomo & Apologlo• The Chalr Mark Ashcroft welcorned •veryon• to the meetlng and thanked th0 lor attending. Mark a180 thanked the Management Team for all their work and spoke about th8 Sad pa8sing of Tina Huxley who had been a founder member of G-Force and the other devastating personal losse$ and illn88898 that had affected the G-Force team during thi8 time. D•clarntlon of confllct of Intsrest There were no nflictS of interest noted for ony of those In attendance. Pr•8entatlon of Flnanclal Report or tho porlod 1•1 Aprll 2022 to 31•t March 2023 The report was presented by Paul Huxley. It was accepted unanimou81y by the meeting 88 true and accurate record of the fiscal dealings throughout the year. Pr•8•ntatlon of the Annual r•port The report w88 pre8ented, wglcomed and the accepted unanlmou81y by everyone at the meetlng. Updat• ref the appllcatlon to bècome a CIO Mark explained to the meeting that the application was taking longer than expected and that the Board were progressing tho application under the guidance of a Mark Heaton; a Consultant paid for by Oglesby Charitable Trust Votlng in th• new Board of Trusts Th8 Board (namely Mark Ashcroft, Wendy A8hcroft, Barbara Taylor and Jackie Marsh) were voted back into office unanimously by the whole meeting. Mark, Barbara & Jackie thanked the members for their support. Dats of next meotlng To be decided at a later date Isigned as a true record of the meeting Date Z (Chair)
INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL EXAMINERS REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 The accounts Ilinaneial slalemen151 have been preparèd in accordance wlh the Slalemenl ol R8comm¢nded Pr8clice.' Ac¢ounlirsg and Reporting by Charities prgparin9 Ihelr 8¢eount$ in aecordance with thè Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic ol Ireland IFRS 1021 issued in October 2019 and the Fln8naal Reporting Slèndard applicable in tha United Kingdom 8nd Republic of Irelon¢J IFRS 102) and the Charili¥s Act 2011 and UK Gener8lly Accepled Pfaclice as11 applles from 1 January 2019. Tho accounts (financial 8t8lemenlsl have been prepared 10 9ivg a 'ltU8 and fair. vlew and have. dgparted from lh8 Charitiès IAc¢ounl8 and Reports) Regulation5 2008 only lo th& exlenl required lo provide a 'lru& and lair vlew.. This departure has involved following Accounting and R•porting by Charilie$'. Slolemenl ol Recommendèd PrlIe& appli¢able 10 charities pieparing their acegunls in 8¢eord8nce with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in Ihe UK and Ropublic ol Irgland IFRS 1021 issued in O¢lober 2019 ralhtsr Ihan the Accounlsn9 and Reporting by Chariti88.' Slol•m•nt ol RKommended Pracllce effectiv• from 1 Aprfl 2005 which ha8 $in¢o been withdrawn. In a¢¢ordance wlh the r•quesl of G-Force Charity.. ID examing Ils Reports and unls Iwilhoul the undtrrtaklng ol 8n Audlll lor the year ended 31st March 2023 Based in Ihe inlofmalion giv&n, Involces & ree8Spi$ proed, ovgrvigws of projtcl$ and explanations received I have pleasure In recomm8ndlng thè Reports a A¢counl8 gelling oul the dealings ol G.For¢e Registered Charity. 1110767. as a Irue and Accurate i•cord Slgn•d Hilton Jone8 Limited Chartered Certifièd AOUntan1$ Hollinwood Bu8Ine8$ Centr Altert Street Oldham Lanca$hlre OL8 3QL