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bY4 HuntingdonshireV olunteerCentre

Trustees Annual Report

2023—2024

‘ Supporting Huntingdonshire Communities Through Volunteering ’

Registered Office

1 Princes Street

Huntingdon

PE29 3PA

Telephone: 01480 414766

info@huntsvc.org.uk www.huntsvc.org.uk

Registered Charity: 1126811 Company Number: 6726114

Thank you to our supporters!

Thank you to all of our supporters for donating their time and skills for our benefit and that of the local community.

To those who have fundraised on our behalf and made individual donations, to our local councils for their continued support and to our amazing team of volunteers – without you we would not be able to deliver our services!

All these actions have greatly encouraged us and helped us to continue to deliver our services locally, across Huntingdonshire.

For your support during the financial year 2023/2024—We Thank You!

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority,

Huntingdonshire District Council, Town Councils: St Ives, St Neots, Ramsey, Huntingdon, Godmanchester Huntingdon Freemen’s Trust, The National Lottery Community Fund, Lloyds Bank Foundation, Rotary Club of St Neots.

Trustees

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Mike Baker Anthony Clarke Jenny Clarke Robert Young
Chair Vice-Chair / Secretary Treasurer
Payroll
-— Ve? t }
Chris Myles Richard Brown Dennis Steve Burdett
Camilleri
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The Charity may by ordinary resolution at an Annual General Meeting appoint a person who is willing to act as a Trustee.

At least 14 clear days written notice shall be given to the members of the names of those nominated or otherwise standing for appointment or re-appointment as a Trustee.

The persons to be appointed as Trustees shall be determined by ballot of the members.

The Trustees may appoint a person who is willing to act as a Trustee.

Any Trustee appointed under this clause must retire at the next Annual General Meeting.

Staff

Debbie Windsor General Manager

Tripti Woolf Marie Webb Huntingdon & Ramsey Area Godmanchester Manager Area Manager

Kirsty Fletcher St Ives Area Manager

Shona Martin Emma Cameron St Neots Area Huntingdon Shop Manager Manager

Huntingdon Office: The Maple Centre, 6 Oak Drive, Huntingdon, PE29 7HN. 01480 414766 huntngdon@huntsvc.org.uk Ramsey Office: Town Council Offices, Great Whyte, Ramsey, PE26 1HG. 01487 814117 ramsey@huntsvc.org.uk

St Ives Office: Town Hall, Market Hill, St Ives, PE27 5AL. 01480 301462 stves@huntsvc.org.uk

St Neots Office: Community Building, 6a South Street, St Neots, PE19 2BW. 01480 476047 stneots@huntsvc.org.uk

Huntingdon Together Shop: 1 Princes Street, PE29 3PA 01480 700290 biz@huntsvc.org.uk General Manager: 07718 272524 info@huntsvc.org.uk

www.huntsvc.org.uk

Chairman’s Report 2023/2024

Mike Baker

The most moving comments I get from users of our Car Scheme involve the way our drivers defuse so much of the anxiety involved with a hospital visit. A hospital visit

can in itself be frightening- what will the doctors find? Will the person need difficult treatment? Is the outlook bleak? Then the anxiety is compounded by the issue of getting to the hospital and finding the way to the correct department in some forbidding, huge and unfamiliar building.

We deal with a number of elderly people who live far away from public transport. To have a driver who will collect people from their homes, who knows the way to the hospital and who will drop you off at the right entrance or guides you there takes away all the additional stress of getting there and that is greatly appreciated by many of our clients.

So a huge thank you to all our volunteer drivers and our volunteer administrators who make the system work so well.

Whilst many of our drives do not involve hospital visits, every journey makes life more comfortable for a person in need.

Thanks to the enthusiastic work of our trustees and staff, we are in good shape!

Our Car Scheme is very busy and expanding both in the number of clients and drivers.

Our paid staff work well beyond the call of duty.

Debbie, our General Manager, is always thoughtful, calm and very efficient, and our four Area Managers all show tremendous care for all the people who ask for our help. Cancelled hospital appointments or sudden requests which create a great deal of extra work are always treated sympathetically.

Kirsty’s organisation of the Christmas day Lunch was superb!

We had been unable to have a sit down lunch in the Free Church for three years because of the Covid crisis but this year we had a wonderful party which was enjoyed by about sixty people. We hope to increase the numbers next year.

Thanks are due to many volunteers and in particular to Pat Jones, our new cook who was calm, organised and totally committed to her task.

Shona’s get together for volunteers and clients in St Neots was excellent and the attendance of some Town Councillors has raised our profile.

The Trustees have been very busy this year. Trustees are not paid but do an enormous amount of work and I am impressed by their commitment and their willingness to take on new initiatives.

Our newest Trustee, Dennis Camilleri, has been involved in a great number of initiatives to improve our communications and marketing, as well as helping us with finance and website matters.

As we grow larger, the burden of preparing all the documentation required by the Charity Commission and other bodies becomes more burdensome, and so we are attempting to make our lives easier by employing some professional bodies to help us, although that costs us more money and we don’t have much to spare!

Steve, our Ramsey Trustee, has done a great deal of work for us, which has culminated in us moving offices from the Methodist Church, where we had been for many years, to the new Town Council Office Building

in the centre of town. This will raise our profile and gives Marie a much more pleasant place to meet and interview people.

We have also moved our Huntingdon office from a rather cramped room within our Charity Shop to the Maple Centre which allows Tripti to be near to the offices of a number of other local charities, as well as having real windows which give natural light!

Again, with good adjacent parking we hope that visiting the office will be an easier and more pleasant experience.

I continue to be impressed and grateful for all the work and time given by the Trustees. Anthony Clarke and his wife Jenny, as well as being volunteers in the St Ives Car Scheme, do an incredible amount of extra work for us– dealing with grant applications, dealing with suppliers and trouble shooting on all sorts of issues.

Richard Brown and Chris Myles are very active on our behalf and I thank them for all they do.

Bob Young has had to cope with immense changes in banking and has always been cheerful, positive and helpful in his very onerous role as Treasurer.

We are very grateful to our funders– the Town Councils of St Ives, St Neots and Ramsey have continued to be very supportive both in terms of giving us office space as well as significant financial help. The Town Councils of Huntingdon and Godmanchester and also the Huntingdon Freemen’s Trust have helped us– more details are in this booklet.

The greatest funder of all is the Huntingdon Together Charity Shop which each year makes a contribution of about fifteen thousand pounds to our funds. How grateful we are to the smiling Emma Cameron, her mother and the great team of

volunteers who make the shop such a success.

Thank you all so much for your commitment to the goals of our charity.

After a number of years, Phil Sheppard has temporarily stepped down as our PAT Tester of electrical appliances due to health issues. His expertise and efficiency has been very important to our shop and we wish him a speedy return to good health.

Finally I would like to thank all of the individuals who have helped us. A number of people have given us significant donations for which I am very grateful, but it is the drivers and office volunteers who make our whole operation the success it is.

Increasingly, the whole business of volunteering is receiving much more media attention and even the late Michael Mosley of ‘Just One Thing’ emphasised the value to the individual of being a volunteer!

Thank you to all our volunteers– the Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre depends on your good work and I hope that you get satisfaction and pleasure from all the good that you do.

Treasurer’s Report

Bob Young

This report is for the fiscal year ending on 31[st] March 2024.

Our total income for the year was £122,408 (2022-23 £102,768).

Our total expenditure was £123,606 (2022-23 £104,168).

Huntingdon Volunteer Centre (HVC) cash at bank and in hand on the 31[st ] March 2024 was £49,977 (2022-23 £97,676) and £30,000 in an investment deposit account.

Income

HVC has four main income streams:

1. Local Council Grants

During the year we received a total of £30,900 in grants

St Ives Town Council - £16,500 – of which £1,200 was retained as rent for our office in the Town Hall.
St Neots Town Council £9,900.
Ramsey Town Council £4,500.

We are incredibly grateful to these Councils for their generosity and their continued support.

2. Car Scheme

Income from Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) was £15,641, an increase of 14% on last year’s income.

Income from Booking fees was £10,493, a 25% increase on 2022-23.

However, this figure includes a large element of donations. A number of volunteer drivers continue to generously donate total cost of a journey not just the booking fee element and in addition many customers give donations when paying for their drive.

The total income generated by the car scheme was £26,134. This compares very favourably with 2019-20, pre-pandemic which was £28,219.

3. Charity Shop

Total Shop income was £50,461 and the figure for 2022-23 was £45,410 (donations to the shop have been excluded).

Direct sales income was £41,146, a 9% increase on last year.

Gift aid income increased to £6,896.

Sales on Ebay/Vinted etc was £1,168.

The rag and book contracts brought in £1,087.

4. Donatons

This year we have benefitted from receiving £19,790 in donations from a variety of corporate sources and individuals. It is gratifying the

organisations and individuals think highly enough of our work to donate.

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Expenditure

The major element of our expenditure is salary/wage costs.

This year total salary/wage costs were £85,270 an increase of 17% on last year. All salary/wage scales were uprated in line with NJC pay scales and government minimum/living wage levels.

This year has seen expenditure in elements that were not included in last year’s budget forecasts:

Rent

The decisions to re-locate our manager offices in Huntingdon and Ramsey. These moves, late in the year, increase rent expenditure by £2,000. In a full year, the increase will be £11,000.

IT equipment

An additional £4,000 was spent replacing computers.

Communicatons and Marketng

£3,324 was spent on developing a website.

All other costs areas in the main account were largely in line with the 2023/24 budget.

Shop

The shop costs were £19,490 (less wage costs). Last year they were £16,161. However, the expenditure includes us being overcharged for electricity when we changed supplier. We have just received a rebate of £2,706. Including this in last year's shop performance gives a profit £14,428. The shop still has £7,000 (£5,000 from the Freemen’s Trust, £2,000 from Arnold Clark) in donations to undertake improvements. These were delayed while waiting to relocate the Huntingdon office manager out of the shop.

The main elements of expenditure are shown in the pie charts below:

Reserves

HVC’s Reserves Policy states that the Charity’s reserves should be maintained at a minimum of three months operating expenditure. Our accountants have recommended that this policy should be amended to be 6 months operating expenditure. The Trustees will be adopting this recommendation.

Investment

The trustees invested £30,000 in a Lloyds Bank deposit account. This will provide a useful interest income.

Conclusion

Both total income and total expenditure showed an increase over last fiscal year. As of 31[st] March 2024 HVC had funds at the bank of £79,977 compared with £87,715 on 31[st] March 2023.

During the year HVC has invested in its equipment and infrastructure to improve its systems and its profile. This is reflected in the reduced cash holding.

The welcome new offices for Huntingdon and Ramsey, while providing a better working environment for staff and opportunities to develop and broaden our aims and aspirations, come at an increased cost. Meeting this increase in overheads will be challenging.

It is the Trustees’ intention to continue to work to increase and diversify its income streams from grants and donations from both local authorities, local business and business organisations.

Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre is a private limited company operating under a Memorandum of Association and registered with Companies House and registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. The accompanying accounts are presented in the format required by current legislation applying to charitable companies. It is a requirement that the Trustee’s Report and Annual Accounts be submitted to both the Charity Commission and Companies House.

A qualified accountant has independently examined the Annual Accounts. A summary of the accounts is provided on the next page.

Copies of the full accounts will be posted on our website and available by request from the General Manager, Debbie Windsor.

HUNTINGDONSHIRE VOLUNTEER CENTRE

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donatons and legacies EXPENDITURE ON Charitable activities Charitable Actvites NET INCOME (EXPENDITURE) RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		Unre- stricted Restrict- ed Funds Funds £ £ 122,408 123,606 -1,198 85,752 7,000	Unre- stricted Restrict- ed Funds Funds £ £ 122,408 123,606 -1,198 85,752 7,000	2024 Total Funds £ 122,408 123,606 -1,198 92,752	2023 Total Funds £ 102,768 104,168 -1,400 94,152

		84,554	7,000	91,554	92,752


Income St. Ives TC St Neots TC Ramsey TC Car Scheme Charity Shop Income Donatons Investment income	£16,500 £9,900 £4,500 £26,259 £45,072 £19,790 £387
	£122,408

Expenditure Wage Costs Travel Insurance Volunteer expenses Car Scheme Direct IT Costs Rates and water communicaton Charity Shop Costs sundries Profession Fees Website Amortsaton Ofce Equipment Depreciaton	£85,270 £486 £989 £1,143 £125 £8,891 £168 £3,234 £19,490 £1,616 £1,371 £225 £598
	£123,606

General Manager’s Report

Debbie Windsor

There has been quite a lot happening at HVC this year! Hectic, although extremely productive and satisfying!

We were sad to say goodbye to Bex, our St Neots Area Manager. Her last day with HVC was on Tuesday 6[th] June

and so the staff went to St Neots to join her for a farewell lunch. We have since recruited her replacement, Shona Martin, who has settled into HVC life perfectly and is doing an incredible job!

In July we held our 2022-2023 AGM at Hemingford Abbots Village Hall. The meeting was well attended, including our St Neots Town Council representative, Cllr Goodman and Huntingdon Mayor and Deputy Mayor. We also had a presentation from Tracy Hipson from CPRE, which was very informative.

In September we were invited to participate in the launch of a brand new volunteer portal ‘Volunteer Cambs’. Volunteer Cambs is an online platform for volunteering in Cambridgeshire where people can search for opportunities and organisations can advertise for volunteering vacancies. We advertise our own volunteering opportunities via this platform which allows us to raise our profile within Huntingdonshire.

After many discussions and weeks of planning we were delighted to launch our brand new website back in October. It was a busy time collating ideas on the layout and content but it was worth it. We have already seen a significant increase in the number of new clients and volunteer requests since its release and it has become a good tool to advertise volunteering opportunities for other local community groups which has improved relationships with our fellow charities.

St Ives held its annual Christmas Day lunch in the Free Church. Kirsty did an amazing job organising the whole occasion. The day was a huge success and was enjoyed by many local residents who would have been alone on Christmas day. 16

It was a very exciting start to 2024 when both Marie & Tripti moved into new offices!

Marie and Steve, have both done a marvellous job at building their connections with Ramsey Town Council. We were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to apply for an office space within the new Town Council Offices. We have been making the most of moving by advertising on social media, as well as featuring in the Hunts Post and local community magazines.

Tripti and her team of volunteers now have a beautiful bright new office with windows! This has made such a positive impact on raising our profile within Huntingdon and Tripti has worked incredibly hard building relationships with our local councils and organisations that are also based within the Maple Centre.

Emma is now even smilier than usual now that she has claimed Tripti’s old office in the shop and changed it into her own space.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to the staff. You all work tremendously hard to ensure our organisation continues to function and deliver our much valued services to the community.

To the Trustees, for giving up your time to support us and for being there when we need you. Your commitment and dedication does not go un-noticed.

And of course our volunteers! What can I say – you are all such a wonderful bunch of human beings. You are the backbone of HVC and we could not do this without you!

I am looking forward to an exciting year ahead!

Our Community Car Scheme Statstcs for 2023 / 2024:

Annual Car Scheme Totals - Huntingdon	Annual Car Scheme Totals - Huntingdon	Annual Car Scheme Totals - Huntingdon
Total Miles Medical	Total Miles Hospital	Total Miles Other
3,615	6,030	16,442

Annual Car Scheme Totals - Ramsey	Annual Car Scheme Totals - Ramsey	Annual Car Scheme Totals - Ramsey
Total Miles Medical	Total Miles Hospital	Total Miles Other
4,430	7,050	7,021

Annual Car Scheme Totals - St Ives	Annual Car Scheme Totals - St Ives	Annual Car Scheme Totals - St Ives
Total Miles Medical	Total Miles Hospital	Total Miles Other
7,906	10,120	10,371

Annual Car Scheme Totals - St Neots	Annual Car Scheme Totals - St Neots	Annual Car Scheme Totals - St Neots
Total Miles Medical	Total Miles Hospital	Total Miles Other
5,083	12,191	5,603

35,391 Miles travelled to hospitals 37% of total mileage

21,035 Miles travelled to medical appointments such as doctors, dentists & opticians 22% of total mileage

39,438 Miles travelled for social & personal journeys such as hairdressers, shopping, exercise classes and visiting friends

Highlights from St Ives Kirsty Fletcher

My first full year as Area Manager for St Ives has passed in a flash although I am still amazed and so grateful for all the help from our volunteer drivers and our admin volunteers Monica, Pam, Jenny and Jean who keep the whole car scheme going week in and week out.

Ann Matthews joined us in April 2023 as an admin volunteer and is very helpful in all areas of admin which really helps our office run smoothly.

Our new website was launched this year and has already had an impact with volunteers contacting us this way. We have improved our use of Facebook to promote volunteering opportunities as well as including these on our website.

St Ives Community Car Scheme

A very busy year! St Ives drivers travelled 28,397 miles on 2,527 journeys this year! A few of our long standing drivers retired

this year but we have recruited six new drivers which is amazing, although we are always looking for more drivers due to the increased demand for our Car Scheme service. We have registered 68 new clients in the last year.

Meet Our Councillor

We had an informal get together on 4 December 2023 in the Golden Lion to introduce the St Ives Office to our nominated SITC Councillor Andrew Riddell - Trustees, Car Scheme Volunteers and drivers were all invited to meet Andrew.

Christmas Party

We held a joint Christmas Party with our Ramsey office for our staff, volunteers and Trustees in December 2023 at the Free Church. It was so lovely to see so many volunteers come along who enjoyed mulled wine, some nibbles and a glass of Prosecco which was kindly donated by a driver.

Food Deliveries Network Project

We have been asked to help out with the Food Deliveries Network Project via HDC Community Development and HDC Resident Advice Teams. The aim is for pubs/restaurants to offer ‘left over’ Sunday lunch meals for a people/family in crisis but the challenge was getting the lunches to those who are in need. We have proposed some of our volunteer drivers would be able to deliver these lunches and we are hoping this project will be up and running from Summer 2024.

Christmas Day Lunch

After 3 years of Christmas Day lunch home deliveries, the St Ives office was very excited to be able to again host our traditional

sit-down two course Christmas Day lunch at The Free Church.

It was the first time I have

organised this lunch and I was surprised at how much work goes in to one day!

We are forever grateful to Pat Clark, who has cooked the lunch for the last 13 years with help from John & Mavis who supported us to put the lunch on this year and guided me through—I could not have done it without them. Ann Matthews was a great help and called all of our guests to check they wanted to join us for the sit-down lunch which was a mammoth task but Ann completed this and made a lot of lovely people very happy when they knew they would have someone to share Christmas Day with.

Thanks also to Michael and his family for arranging the purchase of goodies for the gift bags and the drinks to accompany lunch, and to the volunteers and friends of The Free Church for their help with putting together the gift bags and for organising the raffle prizes.

The day was possible due to the generosity of several business donations - Waitrose provided £100 of wine and food, Morrisons provided 6 bottles of red wine, the Star Crafters knitted and crocheted hand warmers to be

included in the gift bags that all guests received and food was donated by The Buckingham Emergency Food Appeal.

We are also extremely grateful for the financial donations received from many local people, thank you all for supporting our Christmas Day lunch. We received cash donations totaling £412 and also had anonymous

donations of 2 bottles of sherry left at The Free Church. A lady dropped off a crate of lager and a tub of chocolates on Christmas Day and told me “I think it is wonderful you are doing this lunch”. £25 was donated on the day and our raffle raised £71.50 which helps us continue to run this lunch.

We were overwhelmed by the number of people who volunteered to help us set up on Christmas Eve and also gave up their time on Christmas Day to welcome and serve lunch to our guests. Most importantly our cook Pat Jones who stepped in just 7 weeks before Christmas Day and gave up both days to prepare and cook a lovely lunch for us all.

Volunteer drivers were out in force to bring those guests that needed a lift to and from The Free Church.

Guests were offered a glass of sherry on arrival and Mike Baker the Chair of Trustees of HVC welcomed everyone into The Free Church.

We sang carols which were accompanied by our organist and got us all in the festive mood!

We were also joined by Cllr Phil Pope the Mayor of St Ives and Cllr Andrew Riddell.

Cllr Phil Pope welcomed our guests and helped to serve lunch with the Reverend Barry Pate who also said Grace.

We had a raffle with over 40 prizes which were kindly donated by The Free Church.

We all enjoyed a very tasty turkey lunch with all the usual trimmings and dessert which was followed by coffee, mints and mince pies.

We are also thankful to Hephers of St Ives who set up televisions for us all to watch The Kings Speech.

Our volunteers did an amazing job making sure our guests enjoyed themselves.

The Christmas Day lunch takes a lot of co-ordination and planning and without the help and kindness of all the wonderful people mentioned we would not be able to put on this event.

We have had many compliments:

“Thank you so much for a very tasty lunch” – Mr B”

“At the last minute my family came down with Covid so I would have been on my own on Christmas Day and even at such short notice was so pleased you were able to let me join you for lunch. To spend time with others was so lovely” - Mrs H

Highlights from Huntingdon Tripti Woolf

Office Move

Huntingdon moved to new premises, after eight years in our Charity shop Huntingdon Together in Princes Street. We moved to the Maple Centre on 1st March this year to a more spacious office with a window!

It was lovely to have a visit from retiring Mayor Phil Pearce. We were named as one of his charities and we gratefully received a cheque for £1,820.68 at the Mayor Making Ceremony.

Huntingdon Community Car Scheme

It has been another busy year with an increase in bookings. There has been a 47% increase in the number of miles covered by our volunteer drivers and we have registered 42 new clients. Four new volunteer drivers were recruited : Tom, David, Stephen and Sue.

All of our volunteer drivers are very special. They go above and beyond their remit to help our clients, from carrying in shopping into their homes, getting wheelchairs and porters at the hospital and sometimes staying with them as they wait for their appointments, to carrying out drives late in evenings or very early in the mornings.

A special mention to Stephen who took a lady to Peterborough City Hospital for 80% of March.

I have a wonderful team of volunteer Car Scheme Administrators (pictured above) and volunteer drivers. Thank you very much for all your help and hard work.

Celebrating Our Wonderful Volunteers and Volunteers Week

In April 2023 we were named ‘Charity of the Month’ by Huntingdon Community Radio . Emma and I appeared on their ‘Over to You’ programme.

Over the

past few years we have celebrated Volunteers Week with a day out sailing on the Ladybird Boat and having a Fish and Chips lunch in St Ives. Everyone has a wonderful time and it has now become an Annual Event.

Christmas 2023

We held a Festive get together with a meal at the Hartford Marina which was attended by staff , volunteers, and our trustees Mike Baker and Chris Myles. We all had a such a great time that we forgot to take photos!

Client Testimonials:

“I moved from Carlisle to Huntingdon after my husband died, I found out about your service from Age UK . I cannot speak highly enough about your service and have nothing but praise for you.”

“We appreciate the fantastic work you all do to help the community. We certainly do not know where we would be without your help .”

[Highlights from St Neots ] Shona Martin

I have been in post for nearly a year now and it’s been a very busy, but rewarding year.

Time certainly flies when you’re having fun!

We have seen admin volunteers come and go and head back into the world of paid employment following their time with us with much improved confidence and skills. Whilst I was sad to see them leave, it was also great to be involved in helping people to progress back into work. The introduction of volunteer appraisals has made sure we help develop staff and create personal development plans to continue to achieve this.

St Neots Community Car Scheme

Many vulnerable individuals in our town struggle with transportation due to limited public transport options to the more remote locations, or directly to medical appointments, or they have financial constraints, or physical disabilities. Their lack of mobility significantly impacts their ability to live independently and maintain a high quality of life. By providing a volunteer car scheme, we can fill this critical gap and support our most vulnerable residents in leading fulfilling and connected lives. Therefore, increasing the overall wellbeing of our clients, and in turn reducing any negative impacts on their health, which in turn can reduce pressure on our NHS and GP services.

Our volunteers are kind and friendly and provide good company during the drives. For many clients our office volunteers and drivers are the only people they have seen or talked to for many days and our service therefore offers them a listening ear and a connection to others in the local community, which is vital for their mental health and wellbeing.

We have just under 500 clients registered to use our Car Scheme Service.

93 new clients have registered with us in the last 12 months, with 12 of these being in the last month alone. Many clients share their knowledge of the service with friends and link with others in the community.

We currently have 15 amazing active volunteer drivers and 2 admin volunteers helping in the office.

Between April 2023 – March 2024 we completed 1,147 drives, helping registered clients travel 22,877 miles.

Christmas Get Together

Our Christmas get together was a fantastic way to explore the appetite to revisit the Natter group scheme, and also to get everyone together and celebrate and meet new people. It was a great turn out in a relaxed environment with some nibbles, refreshments,

presentation from our drivers in our “getting to know our drivers” section of the 2 hour event. There was even a quiz at the end. It was a real success and I look forward to this years community events.

Testmonials:

Admin Volunteer who has now been placed in paid employment:

“After gaining some valuable computer skills and meeting new people, my confidence grew, which in turn helped me get back into work in my profession as a hairdresser. It’s with that that I am grateful for the opportunity given to me by the volunteer centre”

An 87 year old client:

“ A friend gave me your number. My husband sadly died in January, but you’ve been so useful. To think I can still see my friend I’ve known since we were 5 years old is great! I think you’re just wonderful. My family all work and I don’t want to be a burden, so you’re like a lifeline knowing I can still get out and about”

Highlights from Ramsey Marie Webb

It has been a very busy and productive year at the Ramsey Office!

The biggest change this year, of

course, was our move into the Ramsey Town Council building in February. We would like to say a big thank you to the Town Council and HVC Trustees for facilitating this move! The move has not only increased the prominence of the Volunteer Centre and Car Scheme within Ramsey, leading to an increase in bookings, but has allowed us to build further relations with the Town Council, Neighborhood Trust and other local groups and organisations.

Ramsey Community Car Scheme

The Car Scheme has continued to grow throughout the year, with 59 new clients joining during this period. This growth has been managed well in the office by our four Volunteer Administrators, all of whom are now long term members and provide fantastic office support both to myself and the drivers. We have also had

two volunteer drivers return to work, but taken on 2 new drivers, which has helped us to keep up with the increase in demand.

During this year, our 13 volunteer drivers have accommodated a total of 1,556 journeys and covered over 18,500 miles taking clients to their destinations. This is an increase of 27% on the number of journeys and 54% on the number of miles driven during the 2022-23 year. Over the year, 62% of our drives are for medical and hospital visits, with 38% for social and personal purposes.

The main challenge this year has been the number of last minute cancellations, which are mostly made up of hospital appointments. This has a big impact on the work which takes place in the office. Over the course of this year 10% of Ramsey based drives have been cancelled. Despite an increase in drives and at times a reduc-

tion in the number of drivers, there were only 1.2% of drives which we were not able to cover.

There are plans in place to increase the reach of the volunteering aspect of the centre in the coming year. This year we have successfully placed a number of volunteers with local organisations as well as advertising positions on behalf of local charitable groups. We have also built up our working relationship with local organisations, with a view to working together to expand our service for the wider benefit of local charitable groups.

We have also become much more involved with local groups over the course of the year, and regularly assist in transportation for the Stroke Association Group, Acorn Centre, Sparks and Day Centre Lunch Clubs, as well as dementia clinics and cardiac rehabilitation classes.

We were invited to the opening of the new Ramsey Town Council Offices and met with local Social Prescribers and our local Age UK Community War¢ tj) he, den, Sara Matthews.

I have also undertaken a Mental Health First Aid course.

The Ramsey Office volunteers have also gathered together on several occasions to share stories and ideas and get to know each other better.

Y HUNTINGDON , volun Cente tog eth e r Highlights from Huntingdon Together Charity Shop by Emma Cameron

Raffles to raise funds! We had raffles throughout the year orgainsed by Josephine Cameron and Jackie Gebbie. Valentine’s day, Easter and Christmas raising £561!

Cllr Phil Pearce the Mayor’s Quiz and Bingo

Christmas 2023

Christmas party organised by Tripti! Everyone had a great time!

We were one of the Mayor of Huntingdon’s charities for 2023– 2024 and we attended lots of events he organised to raise funds for us and other deserving charities.

Huntingdon Light switch on and our 8 year anniversary. £189 raised and lots of fun had by all!

Our recycled wreaths were decorated by our friends at Fenstanton Church whilst continuing to support us with book donations for the last 7 years

Part of BID’s Halloween In June Richard, Marlene, Trick or Treat trail! Josephine and Joe organised a We had a cake stand yard sale at Harford Marina, and teddy tombola. and raised an amazing £168.69 !

Our Community Fridge and services Even through the King’s continue to grow and support local Coronation our volunteers came people! out to volunteer to ensure our shop was open and raising funds Thank you to Greggs, Anglian Water, for the charity! Co-op, Godmanchester Food Bank Morrisons and the general public Extra Funds Raised! that donate for this service! Online Books £1186.46 Ziffit £796.12 We are looking forward to serving We buy Books £417.34 -Thank the Community in 2024-2025! you to Anthony, Mum, Callum and James Also thank you to Cllr Phil Pearce and Vintage Cash Cow £821 Huntingdon Freemen’s Trust for Vinted £11.51 - Thank you to their generous donations!

Extra Funds Raised! Online Books £1186.46 Ziffit £796.12 We buy Books £417.34 -Thank you to Anthony, Mum, Callum and James Vintage Cash Cow £821 Vinted £11.51 - Thank you to Jenna Rags £527.42 Volunteer Brokerage: 6605.5 hours PAT Testing: 416 hours -Thank you Phil! Food – Not for profit but we ask for a donation for the upkeep of the fridge.

The biggest THANK YOU goes to the amazing volunteers who work extremely hard to just keep the shop running and raise funds for HVC!!

We are extremely grateful to all of our supporters for donating their time

& skills for our benefit and that of the local community.

To those who have fundraised on our behalf and made individual

donations — we thank you!

All these actions have greatly encouraged us and helped to us to continue to deliver our services locally, across Huntingdonshire.

Our focus is still to work within local communities

  - **To manage our car schemes**

To raise funds to support our work through our Huntingdon Together Shop & project work
To help volunteers and promote volunteering as finances permit

‘Supporting volunteering across Huntingdonshire’

Huntingdon Office: The Maple Centre, 6 Oak Drive, Huntingdon, PE29 7HN. 01480 414766 huntngdon@huntsvc.org.uk

Ramsey Office: Town Council Offices, Great Whyte, Ramsey, PE26 1HG. 01487 814117 ramsey@huntsvc.org.uk

St Ives Office: Town Hall, Market Hill, St Ives, PE27 5AL. 01480 301462 stves@huntsvc.org.uk

St Neots Office: Community Building, 6a South Street, St Neots, PE19 2BW. 01480 476047 stneots@huntsvc.org.uk

Huntingdon Together Shop: 1 Princes Street, PE29 3PA 01480 700290 biz@huntsvc.org.uk General Manager: 07718 272524 info@huntsvc.org.uk

www.huntsvc.org.uk

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 67261141England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1126811 Report of the Trustees and Unaudited Financlal Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 for Huntingdonshlre Voluntser Centre George Hay Partnership LLP Chartered Accountants St George's House George Street Huntingdon Cambridgeshire PE29 3GH

Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre Contents of the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 Page Report of the Truste88 Independent Examine8 Report ststement of Flnanclal Actlvitles Balance Sheet Notes to the Financial Statements 6 to 11 Detalled Statement of Financial Acllvltles 12

Huntingdonshire Voluntser Centre Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 The trustees are also directors of the charity the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and ReFrf)rting by Chartties". Statement of Recommended practi applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effethve 1 January 2019). STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND mANAGEmEr Governing document The charity is controlled by its governing documen( a deed of trust. and consts'tutes a limited company, limited by guarantee. as defined by the Companies Act 2006. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DAlLs Registered Company number 6726114 {England and Wales) Registered Charity number 1126811 Reglstered offlce st George's House 14 George Street Huntingdon Cambridgeshire. PE29 3GH Principal address 1 PrInS Strt Huntingdon Cambridgeshire, PE29 3PA Tru8tee8 M G Baker R Brown S G Burdett D Camilleri (appointed 5.7.23) J M Clarke A Clarke C A Myles R Young J Abele (resigned 5.7.23) G Thorpe (deceased 5.7.23) D Townsend (resigned 5.7.23) K wooard (resigned 5.7.23} Independent Examiner George Hay Partnership LLP Chartered Accountants St George's House George Street Huntingdon Cambridgeshire, PE29 3GH Approved by order of the board of t$t on ............... .. by". and signed on rts behalf Trustee Paoe I

Independent Examinerfs Report to the Trustees of Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre Independent examinerfs report to th8 trnstees of Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre (Ihe Company'} I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2024. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purwses of company law) you are responsible for the preparats'on of the accounts in accordan with requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act,). Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are digible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carrEd OLIt under Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 {'the 2011 Act,). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directsons given by the Charity CommissK)n under Section 145{5) (b) of the 2011 Act. Independent examlnerfs ststsment I have completed my examinab"on. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination gkving me cause to believe: 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 of the 2006 Act., or 2. the accounts do not accord thfjth those records" or 3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examinatj'on,. or 4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordan with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charrties (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with ts Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)). I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to vthich attention should te dra*Yn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Samantha Green ACA George Hay Partnership LLP Chartered Accountants St George's House George Street Huntingdon Cambridgeshire PE29 3GH Paae 2

Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 2024 Total funds 2023 Total funds Unrestricted Restricted fund fund Notes INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 122.408 122,408 102,768 EXPENDITURE ON Charitable activities Chantable Activities 123,6C 123,606 104,168 NET INCOMEIIEXPENDrruRE) (1.198) {1.198) (1,400) RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward 85.752 92,752 94,152 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 7,000 91,554 92,752 The rH)tes fomi part of these financial statements Paae 3

Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre Balance Sheet 31 March 2024 2024 Total funds 2023 Total funds Unrestricted Restricted fur fund Notes FIXED ASSETS Intangible assets Tangible assets 4,099 1.794 4,099 1,794 2,392 5.893 5,893 2,392 cuRREr ASSErs Debtors Investments Cash at bank and in hand 6,237 30,026 42,977 6,237 30,026 49,977 3.312 7.000 97,676 79,240 7.(X)O 86,240 100,988 CREDITORS Amounts falling due within one year (579) (579) (10,628) NET CURRENT ASSETS 78,861 7,000 85,661 90,360 TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 84.554 7.000 91,554 92,752 NET ASSETS 84,554 91,554 92,752 FUNDS Unrestricted funds Restricted funds 10 84,554 7,000 85,752 7,000 TOTAL FUNDS 91.554 92,752 The charttable company is entitled to exemptson from audrt under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 Match 2024. The members have not required the company to obtain an audrt of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 in accordan with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for (a) ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply wth Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 20( and preparing financial statements which give a true and fair vie*V of the state of affairs of the chantable company as at the end of each financial year and of its suwus or deficit for each financial year in accordan with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherlSe comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 201% relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company. (b) The notes fonn part of these financial statements Paae 4 continued...

Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre Balance Sheet - continued 31 March 2024 These financial statements have b*n prepared in accordan the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the smai companies regime. The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on . and were signed on rts behalf by Trustee The notes fomi part of these financial statements Pa5

Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of preparing the financial ststements The financial statements of the charitable company, whh is a public benefft entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordan with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounbng and Reporting by Charities". Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities prepanng their accounts in accordan Vth the Financial Repjrting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effectwe 1 January 2019),. Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial ReFthing Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland, and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. Income Income is shown within three main categories in the Statement of Financial Activities: voluntary income, investment income and incomiThJ resources from charitable activities. Voluntary income are donatic)ns and are accoun1 for at the time of arising. Incoming resources from charitable activities include grants and contributions received relating to the volunteer servi5 provided by the chanty. Expenditure Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charty to that expenditure. it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Iwdhere costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Intanglble assets Amortisation on Intsngible assets bs provided at 250A on cost in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life. Tangible fixed assets Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over ts estimated useful life. Office Equipment 250A on cost Taxatlon The charity is exempt from corForation tax on its charitable activth"es. Fund accounting Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectNes at the discretion of the trust&s. Restricted funds harfe been previously recconized in respect of the desired premises relocation. As this is no longer considered viable, approval has been sought from the donors to instead use the funds to improve the existing facilities. There is no present timescale on this project owing to the extenuating CircumstanS. Further explanation of the nature and purFose of each fund is Includ in the rK)tes to the financial statements. Hire purchase and leasing commilrnents Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial ActNities on a straight line basis over the period of the lease. Paae 6 continued..

Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year End 31 March 2024 ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued Reserve policy The reserves policy states that the Charities reserves should be maintained at a minimum of three months operating expenditure. Due to the ever changing economy the Trustees are considering a change in this policy to maintain 6 months expenditure. The freely available reserves as of 31st March 2024 amounted to £84,554 which is sufficient to cover 8 months expenditure. In recognition of this eXsS the Trustees have sought to undertake actFvities such as developing the new website to further promote the services delivered by the charity. NET INCOMEI(EXPENDrruRE) Net incomel(expenditure) ts stated after chargingl{crediting): 2024 2023 Depreciation - owned assets Hire of plant and machinery Website costs amortisation 600 628 225 TRUSTEES. REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS There were no trustees, remuneration or other beneffts for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor for the year ended 31 March 2023. Trustees. expenses There Vre no trustees, expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor for the year ended 31 March 2023. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 2023 2023 Unrestricted Restricted fund fund 2023 Total funds INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 95,768 7.000 102 768 EXPENDrruRE ON Charitsble activitles Charitable Actr¥ities 104,168 NET INCOMEIIEXPENDrruRE) (8.400) 7,000 (1,400) RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward 94,152 94,152 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 85,752 7.000 92,752 Pa7 continued...

Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centrè Not6s to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSErs Website costs COST Additions AMORTISATION Charge for year 225 NET BOOK VALUE At 31 March 2024 4,099 At 31 March 2023 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS Office Equipment COST At 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 15,770 DEPRECIATION At 1 April 2023 Charge for year 13,378 598 At 31 March 2024 13,976 NET BOOKVALUE At 31 March 2024 1,794 At 31 March 2023 2,392 DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2024 2023 Other debtors Prepayments and accrued income 5,189 1,048 2,437 875 6.237 3,312 CURRENT ASSET INVESTMEKrs 2024 2023 Lloyds 95 Day Noti 30,026 Paae 8 continued...

Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre Notes to the Flnancial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2024 2023 Social security and other taxes Accruals and deferred iricome 579 728 9,900 579 10,628 10. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS Net movement in funds At 31.3.24 At 1.4.23 Unrestricted funds General fund 85.752 (1,198) 84,554 R6strleted funds Restricted fund 7,000 7,000 TOTAL FUNDS Net movement in funds, included in the above are as fc41ows: Incoming Resour resources expended Movement in funds Unrestricted funds General fund 122,408 (123,606) (1,198) TOTAL FUNDS 122,408 123.6[) Comparatlves for movement in fund8 Net movement in funds At 31.3.23 At 1.4.22 Unrestricted funds General fund 94.152 {8,400) 85,752 Restricted funds Restricted fund 7,000 TOTAL FUNDS 94,152 1,400 Paae 9 continued...

Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 10. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS- continued Comparative net movement in funds. included in the above are as follows.. Incoming resources RsourceS Movement expend& in funds Unrestricted funds General fund 95.768 (104.168) (8.400) Restricted funds Restricted fund 7,000 TOTAL FUNDS 102,768 104,168) A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months ccynbined position is as follovts.. Net movement in funds At 31.3.24 At 1.4.22 Unrestrlcted funds General fund 94,152 (9,598) 84,554 Restricted funds Restricted fund 7,000 7,000 TOTAL FUNDS 94,152 2,598) 91,554 A current year 12 monts and prior year 12 months combined net movement in fund8. included in the atM)ve are as followB.' Incoming reSoUrS Resources expended Movement in funds Unrestricted funds General fund 218,176 (227,774) (9,598) Restricted funds Restricted fund 7,000 7,000 TOTAL FUNDS 225,176 227 774) 2,598) Paae 10 continued...

HuntlngdonshiTr Volunteer Centre Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 11. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES There were no lated party transactions for the year ded 31 March 2024. Pa11

2024-03-31-accounts

bY4 HuntingdonshireV olunteerCentre

Trustees Annual Report

2023—2024

Registered Office

Thank you to our supporters!

Trustees

Staff

Chairman’s Report 2023/2024

Mike Baker

Treasurer’s Report

Bob Young

Income

1. Local Council Grants

2. Car Scheme

3. Charity Shop

4. Donatons

Expenditure

Rent

IT equipment

Communicatons and Marketng

Shop

Reserves

Investment

Conclusion

HUNTINGDONSHIRE VOLUNTEER CENTRE

General Manager’s Report

Debbie Windsor

Our Community Car Scheme Statstcs for 2023 / 2024:

Highlights from St Ives Kirsty Fletcher

St Ives Community Car Scheme

Meet Our Councillor

Christmas Party

Food Deliveries Network Project

Christmas Day Lunch

Highlights from Huntingdon Tripti Woolf

Office Move

Huntingdon Community Car Scheme

Celebrating Our Wonderful Volunteers and Volunteers Week

Over the

Christmas 2023

Client Testimonials:

[Highlights from St Neots ] Shona Martin

St Neots Community Car Scheme

Christmas Get Together

Testmonials:

Admin Volunteer who has now been placed in paid employment:

An 87 year old client:

Highlights from Ramsey Marie Webb

Ramsey Community Car Scheme

Y HUNTINGDON , volun Cente tog eth e r Highlights from Huntingdon Together Charity Shop by Emma Cameron

‘Supporting volunteering across Huntingdonshire’