2025-03-31-accounts - Gillingham Area Voluntary Car Link Scheme

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A Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 1[st] April 2024 To 31[st] March 2025

Charity name: Gillingham Area Voluntary Car Link Scheme

Charity registration number: 1138732

Objectives and Activities


Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	The objects of the organisation are to provide transport facilities in Gillingham, Dorset and the surrounding SP8 area for people who have special need of such facilities because they are elderly, poor or disabled, people with young children or those living in isolated areas where there are no adequate public transport facilities
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.	The main activity is to provide transport for clients to hospitals, doctor’s surgeries, dentists, and other medical facilities. Transport is provided by volunteer drivers using their own vehicles. Activities are managed by volunteer coordinators working from their own homes.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	The trustees are aware of the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.

Contribution made by volunteers	The volunteer drivers collect the clients from their homes, drive them to the medical facility, wait while the treatment is completed and then return the clients to their homes. The waiting time for hospital appointments can often be several hours. Volunteer coordinators receive the transport requests from the clients by telephone and then allocate the jobs to the pool of volunteer drivers. They then notify the client of the pick-up time and the name of the allocated driver. We are processing more than 110 journeys per month.

Achievements and Performance

	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.	During the year we conducted 1366 journeys covering 50,410 miles and served more than 130 clients. The average journey was 37 miles round trip with some of more than 100 miles. Without our services the clients would have to use commercial taxi services which most of them could not afford, or fall back on public transport, which is unreliable and, in many cases, non-existent. The NHS benefitted extensively from our services with patients arriving on-time for appointments and avoiding more demand for the already restricted and stretched hospital transport services.

	Achievements against objectives set	Our primary objective is to provide the required transport for each request we receive. We are occasionally unable to do this due to either short notice or a lack of available drivers, but we are successful in more than 99% of cases.

Financial Review

	Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	The bank balance at year end stands at £26,528.80
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	We wish to reduce the reserves to approximately £15,000 which the trustees believe is appropriate for our needs. We plan to do this over several years by adjusting the recommended donations that we suggest for each journey destination.
Amount of reserves held	£26,528.80
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Not applicable
Details of fund materially in deficit	Not applicable
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern

The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Almost all funding is in the form of donations from the clients who use the scheme. Only 2% of funding comes from other donations and grants. We provide a suggested donation amount for each journey but is up to the client to decide how much to donate.
A description of the principal risks facing the charity	The charity is entirely dependent on volunteer drivers and coordinators to provide the services. Finding enough of these to cover the workload is a major challenge and the Trustees are very focussed on recruitment.
Other

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document	The Charity has a constitution which was last updated on June 3rd, 2014.
How is the charity constituted?	Unincorporated charitable association
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	Trustees are appointed for a period of 3 years after which they may stand for re-election at the Annual General Meeting.

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	Gillingham Area Voluntary Car Link Scheme
Other name the charity uses
Registered charity number	1138732
Charity’s principal address	c/o Firle House, Dolphin Lane, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 4HQ

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year
Robert Wellen	Chair	01/04/2025 – 24/03/2025
Norman Locke	Vice-Chair & Principal Co- ordinator	Chair from 25/03/2025 – 31/03/2025
Martin Wingrove	Treasurer & volunteer driver
Pauline Avery	Assistant Treasurer & Client Support Officer & Volunteer Coordinator
Philip Walker	Volunteer Support Officer	Vice-Chair from 25/03/2025 – 31/03/2025
Suzan Walker	Publicity Officer & Volunteer Coordinator	Principal Coordinator from 25/03/2025 – 31/03/2025
Peter Hurst	Secretary & volunteer driver
David Hancock	Driver representative and volunteer driver	10/12/2024 – 31/03/2025

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of Name Address adviser Auditor Mr T Kingsmill 20 Barleyfields, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 4UN ~~a~~

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Peter Hurst ~~a~~ Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) ~~a~~ Secretary Date 07/09/2025 ~~[|~~

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