Annual Report and Accounts for The Year Ended 31 December 2024
Charity Registration Number: 1145371
## CONTENTS:
Mission, About Us, Organisation Details
Chair’s Report Treasurer’s Report Centre Director’s Report
Our Work Trustees’ Report Independent Examiner’s Report Statement of Receipts and Payments Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Detail Accounts
## MISSION
**We seek to see young people’s lives transformed by Jesus.**
## _About Us_
_Newham Youth for Christ has been working in the borough since 2012. Our charity aims to positively impact the lives of young people, churches, the community, and schools. We work with approximately 1000 young people every year, helping them to encounter Jesus and grow in their Christian faith. We also provide young people with the support they need for their personal development. In addition to this, we empower churches to deliver youth work and assist schools in ensuring safety through our anti-knife crime._
_prevention programs._
**Chair’s Report**
**Jos 1:3**
**Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given you….**
The challenges faced by Newham Youth for Christ, NYFC, have continued to be significant, prompting the illustration of the task faced by ancient Israel, led by Joshua, entering the promised land. Like Joshua, we have only been able to face this challenge knowing the Lord is working with us to accomplish His will here amongst Newham’s youth. We are working to establish a new, firm foundation for the Charity upon which it can grow, for which we also look to our Lord for His provision.
Our Centre Director Lana Reid continues to work tirelessly with the available volunteers to provide the variety of activities, summer programmes and boroughwide events and projects; as in the previous year, I commend all her endeavours and
thank our board of trustees for their continued support of the charity. In the coming year, the charity will again be focusing on creating a solid foundation to take full advantage of the opportunities presented to us in Newham. NYFC maintains the vision to be instrumental in reversing the drift of Newham youth
away from the Christian faith whilst giving opportunities to develop new skills and discuss the issues many of them face. May God guide, provide and empower us in all our future endeavours to be fruitful to His glory.
Nigel Weekes
Treasurer’s Report
‘ **And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 4:19)**
We thank God for another year of provision for the work of Newham YFC. I continue to be amazed at the ways we have been able to reach out to young people in Newham with the limited resources that we have at our disposal. It has been another year where we have had to rely heavily on the abundant blessings of God. It has been another challenging year, but one of numerous blessings.
Our ‘What’s the Point’ project continues to provide much needed support and guidance to young people in schools across Newham. We are thankful for our partnership with Faith in Schools which has given us the financial backing to continue in delivering this work.
I am thankful as ever to faithfulness and commitment of Lana, our Director, as she continues to work tirelessly to be good news to young people across Newham.
We are mindful of the continued need to broaden our income base. Continued thanks to the fantastic support provided by individuals, churches and charitable trusts who have remained faithful through these challenging times.
It has been a pleasure serving as Treasurer during 2024. The year ahead will provide no less of a challenge and I look forward to seeing how God ‘supplies every need’ as we journey forward with Him.
**Revd Canon Dave Chesney - Treasurer**
**Director’s Report**
**“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11**
This past year has been one of growth for Newham Youth for Christ. Even in the face of severe financial challenges, we have seen God’s faithfulness, and the dedication of our team and partners.
Our base at Stratford Workshop continued as a hub where young people gathered for fellowship, worship, and discipleship as well as enjoyed a range of engaging activities.
Our **core programs** remain central to our mission:
- **Access** – our borough-wide and cross church event, which has grown this year. It’s been wonderful to see more young people, from both inside and outside the Church, hearing testimonies about Jesus and stepping forward to use their gifts in worship and enjoying a range of fun activities.
- **What’s the Point? (WTP)** anti-knife crime program, continued to make a strong impact in schools across Newham. Newham Youth for Christ served as the main delivery partner alongside a consortium led by Faith in Schools. This year the program benefited approximately 800 young people. I am especially grateful for Rich from Faith in Schools for his invaluable contribution, and for the skills hard work and dedication of the team.
- **Holiday Programs, Saturday Club, and Youth Band** continued to bring prayer, worship, and Bible study giving young people opportunities to grow in faith and community, alongside a range of fun activities. This was attended by over 30 young people.
**I** am delighted to expand further on our work later in this report.
I would also like to thank our incredible supporters, partners and friends. We are so deeply grateful to our volunteers, funders, donors, and prayer supporters. Please see thankyou list at the end of the report. I particularly would like to thank our Chair, Nigel and the Trustees for their continued devotion to Newham Youth for Christ.
_**And to our young people, you inspire us every day when we see you discover faith, tackle the difficult issue of knife crime and developing and sharing your gifts and talents. You are at the Centre of everything we do, and with God’s blessing we look forward to walking alongside you in the year ahead!**_
## **Support and Services**
Newham Youth for Christ is dedicated to supporting young people aged 11-18 in the London Borough of Newham. Our services extend to all young people in the area
Key Activities and Programs:
## **Youth Support**
_**1. Access**_
**This cross borough and cross church event provides a great opportunity for Christian young people and their peers to learn about the Christian faith and have fun too!**
- Over 70 participants enjoyed Christian fellowship, heard personal testimonies about Jesus and listen to talks from Christian guest speakers.
- The worship was led by our _super_ talented Access Youth Choir and The New Youth Band.
Activities also included roller skating, skateboarding, sumo wrestling, games, plus pizza and burgers.
## 2. _**Free holiday and Saturday clubs**_
Young people enjoyed a range of free activities including cooking, football, roller skating and trips. The daily activities started with prayers and bible activities and the young people made a light meal together. 30 young people attended this year and approximately 50% were not attending church. The clubs offer a unique opportunity to support young people to continue to engage with Christianity at a challenging stage in their development.
3. **Anti-knife Crime program -What’s the Point?** We delivered eight 10-week programs in schools where we trained 80 peer influencers to impact over 800 young people. Newham Youth for Christ was the main delivery partner and worked with an established consortium including Faith is Schools, River Church, Goon’s for God and Rev Cannon Dave Chesney. The award winning What’s the point program which was developed by Oxygen includes young people learning from the victims of Knife crime , Street Doctors , and ex-gang members.
## **4. Church Support**
Newham Youth for Christ Offers free additional Christian activities to all young people from Newham Churches and provides free equipment such as drumming sets and camping gear, to support their work. We also host an annual Christian youth work networking event.
## **5. Community Support**
When the weather is particularly cold young people take home made hot pies and tea to the street homeless
## **We Need Your Support. Why Support Us?**
## **Christian work**
As Christians we believe knowing about the gospel is _**essential**_ and **everyone** should have an opportunity to learn about Christ and to choose for themselves. With the national decline in Sunday School attendance and the move away from Christian Assemblies in Schools, we offer an additional space for young people to explore Christianity with their peers, with parental permission.
Also, research has proven that faith is associated with numerous positive social, well-being and health benefits such as happiness, life satisfaction, hope, optimism, purpose, and meaning in life. It also contributes to higher self-esteem, , greater social support, and less loneliness. Additionally, it is linked to lower rates of depression, suicide, anxiety, psychosis, alcohol and drug abuse, delinquency, and criminal activity.
## **Anti Knife Crime Work**
Newham was confirmed as having the highest knife crime incidents in **2022–2023** in London. In 2024 Newham still ranks near the top for violent crime, including knife related crimes.
As well as its preventative knife crime benefits the program also benefits many young people who carry daily anxiety about their personal safety in the community. This program educates on the scale of the risks and give young people the strategies to stay safe. By supporting our work, we can continue the delivery of the crucial antiknife crime work.
## **Church Support**
We support churches practically with their work with young people, plus offer a much-needed additional layer of support to young people at risk of drifting from their faith due to peer pressure.
## **Community Support**
holiday and Saturday clubs including a free light meal benefits low-income families. Newham is one of the poorest boroughs in the country with a high percentage of single parent household . The young people develop many skills to contribute to their wider community
## **Thank you, Thank you, &Thank you Again!!**
Without your help, prayers, partnering and financial support our work would not be possible. This list is in no particular order, as every bit of support was essential for our work. We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting this mission for young people
|Funders and Personal Donors|British Youth for Christ|
|---|---|
|Newham Youth for Christ’s young
people and Parent Supporters|Newham Churches|
|Newham Christian Youth Workers|Youth for Christ Volunteers|
|Access Youth Choir|Young Youth Band|
|Volunteers|Jayne and the Prayer Warriors|
|Faith in Schools|Newham Schools|
|Stratford Workshops|Newham Youth Champion|
|Goons for God|All well-wishers and supporters not
mentioned|
**What People Say About our Work?** Are there any activities this half term ? The kids really enjoyed, thank you so much!!! A
**Young person Parent Holiday Program**
‘When is the next Access?’
‘This is good!’
_‘Can me and my friend sing a worship song too’ ‘Can we have this every week?’_ **Young people, ACCESS**
_‘Revenge is not worth it ‘_
_‘Some on asked me to carry a knife in school and I remember what you taught us about Alfie’s story. I’m going to watch it again’_ **Learners, WTP Anti Knife Crime**
‘ _They highlighted the red flags and the main causes of knife crime deaths very effectively. The fact that children presented these important points to their peers added significant impact_ . **‘**
_**‘This year the assembly was even better, I was in tears’**_ **Newham Council, Monitoring Officer**
## **Newham Youth For Christ Charity Registration Number 1145371**
## **TRUSTEES REPORT For the year ended 31 December 2024**
The Trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31st December 2024.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the notes to the accounts and comply with the Charities Act 2011 and the SORP (FRS102) "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" effective from 1st January 2019.
**DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY** Our vision and values shape all the work we do as Newham Youth for Christ. They help evaluate our work and enable us to think through how we can develop and grow new areas of our ministry.
**STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** Newham Youth for Christ is a charitable organisation established in 2012. The charity is organised and governed under its constitution dated 1st November 2011 which sets out the objects and powers of the charity. The charity is managed by its trustees, who in partnership with the Centre Director are responsible for the overall vision, finance and running of the charity.
**RECRUITMENT AND APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEES** The trustees of Newham Youth for Christ are responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity. The trustees give their time freely and receive no remuneration or other financial benefits. The trustees seek to ensure that the needs of work are appropriately reflected through the diversity of the trustee body and seek to identify potential new trustees through the work they are doing.
**INDUCTION OF TRUSTEES** Potential new trustees meet with the Newham Youth for Christ Centre Director and/or the Chair of Trustees. An overview of the charities works and the rights and responsibilities of being a trustee are provided at this meeting. The potential trustee is then invited to attend several Trustees meetings as an observer. After this, the existing trustees formally vote on the suitability of each candidate as a trustee and once accepted can thereafter function on the committee as trustees.
**RISK MANAGEMENT** The trustees have overseen a review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed. The trustees have assessed the charity’s main risk as a reduction in funding from all sources and a strategic plan has been put into place to deal with this issue. All other risks are reviewed regularly and procedures put in place to mitigate the risk to the charity. In addition to the above all prospective employees and volunteers undertake a DBS check (Disclosure Barring Service check)
**ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE** The trustees meet 4-6 times a year and are responsible for the strategic direction of Newham Youth for Christ and the activities undertaken by the charity. The day-today management of Newham Youth for Christ is delegated to the Centre Director who is also responsible for ensuring that the team continues to develop skills and working practices in line with best practice. This is monitored through regular supervision meetings and annual appraisals which are carried out for staff at every level in the organisation. The organisation also has a Council of Reference from whom the Centre Director and Trustees seek advice on vision, strategy and day-to-day matters. Newham Youth for Christ is almost completely dependent on our many supporters, partners and partner churches for funding and prayer support. We also rely on our large team of volunteers and associates who work alongside our dedicated staff to help us deliver high quality youth events. We are very thankful to everyone who has contributed time, prayers and money to the work of Newham Youth for Christ over the past year. In doing so you have enabled hundreds of young people the opportunity to respond to the Gospel.
**STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BENEFIT** As a registered charity, and in line with the requirements of Section 4 of the Charities Act 2006, the staff and trustees of Newham Youth for Christ acknowledge that:
- These benefits are related to our aims.
- These benefits are clear.
- These benefits are not the cause of any detriment or harm.
- The aims are appropriate to the beneficiaries and vice-versa.
- Our work does have an identifiable benefit to those we work with.
- The opportunity to benefit from our work is not unreasonably restricted to geographical restrictions, or by the ability to pay any fees charged.
- People in poverty are not excluded from benefiting from our work
**FINANCIAL REVIEW 2024** This has been another year of financial change. We saw our reliance on funding from grants and trusts fall for the first time in several years 33.9%(2023 65%) of our total income. Whilst acknowledging our on-going reliance on the generous funding we receive from our various grant and trust partners we aim to continue to strive to work towards a growing support and investment in the work and aims of Newham Youth for Christ from individuals and churches on a local level.
**PRINCIPLE FUNDING SOURCES** Newham Youth for Christ is funded through a combination of both one-off and regular donations from individuals and churches as well as grants from charitable funds. In 2024 we received £8,622 (2023: £12,747) from individuals and churches through donations and regular and/or one-off gifts. We received grant-based funding in 2024 of £5,000 from Garfield Weston and £7,500 from Diocese of Chelmsford (2023: £10,000 from Joseph Rank Trust). We are immensely thankful to these partners for their financial support and assistance. In addition, we provided services to another Charity, Faith In Schools, and received a fee of £15,350 towards our Director’s time.
**INVESTMENT POLICY** The charity has no long-term investments. All our money, including any reserves (see below), is kept in our bank accounts held with CAF.
**RESERVES POLICY** In 2015 Newham Youth for Christ started a reserves account where currently £200 is deposited monthly as we build towards having enough in reserve to cover 3 months basic running costs (currently estimated at approx £12,000). On 31st December 2024, Newham Youth for Christ held £11,702 in unrestricted reserves in an account with CAF Bank.
**PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIODS** The charity plans to continue the activities outlined in this document in the forthcoming years subject to satisfactory funding arrangements. The trustees intend to continue focussing on developing additional sources of funding and maintaining the charity’s links with its partners and major grant donors, ensuring that the charity’s standard of service is maintained and improved to meet its beneficiaries and its donor’s requirements.
Signed……… ………………….. (Chair of Trustees)
Date………17/11/2025………………………………………..
## **Newham Youth For Christ Charity Registration Number 1145371 Independent Examiner’s Report 2024**
To the Trustees.
I report on the accounts of Newham Youth for Christ for the year ended 31[st] December 2024 which are set out in the following pages.
## **Respective Responsibilities of Trustee and Examiner**
The Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011, “the 2011 Act”, and that an independent examination is needed.
- Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:
- Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act.
- To follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act: and
- To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## **Basis of independent examiner’s report**
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you the Trustees concerning any such matters.
The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’, and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
- the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
- the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
- the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
**Brian Dexter** Dated 17/11/2025
Chartered Management Accountant 172 Sandford Road East Ham London E6 3PX
## **Newham Youth For Christ** Charity Number 1145371
## **Receipts & Payment Account for the Year Ended 31st Dec 2024**
|**Income**
Grants &Donations
Bank Interest
Other Receipts
Tax Claim and JRS Payments
Total Incoming Resources
**Expenditure**
Expenditure on Charitable Activities
Total Expenditure
**Net Incoming Resources**
**Total Funds b/fwd at 1 Jan 2024**
**Transfers**
**Total Funds as at 31 Dec 2024**|**Un**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
8,622
406
15,350
**24,378**
32,203
**32,203**
(7,825)
25,464
**17,639**|**Restricted**
**Funds**
12,500
0
**12,500**
**12,500**
**12,500**
0
0
**0**|**Total**
**Funds**
**2024**
**21,122**
**406**
**15,350**
**36,878**
**44,703**
**44,703**
(7,825)
25,464
**17,639**|Total
Funds
2023
44,361
343
3,986|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||48,690|
|||||50,705|
|||||50,705|
|||||(2,015)
27,479|
|||||25,464|
## **Newham Youth For Christ** Charity Number 1145371 **Statement of Assets & Liabilities 31st Dec 2024**
|**Statement of Assets & Liabilities**
**31st Dec 2024**|**Statement of Assets & Liabilities**||
|---|---|---|
||**2024**
|**2023**|
||**£**|**£**|
|
**Current Assets**|||
|Debtors|0
||
|**Bank Balance**|||
|Bank Current Account|5,963|7,586|
|Deposit Account|11,708
|17,910|
||25,496
|25,496|
|**Liabilities**|||
|Creditors|40|80|
|PAYE & Pension|2,410|5,246|
|Accruals|250|250|
||2,700|5,576|
**Approved by the Directors on the following date and signed on their behalf by:**
…………………….. ………………. (Director) **Date: 17/11/2025**
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## Newham Youth for Christ Annual Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 December 2024