**We are pleased to enclose your annual accounts.** REGISTERID COMPANY NUMBER: 08227390 {England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUIVIBER: 1150892 Lightwaves Community Trust Report of the Trustees and Financial Statements Year Ended 30 September 2024 SMH Jolliffe Cork Ltd Accountants & Business Advisors 33 George Street Wakefield West Yorkshire WFI ILX Lightwaves Community Trust Contents ofthe Financial Statements for the year ended 30 Septetnber 2024 Page Report of the Trustees Independent Examiner's Report Statement of Financial Activities io Balance Sheet 11 to 12 Notes to the FinanciAI Statements 13 to 19 Lightwaves Community Trust Report of the Trustees for th¢ year ended 30 September 2024 The trustces who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present IhciT report with the financial stal¢ments of tli¢ ¢haTity for the y¢ar ended 30 September 2024. Tl)¢ trnstees have adoptcd tlie provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Sial¢ment of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accoullls in accordance with thc Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (cff¢ctive l Janu2ry 2019). OBJECTIVES Af4D ACTIVITIES Objectives and aims The aim of the cliarity is to provide tlie residents of Wakefield district and the neighbourhood of College Grove and Pind¢rfields With a thriving community-nin factlity for sport, leisure. social and communtty activities to advanc¢ their well-being. health and prospects and to promote cohesion within the community. Charitable object The objects of the charity as outlined in the articles of association are.. "to furtlier benefit th¢ residcnts of Wak¢field and elsewh¢re, without distinction of sex. sexual orientation. race or of political, r¢ligtous or other opinions by associating togetlier said r¢sid¢nts and tlie local authorities, voliintary and other organisations in a common effort to relieve poverty, advance education and to provide facilities in the interests of social welfar¢ and for recreation and eisure time occupation with th¢ object of improving conditions of life for the residents Public benefit aims and intended impact The key benefit for tlie public lias been tliai Lightwaves Leisure and Cominunity Centre (hereaft¢r the Centre) lias been sustaincd and remained op¢n and in business for Ilie public and local comtnunity following the major clialleng¢s of the pandeini¢. Thc return to 'normal' has been a gtadual process biit now wiih the resumption of tlie fiill Tange of activities the Trust has underlined the centre's importance as a cominunity anchor providing services and siipport for local people. In this period we have regained levels of incoine and iisag7e as pre-covid times, but reillain open on a Monday t() SatUTday basis rather than a ￿1] seven-day basis. Thiis, the Trust has bounced back to providing a full range of services and re-eslablishing its repiitation as th¢ key commiinity-run city centi'e facility that hosts education and learning activities, social and leisure pursuits as well as welfare servkces that support th¢ most vulnerable and deprived cilizens and families in the community. As people have returned to "nornial pre-pandemi¢ patterns of activity, it is clear tliat tlie local community is still adapting to serioiis social and economic probleTns, with tlie Centre providing vital facility for assisting families to finding their way through the iinpacts of the Cost-of-living crisis and the long run problems l¢ft by economic aust¢rity. Significant Activities Th¢ yeaT saw a ￿rtI]er strengthening of and rebuilding on normal patterns of activity after the transitional period post-covid as Lightwaves as a key part of the voluntary and coinmunity sector got to grips with Ilie changed landscape of tlie tremendoiis upheavals of the pandemtc and its social, economic and health impacts. Centre usage now inatches pre-pandemic levels, albeit in a very changed environment in wlii¢h Lightwaves Community Trust has returned to sexrcliing oiil funding for th¢ C¢ntre's core and additional activities. As a rettiim to normal pall¢rns continued the Trust has seen a welcoin¢ rettirn to large event bookings, which have significantly iTnproved centre use, and thus revenue levels. However, w¢ have kept to a six-day working week as Sunday opening has only been viable for large event bookings. As noted in last year's annual report. the case for opening all weekend remains weak, but if large event bookings continue to grow then the Trust will move to a full week opening schedule. The challenges of Covid also brouglil some lasting positive l¢gacies, notably where Ligl)twaves Centre becam¢ part of a system of local hubs delivering services to local corninunities around supporting peoples, pliysical, emotional and financial well-being. Working with partners we continued to build on and adapt lessons learned in respons¢ to tlie changing lleeds of local resid¢nts. Page I Lightwaves Community Trust Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2024 We have focussed on services tackling.. Money concerns (l)udgcting, benefits. vouchers), Energy worries (hclp witli utilities), Hoiising related conccrns (rent and accoinmodation), Jobs and relalcd issues (training opporttinilics, CV help with job applications), and Health and family concerns. The Centre's Successful siipport of local people is fundamentally dependent on approachable and friendly staff and voliinteers steering peoplc to tlie support that will help them iinprov¢ their sittiation and well-being. Many local people and families come to di¢ Centre to access and have printed iheir food voucliers, a vital mechanism for Il)¢in gct food, and more broadly free up household budgets to pay for their ever-rising utilities bi115. Utility bills continue lo rise well above retail price ind¢x increases piitting great pressiires on tlie poor¢st and Inost ￿llnerable famili¢s and individuals in Clty. The Trust conliniics Providkng a broad range of support to families and bas worked with.. Live W¢ll tcam and their services for tlie older people s¢rvices, Step Up organisation for employment Iielp {Providenc¢ Str¢eirrown Hall), Adult Education for training opportunities/ESOL (Manygates Centre), Wakefield College for adult & yoiing people ESOL training, City of Sane￿ary Foodbank & services {St Michacls Church), Art House Projccts for refugees and asylum s¢¢kers, Hepworili Gallory Projects for re￿get$ and asyluin seekers, and Age UK Wakefield Dislri¢t (Cas¢lcford) for pension h¢lp and oldcr people services, In th¢ winter period th¢ Centrc continued to act Ic s a Wam] Space foT the community. Wan]] Space piovision continued to provide a warm and w¢lcoining space for local people and act as a vitsl resource siistaining tlie quality of people's social life. The Wami Space project sliowed a mix of young people and adults accessing our Centre. Tlie trend of increased use on Fridays continued, incliiding the use of the Centre's sporting activities. Centre Staff also supported people by maintPAining a signposting to otlier siipport services for Centre users and their families. In this period the Trust and Centre managers continu¢d lo cope with the aftermath of the discovery of serious fraud and theft by a previously higlily-trusted Inember of staff wlio stole £29,000 from the charity. The member of staff had been with th¢ Centre since its inception and tlie egregious betrayal of tNst was particiilarly distressing for all staff m¢inbers. The fraud was passed to the polic¢ and justice aiithorities who charged the individual, who has pled guilty and whose trial and sentencing is set to occur after the period of this annual report. As reported previously the matters were reported to Charity Cominission and the TnLsI worked witli NOVA and external experts to review, strengthen our govcrnance and operational checks and ov¢rhauled administrative procedures to prevent this ever recurring. The Trust remains commilled to tackling this contingent liability by seeking recovery of the documented losses. Thc Trust's 'Feel Good Fridays, initiative was maintained and is still very much universally appreciated by staff, volunteei's and the local commiinity. Together with the Centre's central location in Wakefield and this FGF initiative Inakes tlie centre even Inore accessible to all the coinrnunity, with a free lunch provided for tlie elderly, and with sports activities free for the over 60-year-olds and local uneinployed, as well as asylum seekers and the refugee community. Activities ar¢ lialf price for everybody and activities siich table tennis have proven popular. The ernpliasis is on inaking the Centre w¢lcoming and tea and cake made by local volunteers plays its part in providing a lioille-from-home feel to the Centre on Fe¢1 Good Fridays. Tlie mileston¢ ¢volution of Lightwaves Foodbank into the Lightwaves Food or Coinmunity Pantry was driven by a series of chall¢nges.' a fall in donations, users, feedback on what tliey needed and r¢vi¢w xnd reflection on likely trends in supply of foodstuffs and tlie deinand for a wider range of essential hous¢hold itcms beyond just food. Th¢ Food Pantry has continued to grow from strengtli to Strength w(th local fainili¢s finding die service essential to help tliem cope (lgainst a relentlessly rising food prices and household bills. In March 2024 tlie BBC reported that there had been the greal¢st rise in absolute poverty in over 30 years. (Tlie Absolute Poverty lev¢1 measures Iiow rnany people cannot afford a set standard of living. constructed on the Department for Work and Pensions, definition calculated from the living standard that an average income could buy in Il)e foiindation year ending in Marcli 2011, and where Tf your income is 40 % below diis. after adjusting for rising prices since, then you will be classed as living in absolute povety.) Page 2 Lightwaves Community Trust Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2024 Tlic cost-of-living crisis has ac¢¢lerated over the past decade and especially in the last few years ending in September 2024, as energy costs have surged ahead of largely relatively static (or declining) hous¢hold incomes and wage l¢vels. Food banks across the Wakefield district and beyond have foiind it very challenging supporting families facing rising poverty. In Lightwav¢s Food Panty local citizens pay a £5 weekly siibscription to gain approximately £40 worth of food and otlier hoiisehold essentials (toilctrics, etc). Th¢ Community Panty is open every Friday and its successful operation is a r¢flection of tlie levcl of need in the local comrnunity. On averag¢ 4 to 5 volunteers support the Community Food Pantry Co-ordinator on Fridays. wlii¢h is especially helpfi]I for tli¢ service's funclioning as well as appreciated by the Food Pantry members for th¢ kindncss, checking in and disciissions about cooking tlie various iteins at the sessions. E&¢li session attracts 10 to 15 imcnibcrs attending for food but who are also signposted and h¢lped to access other services. The latter includ¢s siipport sessions from Citizens Advice Biireaii and Leeds Credit Union witli fiiiancial advice and help, as well as a¢c¢ss lo IT resoiirces which people ne¢d to get log into L7ovcrnment departments websites, and other inforination support sources. Faniilies attend weekly aiid individuals fortniLFhtly. Volunteers have helped out across 159 different occasions und¢rliniDg tlie valuable efforts that tliese good souls arc putting back into and for local coinmunities. The pantry is laid out like a shop, and members choose tbeir own items from a wide selection, including fresh. refrigerated, frozen and long-life foods. (Th¢ latter tends to dep¢nd on wliat is received froni Fayre Share plus donations.) Our Community Pantry Co-ordinator attends the Wakefield & District Food Aid Network and Household Funding Meetings. Tlie Food Panty suslains broader benefits and access to other services for local peopl¢. notably- Enhancing mental and pliysical healtli of tli¢ pantry meinbers, R¢ducing feelings of isolation with the social colltacl, Enabling then] to forni new friendshtps via signposting to community organisations, Encourages local volunteering oppor￿nitIes, Improve health aiid well-being as th¢ iT)embers choose their own food, Prevents food and other waste via Fayre Share panty and donations, Prevent hunger. Helps rebuilds dignity and feelings of p¢rsonal empowernient. R¢news and deepens connection5 between families and individuals in crisis and their local community. Siistaining supplies for the Food Pantry has been a constant pressur¢ as the cost-of-living crisis has affected so many people, increasing deinand for help as donations have fallen. As noted above the work of the Food Pantry is complemented by breadth and depth of advice and support for vulneTable families and individuals. Assistance from the Citizcns Advice Bureau (CAB) has be¢n particularly important. Wakefield CAB runs a drop in ¢v¢ry Wednesday, from l Oam till 12pm as well as pre-planned ic ppointtllents from Ipm to 3pm. Demand for the Food Panty has remained high and tliis service has b¢come a vital, indeed, an csscntial core support meclianism for some of the local coniinunity's most vulnerable families and individuals. R¢f¢n-als to tlie Food Pantry typically comc froni Wakefield Council services as well as local schools. A previous grant of £l 1,000 Prosper Together Fund enabled the Trust to s¢t up an assessment and decision panel made lip of 3 Lightwaves Tnist members who Consider applications via r¢f¢rrals to help families exp¢ri¢ncing exceptional hardship and em¢rgencies, for example, such as white goods (several washing macliines, tumble dry¢r, fridge, freezer, cooker. air fryer, et¢) need for clothing for scl)ool, beds and bedding, carpeting, and in one instance a bicycle and bike lock to Iiclp a sliift worker get lo work on an industrial estate wlien buses don't nin. Tliis flexible crisis support scheine has continued into this period providing a vital financial support mecbanisin to get fainilies and individuals through desperate emergency circumstances. Liglitwaves is one of 20 organisations wlio have been identified as closest to the households that need support. The Prosper Tog¢ther Fund is helping to support families and indkviduals that due to unexpected circumstances find tliemselves tn crisis especially du¢ to no savings and living to month-to-monih (lack of financial resilience) then struggle to ine¢t tlicir reSpo1￿1b1IitI¢$. wliich cali lead to fi￿d]er deterioration and decline in mental and physical health. Page 3 Lightwaves Community Trust Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2024 Indeed, ther¢ has been a treinendous demand for Acce55 Vouchers and the Centre has handed out 1,335 vouchers over this period. Data compiled in NOVA'S Inonitoring pro¢¢sses show Lightwaves to be the most activ¢, and in demand Help at the Hiib centre, a reflection of its central accessibility and welcoming ¢haracter. Referrals for siipport come via a serics of local organis