45-47 Longsmith Street, Gloucester, GL1 2HT
Annual Report 1[st] April 2023 – 31[st] March 2024
Trustees Candy Wiltshire – Chair Gemma Allen– Vice Chair
Cat Illingworth – Treasurer Julie Smith
Governing Document
Increase the Peace became a registered Charitable Incorporate Organisation (number 1153861) on 19[th] September 2013. We have all necessary policies and procedures including a child protection policy. DBS checks are carried out prior to commencement of employment. These checks are carried out every 3 years in line with statutory requirements.
Objectives and Activities
The purpose of the charity is:
To help and educate young people especially but not exclusively through their educational and leisure-time activities so to develop their physical, emotional, social and behavioural capabilities that they may grow to full maturity as individuals and members of society and that their conditions of life may be improved, and to support other charitable purposes in the local community.
Summary of main activities undertaken for the public benefit:
All our activities are undertaken for public benefit. Our main activities are educational youth workshops, outreach work and performances. We are open to all young people regardless of personal background, faith, gender or personal circumstance and we look for the person they can be rather than judging them by their past or background. We work with local partners, such as the police, schools, housing providers and local organisations, to provide joined up support to young people and we value the support and contributions from our partners.
Our work benefits young people aged 7 to 25 by developing their self-confidence and social skills, alongside practical and life skills. We encourage them to make positive life choices to have a successful future and particularly focus on anti-guns, -gangs and - crime work.
Our volunteers make a huge contribution to Increase the Peace and we could not do the work without them. They are always willing to give time, energy and ideas to making the projects and youth activities succeed.
Achievements
Increase the Peace is well known in Gloucestershire for our anti-guns, -gangs and -crime work. During 2023 – 24 we continued to concentrate on delivering our Impact workshops, as well as responding to concerns, raising awareness in the community and being a listening ear.
Supporting our local young people and their families is always our main priority and we are known to be the ‘go to’ organisation in the City about knife crime. Sadly more young people continued to be attacked in both Gloucestershire and the country, causing concern and worry amongst the community. We received an increased number of requests to visit young people, families, schools, colleges and even fresher fairs to raise awareness and give advice.
Another area of our work which increased this year has been knife collections. More and more young people and families have contacted us, either saying they had a knife they want to hand in or knew where one was stashed. We went to parks, alleyways and homes to find and retrieve them; collecting 36 this year, including a 10 inch knife from a 10 year boy. The knives were collected safely and confidentially, and we provided support and guidance where possible.
We used our Facebook page to highlight issues and give information and support to our 8000+ followers. We shared live feeds from knife collections and awareness raising videos by Increase the Peace staff, as well as information about local activities for young people, local cultural festivals and knife amnesties. We were pleased to report a change in policy by Lidl to adding tags to the knives on their shelves (after we raised the issue with them), which received 337 ‘likes’ and comments such as “Great job. Thank you for seeing the problem and challenging it. We need more people like you all” (from a Town Councillor) .
Our ‘Impact’ educational anti-knife workshops are always well received, and we delivered 15 sessions to schools, youth clubs and training providers. Primary schools were a bigger focus this year after reports of younger children starting to carry knives or bringing them into schools. The children engaged with great enthusiasm and interaction and even with such a difficult subject they were open and honest in sharing their thoughts and experiences. Feedback included: “Thanks Increase the Peace team for coming in. The children absolutely loved it and certainly made an impact. Amazing feedback from staff too.” “Great dedicated work, thank you.” “It was really inspiring and interesting to know that sort of stuff. Me and the teachers were shocked but thank you for what you’re doing and putting the world right again.” (young person).
The local media respect the knowledge and experience of Increase the Peace, and both ITV and BBC often contacted us for views and interviews. ITV filmed us for a short documentary/ news piece about knife crime in the South West as part of a week-long special, and we were very willing to show them our Impact workshops, knives we had collected, and to facilitate conversations with young people and the community as part of our outreach work.
We were very grateful as always to those that chose to raise funds or support us. Special thanks this year go to Gloucester College Business students, Severn Vale School, Eastgate Cycles, Gloucester Sports and Anya Eames, as well as all those we have worked with. A huge thank you goes to former ‘everything’ Berni Buchanan, who is extremely sadly missed.
During 2024/25 we intend to increase delivery of our Impact workshops, continue to support our community as best we can and hope to re-start our youth clubs.
Knife crime is a tough subject, is on the increase and even harder to tackle, but we can only try to make a difference, to raise awareness and help inform and educate young people - to help them make informed and good choices and decisions. Alongside others, piece by peace we can only keep trying to make a change. : @
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
Signature: Name: Candy Wiltshire Position: Chair Date: 12/12/24
Increase the Peace Accounts 1/4/2023 - 31/3/2024
| Section A Receipts and Payments | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total funds | 1/4/22- | ||
| funds £ | funds £ | £ | 31/3/23 | ||
| £ | |||||
| Receipts | |||||
| Grants and donations | 1,432 | 1,432 | 1,432 | 1,432 16,805 |
|
| Total Receipts Payments |
1,432 ~~a~~ |
- | 1,432 | 16,805 | |
| Costs of charitable activities | 10,367 | 10,367 | 10,367 | 6,411 | |
| Total Payments | 10,367 ~~a~~ |
10,367 - |
10,367 | 10,367 6,411 |
|
| Net of receipts/(payments) Cash funds last year end |
(8,935) 19,371 ~~a~~ |
- | (8,935) 19,371 |
10,394 8,977 |
|
| Cash funds this year end | 10,436 ~~a~~ |
- | 10,436 | 19,371 |
| Cash funds last year end 19,371 Cash funds this year end 10,436 - ~~a~~ |
Cash funds last year end 19,371 Cash funds this year end 10,436 - ~~a~~ |
19,371 10,436 |
8,977 19,371 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of theperiod | |||
| Categories | Details | Unrestricted | Restricted |
| funds £ | funds £ | ||
| Cash funds | Cash at bank | 10,436 | |
| Total cash | 10,436 - | 10,436 - | |
| funds | funds | ||
| Assets retained for the | - | - | -- |
| charity's own use | |||
| Signed on behalf of Board | Name: | Date: | 12/12/2024 |
| Position: |