45-47 Longsmith Street, Gloucester, GL1 2HT
Annual Report 1[st] April 2024 – 31[st] March 2025
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 2024 – 25 we continued to concentrate on responding to concerns, raising awareness in the community and being a listening ear, as well as delivering our Impact workshops and mentoring. Supporting our local young people and their families is always our main priority and we are known as 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 continued to visit young people and families, held pop up stalls at community events and provided talks at schools, colleges and fresher fairs to raise awareness and give advice. This was coupled with mentoring a small number of vulnerable young people.
During the year we carried out an increase of knife collections. More and more young people and families 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 retrieve them, as well as collecting them at our fundraising half-marathons. All the knives were collected safely and confidentially and will be used to create our very own ‘knife sculpture’.
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 local activities for young people, local cultural festivals and knife amnesties. The introduction of Ronan’s Law, which bans ninja swords and strengthens rules for online knife sales, was welcome news which we hope will make a difference.
Our ‘Impact’ educational anti-knife workshops are always well received, and we delivered sessions to schools, scouts and alternative provision. Primary schools continue to be a focus 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: “Thank you so much, my son is in the class and actually said he took a lot from it! Well done all.” “My daughter was in this class and came home talking about it. Thank you so much for all you do, you're all amazing.”
The local media respect the knowledge and experience of Increase the Peace, and both ITV and BBC frequently contacted us for our thoughts and interviews. ITV filmed us for short documentary/ news pieces about knife crime in the South West and we were very willing to help them understand the issues by showing them 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 ITUS Risk Group & Sterling Security Solutions (for security around our knife box), Gloucester College, Willow Academy, Longlevens Scout Group, Patchway Youth Club, GET, Skate4Josh, Clean Shield Professional, Spencer & Spencer Promotions, Gloucester Sports, Brotherhood in Arms and Whitminster pub, as well as all those we have worked with. We were also very grateful to the family who generously donated a metal detector to us, meaning we can safely find and collect many more knives.
During 2025/26 we intend to increase delivery of our Impact workshops and outreach work, and continue to support our community as best we can.
Knife crime is a tough subject, is still on the increase and even harder to tackle, but we can only try to make a difference, to raise awareness and help 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. ‘eT
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
Signature: Name: Gemma Allen
Position: Chair Date: 3/12/25
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Increase the Peace Accounts 1/4/2024 - 31/3/2025
| Section A Receipts and Payments | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total funds | 1/4/23- | ||
| funds £ | funds £ | £ | 31/3/24 | ||
| £ | |||||
| Receipts | |||||
| Grants and donations | 2,084 | 2,084 | 2,084 1,432 | 2,084 1,432 | |
| Charitable activities | 1,075 | 1,075 | 0 | ||
| Total Receipts Payments |
3,159 ~~a~~ |
- | 3,159 | 1,432 | |
| Costs of charitable activities | 3,518 | 3,518 | 3,518 | 10,367 | |
| Total Payments | 3,518 ~~a~~ |
3,518 - |
3,518 | 3,518 10,367 |
|
| Net of receipts/(payments) Cash funds last year end |
(359) 10,436 ~~a~~ |
- | (359) 10,436 |
(8,935) 19,371 |
|
| Cash funds this year end | 10,077 ~~a~~ |
- | 10,077 | 10,436 |
| Cash funds last year end 10,436 Cash funds this year end 10,077 - ~~a~~ |
Cash funds last year end 10,436 Cash funds this year end 10,077 - ~~a~~ |
10,436 10,077 |
19,371 10,436 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of theperiod | |||
| Categories | Details | Unrestricted | Restricted |
| funds £ | funds £ | ||
| Cash funds | Cash at bank | 10,077 | |
| Total cash | 10,077 - | 10,077 - | |
| funds | funds | ||
| Assets retained for the | - | - | -- |
| charity's own use | |||
| Signed on behalf of Board | Name: | Date: | 3/12/2025 |
| Position: |