2020-08-31-accounts

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

WRAP Annual report 2019 – 2020

Unit 6, Ryefield Crescent, Northwood Hills, HA6 1LT 01923 517 540 WRAPwatfordscrap@gmail.com http://wrapwatfordscrap.wixsite.com/wrap

Registered Charity No 1155251

Chairs report ................................................................................................................................ 3 Looking after each other .........................................................................................................................3 Tassels, tassels, tassels ............................................................................................................................3 Property ..................................................................................................................................................4 Richard Aherns, former chair ...................................................................................................................4 Finance Report ............................................................................................................................. 5 Overview.................................................................................................................................................5 Attendances ............................................................................................................................................5 Membership Subscriptions ......................................................................................................................5 Finance Statement ..................................................................................................................................6 Volunteer Report.......................................................................................................................... 8 Creative Activities Report ............................................................................................................. 9 Workshops ..............................................................................................................................................9 WRAP Open Studios ................................................................................................................................9 Exhibitions ..............................................................................................................................................9 Lockdown.............................................................................................................................................. 10

Chairs report

I am pleased to share with you the annual report for WRAP 2019-2020.

Looking after each other

I would like to start the report on our activities this year by offering a big thank to our volunteering members. As reported by Roxana Peters in the Volunteers Report, our team has put in many, many hours to keep the scrapstore running. During normal times, the work our volunteering members do is immense. With the challenges we faced this year, the offer of time, energy and enthusiasm from them seems all the more remarkable to me.

When increasing concern about Covid-19 began to emerge in early 2020, we like many others were unsure about how to respond. The committee were actively talking to each other and volunteer members to decide how to proceed – of prime concern was the health and safety of all of our members. In the end, of course, decisions were taken out of our hands and we closed for three months.

Prior to reopening we were lucky to receive the support and advice from a WRAP member with health and safety background, who was able to provide an assessment of our situation and advice on what we needed to change to open again.

When we reopened, we made clear to volunteering members that the choice to return was entirely their own and that if people’s individual choices meant there were not enough volunteers on a particular day, the scrapstore would remain closed that day. Members were offered three months additional membership to cover the period during which were closed.

The initial response from members was fairly muted. Saturdays were still fairly well attended, and this necessitated some juggling within the limited numbers guidelines. However, as shown by the financial statement prepared by Sandra Michie we have not been too badly affected financially by the lockdown.

Tassels, tassels, and supply hassles

We continued to have a reasonable range of supply in the scrapstore most of the time. As described in the report by Helen Burtt and Roger Kattenhorn on creative activities, tassels made an entry at the beginning of the year and seem to have been a theme throughout!

Helen and Roger also report on the workshop activity that extends beyond the scrapstore our work in supporting young people to make art through resource reuse. Although there has been no activity since the lockdown, we were able to offer several activities in Autumn and Winter 2019.

Thanks to Victoria Culf and Lucy Lardner, we were able to extend further the WRAP footprint by taking on an additional unit in Northwood Hills which enabled them to run workshops, a Saturday kids art club and run an Open Studios event.

Despite the healthy range of workshop activities, which took place pre-lockdown, the challenges of ensuring the quality of supply of materials into the scraptstore continues. Our drivers scouting around for places that might offer us viable supplies but we have lost several suppliers this year and this remains a key strategic risk for us. Your eyes and ears are valuable for us in this regard – do let us know if you spot a possible supply source.

Property

Another theme this year has been the presence of property surveyors at the scrapstore. A series of people have come to inspect the state of buildings and mostly we are in the dark as to what their assessments say or what the implications of this are.

In some ways this uncertainty is nothing new – we have for most of our existence been without significant power or influence as to the longer term occupancy of a space. We continue to dream of a permanent place that we could share with other like-hearted organisations.

Richard Aherns, former chair

Finally, we would like to recognise the contribution made to WRAP by Richard Aherns, who passed away this year. Richard was chair of WRAP for many years until he retired in 2011.

My own first encounter with WRAP was entering the warehouse in Wiggenhall Depot sometime in 2005 and being greeted by Richard. I expressed some curiosity in what the team were doing there and within 10 minutes Richard had enthused me enough that I was there with a broom in hand sweeping floor around the stacked shelves.

Richard was passionate about WRAP’s model for running a scrapstore whereby a small fee allows anyone unlimited access to our resources alongside free access to the generous advice and guidance of our knowledgeable volunteer members. He didn’t want WRAP to be a place that was selling stuff to people.

By coincidence both Richard and I have worked for the Open University as Associate Lecturers. The OU is a remarkable British institution and I could argue a case for it being considered as one of the country’s great modern inventions – allowing open entry access to higher education for people who may not fit the standard mould of university learners.

Of course, like many universities, the OU is now assailed by market forces and management by metric. But there is still some space to do great work for the public good there too – viz the collaborations with the BBC and Sir David Attenborough for the Blue Planet and Frozen Planet series.

The model of a scrapstore that Richard nurtured represents a similar open access, publicspirited way of supporting young people to engage with arting and crafting. I hope we can continue the work that he helped start for many years to come.

Rupesh Shah November 2020

Finance Report Sandra Michie, Finance Officer

Overview

The Finance Report shows our income and expenditure for the year 1[st] September 2019 to 31[st] August 2020. Our income covered all expenses, despite a number of challenges to operating conditions and finances:

the Covid-19 lock down period,
reduced attendance thereafter,
the extra costs involved because of the Covid regulations, and
paying the full charity level Council Rates

Attendances

We had an average attendance of 109 people per week (during the weeks we were open). Despite the Covid-19 reduction in numbers this compares very favourably with last year (120) and the previous year (104)
October & November 2019 and February 2020 showed the highest attendances we have recorded so far at 718 / 729 / 708 visits – the previous record was in March 2019 when we had 607 visits
Despite being closed for 3 months almost an identical number renewed their membership in the various groups this year
A 3-month subscription extension was offered to all individuals and small groups after the Covid-19 lockdown. Some members have taken this option, and it was kindly rejected by others.

Membership Subscriptions

Subscription payments were still mainly in cash (67%), only 12% use cheques, and 21% of our members paid directly in to the bank by BACS
All of the 32 volunteers were given a free subscription this year in recognition of their work
Subscription income sources were:

Individuals	26.41%
Small groups	17.64%
Schools	41.23%
Admin	14.72%
	100.00%

There was a proportionately higher level of new members during the 9 months of this year,
122 new individual or small group memberships (87 local area & 35 Watford area)
six schools (5 local area)
A total of 57 schools renewed their membership, despite their difficulties financially

Finance Statement


Financialyear 01 Sep 2019	to	31 Aug 2020
INCOME Bank Interest Donations Membership Fees Renewals New Administrative	£9,595.00 £2,725.00 £2,250.00	402.51 205.57 £14,570.00	See Note 2 overleaf Including £30 for use of van £ 15,178.08 New phones Usual + sanitisers See Note 3 overleaf See Note 1 overleaf See Note 3 overleaf Not renewed until Oct 2020
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENSES Fees (Affiliation) Office: Equipment Peripherals Consumables/Printing Postage Stationery Sundries TOTAL Office Supplies Volunteers: AGM & hospitality Clothing Refreshments Mileage TOTAL volunteer costs Property costs: P/E liability Insurance Fire insurance/checks Rates - repayment Maintenance TOTAL Property costs Utilities: Electricity / Gas Telephone Refuse collection Water TOTAL Utilities Vehicle & collections: Driving Fuel Road tax & MOT Insurance Maintenance RAC TOTAL Vehicle costs Workshop marketing:	£42.00 £350.30 £14.64 £112.00
	£609.81 £36.59 £760.30	£518.94
	£105.86 £2,944.00 £586.00 £457.40 £128.00	£1,406.70
		£3,635.86
	£740.00 £400.18 £260.00 £725.18 £842.66	£585.40
		£2,968.02
		£25.00
TOTAL EXPENSES			£ 9,139.92

TOTAL General INCOME less EXPENSES 2019/2020			£ 6,038.16

Bank balance as of 31/8/2019	Bank balance as of 31/8/2019
TSB 0143….			£ 21,870.14
Shawbrook (Savings)			£50,313.91
TOTAL Bank b/f:					£72,184.05
Petty Cash b/f:					£329.56
						£72,513.61
Income Over expenses 2019-2020					£6,038.16
Capital expenditure
			balance c/f into	Sept 2020		£78,551.77
Bank balance as of 31/8/2020
TSB 0143…. c/f			£ 27,656.76
Shawbrook c/f	*Savings*		£50,716.42
TOTAL Bank:					£78,373.18
Petty Cash	Cash in hand 31 Aug 2020			£	178.59
Net financial worth 31 Aug 2020			(correct with books)			£ 78,551.77
Note 1	Rates - This year we paid the full charity amount of the rates for LBH
Note 2	CAF/Shawbrooks savings bank earned us the only bank interest
Note 3	Mileage &	driving expenses for volunteers
		Mike	£740.00		£740.00	Driving
		Helen	£486.40			Mileage
		Roger	£197.10			Mileage
		Others	£76.80		£760.30	Mileage
			TOTALS	£1,500.30
Accounts prepared	by Alexandra J.
Michie				09 Oct 2020
Accepted as accurate accounts for			Watford Recycling Arts Project:
Name			Role	Signature
Rupesh Shah			Trustee
Roger Kattenhorn			Trustee
Roxana M. Peters			Trustee
Alexandra J. Michie			Finance Officer

Volunteer Report Roxana Peters

The volunteers have once again excelled themselves in service to the community through the benefits of WRAP, by their energy, diligence, patience, versatility, creativity, willingness, loyalty, friendliness and just being themselves.

Everyone who is a member of WRAP is a potential volunteer and when writing the weekly email or the annual reports I am aware I am writing on behalf of the executive as well as to them as most of them are Figure 1 - Volunteer Snippets Email Wordcloud also volunteers in the warehouse. However I would like to send especial thanks to Sandra, whose many hours working at home on our admin and finances are under the radar of most of us.

We have over 40 regular volunteers from long serving to those who have joined in the last year. We are very encouraged by the number of secondary school age volunteers who come, usually, on Thursday after school. Some are doing Duke of Edinburgh Awards (Bronze, Silver and Gold), others have been brought along by friends. All our volunteers are welcome whenever they can come and attendance varies from irregular to regular twice-a-week.

This last year has, as for everybody, been an adventure. Some WRAPPERS are isolating as they have underlying conditions - which in normal times for all their complexities do not stop them coming to WRAP - others are caring for vulnerable persons, and yet others were able to come into the warehouse during the brief relief from lockdown. This was much appreciated by our members and we had some busy days. As a result of our suppliers being badly hit by the lockdown we have not had the volume to material to collect, unload, sort, disperse etc, but there have been other tasks for volunteers, including setting up areas to quarantine incoming items, which was critical to us being able to accept (vetted) donations from members which we had initially refused.

No-one this year has said they will no longer be coming and that is how we like it as we feel that being part of WRAP is a happy and welcome life membership, and we are aware that there can be changes to life's pattern. However we have been saddened by the death of Richard Ahrens recently after a long period of ill-health. He was a Watford councillor when he became involved with WRAP and was instrumental in getting us accommodation and recognition by Watford Council that helped in the early days. He was passionate about the education and encouraged any who came into the warehouse to be creative. He made the best use of plastic strapping creating some amazing items both useful and for display, some of which survive in our current warehouse.

As I try to convey in the weekly email, WRAP is nothing without our WRAP volunteers and we (the executive and the members) are very grateful for each hour (or less!) of their energy. THANK YOU.

Creative Activities Report Helen Burtt and Roger Kattenhorn

Workshops

WRAP took part in the Fun Palace event at Watford Central Library and took along a ‘Hall of Mirrors’ the left image below shows a child inside a tube of our gold reflective material. The day also included other Wrap craft activities.

WRAP Open Studios

In November Victoria and Lucy ran an Open Studio event in Unit 22, with workshops. This was successful and had many keen visitors which included the Mayor of Hillingdon, Councillor Teji Barnes

Exhibitions

We had another exhibition of the large collage pictures at Watford Museum and have been running the tassel project this year, so did some of the tassel workshops at the Museum which were well attended. The tassels have had a really good response, and have been also been turned into dolls. Some made of batik materials were obviously very attractive, as they disappeared!

The collage pictures in the exhibition were used as inspiration in a cooperative workshop organised with Wrap and The Watford Writers group, and also in collaboration with the New Connections Dance Group, who also meet at the Museum, which all made for great creative energy.

We have put together a promotional film for WRAP, which can be used by anyone who is interested to find out what scrapstores are and do.

Lockdown

Because of coronavirus, things became very difficult and lots of events were cancelled, such as the VE day celebrations at Reverley Lodge which did not take place. Victoria and Lucy had lots of workshops planned for Headstone Manor, some of which happened online. Many other groups that we know of, including NYSA’s puppet workshops, also happened online so we know that this became a common occurrence for many creative activities.

Along with the rest of the nation Wrap showed its support and appreciation for the NHS with a recycled rainbow, window display, in West Watford opposite Watford General Hospital.

Victoria had a large scale project planned, for Herts Year of Culture, which has had to go on the backburner (but like the Olympics, is now planned for 2021) and was going to take all her energies up, so the children’s weekend workshops had already been cancelled before the virus made such activities difficult or impossible.

In response to various calls for fabric, WRAP received and distributed waste fabrics from scrubs-making groups who professionally produced scrubs for hospitals and carers. They brought in waste trimmed fabric and many of the volunteers either made masks themselves or made sure that the fabric was distributed to those who wished to do so, on an ad hoc basis.