2024-03-31-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT

2023 - 2024

LIving Well Bromley Registered Charity Number: 1157385

CONTENTS

• 1 About us

• 2 What we do

• 3 Our activities

4 Our mission and values 5 Legal & administrative information 6 Structure, Governance & Management 8 Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2024

ABOUT US

At Living Well Bromley, we provide food and support that changes lives. We are a caring community where people feel respected, valued, accepted and loved. Our mission is to ensure that people have the food, guidance and the support of an uplifting community to live life to the fullest. We work with our partners to support people with different needs, including poverty, social isolation, homelessness and mental health issues.

Our services are free to use and include a foodbank, a clothes bank, a weekly community hot meal, a free café, a community choir, counselling, mental health support and advice on benefits, debt and housing.

Living Well Bromley serves the local community, working with a number of diverse partners to ensure we reach as many people in need as possible, with all aspects of their lives taken into account (physical, emotional and spiritual).

This approach to helping the whole person is at the heart of our vision and values.

1

WHAT WE DO

3 times a week, open to everyone in the local area

Warm, safe space with free hot meals, drinks & company

Advice on debt, benefits, housing and homelessness

AND SO MUCH MORE...!

COUNSELLING

CHOIR

CLOTHES BANK

GARDEN

WORDS & NUMBERS

PRAYER

ART

2

ACHIEVEMENTS

We have over 2000 registered guests and have made a huge difference to hundreds of people’s lives over this financial year.

Unlike other foodbanks we don’t require a complicated referral or voucher process. Due to growth in demand, in January 2024 we restricted use of our foodbank to people in SE19, SE20, SE26 and BR3 postcode areas. Our other services are currently open to anyone who needs them.

In 2023 we saw an average of 995 adult visits per month to our foodbank and 531 dependents visits. To the most sick and vulnerable in our community we were able to offer home deliveries of these food parcels. This came at a cost of an average £5,971 per month spent purchasing food for our food parcels and hot meals.

Our community lunch served an average of 996 free hot meals a month in 2023. This is a highlight of the week and provides a real sense of community as well as delicious, nutritious food.

At every foodbank session we opened our free café serving free hot drinks and snacks and offering a warm, safe space. We offered hundreds of advice sessions with our Advocacy team to help people on a one-to-one basis with debt, benefits, housing and other issues. We also offered counselling to those struggling the most with their mental health.

In June 2023 we opened our first charity shop in Penge to provide an income stream, promote our charity, and offer jobs and volunteering opportunities to the local community.

3

OUR MISSION & VALUES

Our mission is to ensure people have food, guidance and the support of an uplifting community to live life to the fullest.

HUMANITY ABOVE ALL

We believe deeply in treating people with empathy, respect and compassion. Our work reflects our Christian beliefs. All are welcome through our doors – whether they need a helping hand or simply an ear to listen. For us, humanity is everything.

GIVING PEOPLE A HAND UP

We don’t only give people the food they need to survive, we also strive to provide them with the support and resources needed to help them build a better life.

HELPING THE WHOLE PERSON

We believe in tackling the whole problem, not just some of its symptoms. That’s why we offer mental health and wellbeing support, as well as spiritual guidance. Through this our guests can begin to focus on the future, rather than just making it through today.

WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER

We’re an uplifting and welcoming community – one that brings together guests, staff, volunteers, donors and ultimately our community to help make life better for those who need our support. We are somewhere that people come to meet others – to talk, to laugh, to cry, to pray, to be together.

4

LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

TRUSTEES

Andrew Cornish (Chair)

• Will Skinner

• Anthony Adams

• Noel Hanrahan

• Jo Gale

• Brandon Lundini (resigned 14 November 2023)

• Roger Wells

• Uma Datta

• Rev Jessica Smith

• Rob Short

• Alan Mason

• Ryan Thomson

Treasurer: Will Skinner

Registered Office: 66 Lennard Road, Penge, London, SE20 7LX

Registered Charity Number: 1157385

Independent Examiner: T Huxtable FCCA

Email: [e-mail]

Telephone: [phone]

5

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

Living Well began in 2011, in response to growing numbers of people calling at the vicarage of Holy Trinity Beckenham church in Penge asking for help. Since then, thousands of people from across Bromley and South East London have come to Living Well. We became a registered charity in June 2014 and depend entirely on the work of volunteers and the generosity of our donors to keep going. We currently have over 300 committed volunteers who keep Living Well Bromley running smoothly and safely. Each of our main areas of work is overseen by a team leader who is responsible for the activity and the volunteers who help out.

Our team leaders are:

Fiona Barnes (Art café) Sue Thomson (Blend Choir) Mary Morinan (Clothes Bank) Tamara Cooper (Community Café) Henrike Hawkins (Community Lunch) Shirley Anthony (Counselling) Mary Elliot (Foodbank and Collections) Rev Jessica Smith (Pastoral care) Libby Thompson (Shop)

Management Team:

Aida Shoush, Advice Manager Kate Lott, Fundraising & Comms Manager Lesley Nunes, Operations Manager

6

Living Well is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Our Trustees are responsible under the constitution of Living Well Bromley for controlling management and administration. Trustees are appointed by the Board of Trustees in a process of open competition following public advertisement. The Trustees met five times during the year.

Our Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

Risk Management

Risks are identified and assessed and controls established throughout the year. The key controls used include:

• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check for all team leaders and those working on a one-to-one basis with vulnerable adults

• Induction and training for new and existing volunteers

• Training and compliance with GDPR regulations

• Food hygiene training and guidance for cooks and café volunteers

• Safeguarding and equal opportunities policies

• Clear authorisation and approval levels.

Reserves

Our reserve policy is agreed each year by Trustees.

We hold reserves to ensure continuity in the event of a large variation in income and to cover costs in the event of charity closure.

Our reserves for 2024/2025 are £143,276, which is within the agreed range of £120,000-£160,000.

7

ACCOUNTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Statement of Financial Activities for year ended 31 March 2024

Balance Sheet for year ended 31 March 2024

APPROVED BY THE TRUSTEES ON 10th July 2024

SIGNED

Andrew Cornish, Chair of Trustees

Notes to Statement of Financial Activities Note I INCOME Includlng shop grmts And don*tlons (U21036) General Re5trlcted l%atlonal Lo¢ten' Communitt. FuDd £488)0 Ch•rlh- Shop Income- opened Junt 2023 £79734 Glft Ald £35406 Bank and sai'lngs Accounts Inleresl £6101 Other total £l?1?4? The Ilst ofdonatlons belom. btloTh' Is not exhausili'e blli does shO￿- the range of ineome reeeli'ed durlng the l'ear oi'er £lOOO Cllfford Cbauce £7$00 Penge Food Hub £iooo Plant Sale AIK'ai's Be Comed), £1755 Eltham College £1103 IA)ndon marathoD fundraising £??00 TIM Lund £iowo IA)cal churches £6721 Horner Famih. Trust £icoo CIIS Grant £?wo IIorden College £iCO) BeckeDham Scouts £5C St John's Baptist Church £3334 Russell & BrnDJlei' £9?52 ss&c £3?CJ) Sheldon l ouchers £1( IA)ckton £8613 Brit Insurance £io( Brom1￿. £IcKx) Il"inter Crisis .4ppeal CroThfunder £11073 I1-￿'S Neek £3170 Re￿llar. ad boc donors. Beneiih", u'ents etc £li4790 Donations total £?i0974 TOT.4L FLThT)S £488?0

2. Administration (£3754)

This includes expenditure on telephones, photocopying, DBS checks, petty cash and miscellaneous office costs.

3 Advocacy (£62346)

This includes the salary for the Advocacy Team Leader, Advocacy Supervisor and admin support which were partly grant funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

4. Capital Costs (£26988)

This expenditure was the set up costs for the new charity shop which opened in Penge High Street in June 2023.

5. Charity Shop (£51222)

The shop has been taken on a 5 year renewable lease and the main running costs are rent, staff and utility costs.

6. Central costs (£22427)

This covers insurance, rent, refuse collection, garden and equipment plus miscellaneous other costs. Rent and some other costs were partly grant funded by the National Lottery community Fund.

7. Counselling (£33087)

This includes the salary of our Counsellor and her part time assistant who is self employed.

8. Foodbank/Community Meals (£118035)

This fund includes part of the Operations staff salaries used to support these activities. Food quantities and costs have continued to rise significantly during the year and these costs were part funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

9. IT (£4641)

Advice UK and Microsoft annual payments and miscellaneous small purchases.

10. Staffing (£44,474)

Some salaries or parts of salaries have been allocated to other funds to show real costs.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORTTO THE TRUSTEES OF UVING WELL BROMLEY I report on the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2024. Respectlve responslbllltles of trustees and ex•mlntt The trustees {who are also dlrectors of the company for the pwposes of company law) are responsible for the weparation of the accounts. The trustees conslder that an audit Is not requlred for thls year under sectlon 144(21 of the Charitles kt 2011 (the Act 2011) and that an Independent examlnatlon Is needed. Havin8 satlsfled myself that the charlty is not subject to awllt under company law and Is ellgible for independent examlnatlon. tt Is my respoftslblllty to: examlne the accounts under sectlon 145 of the 2011 Act; to follow the procedures laid down In tl 8efteral Directlons given by the Charttles Commlsslon under sertlon 145(5)(b) of thr 2011 Art: and to state whether partlcular matters have come to my attentlon. Bas1• of Ind•p•nd•nt •xamln•r's f•POrt My examlnation was carrled out In accordance wlth the general dlrertlon$ given by the Charltles ComrnlsslonAn examlnation Includes a revlew of the accounting records kept by the charlty and a comparlson of the accounts presented wlth the records. It also includes consideration of any unusual fterns or dlsclosures In the accounts and seeklng explanatlons from you as trustees concernln8 suth matters. The procedures undertaken do not provlde all the evldence that would be requlred In an audlt and consequently no oplnlon Is 8iven as to whether the accounts present a and falr vlew nd the report 15 limited to those matters set out In the ststement below. Independ•nt Examlnees Report In connectK)n wlth my examlnatlon, no matter has come to my attention: whlch 8lves me reasonable cause to belleve that In any materlal resixrt the requirements: to keep accountln8 records In accordance with 5ectSons 386 and 387 of the Cornpanles £t 2(￿. and to prepare account5 which accord wlth the accountlng records.comply wlth the accountlng requlrernents of sections 394 and 395 of the Companles Act 2(Y)6 and wlth n)ethods and prlndples of the Statement of Recommended Prartlce: Account1￿ and Reportln8 by Charltles have not been met: or to whlch, In my oplnlon.attentlon should be drawn In order to enable proper undefstandlng of the accounts to be reached. T L Huxtablo FCCA 11 Stanhope Grove 8eckenham Kent 8R3 3JB Date.. 1¢Y05r2024

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