Upwards With Downs Trustees’ Annual Report Year ending 31 October 2021
Aims and Objectives
We are a small local charity that offers support and guidance to people with Down Syndrome and their families. We are based in Harlow, Essex and cover Essex, East Hertfordshire and North east London.
Our mission is to ensure that all people with Down’s Syndrome, children and adults, are well supported to enable them to reach their full potential in life. We aim to do this by providing therapy programmes, social events, play opportunities, and support for parents and carers. We are also keen to promote awareness of Down Syndrome and change outdated ideas about the condition by educating, and providing information, to hospitals and children’s centres.
From November 2020 to October 2021 the Covid pandemic has affected the whole accounting year. Therefore the charity’s activities have been significantly affected, both in providing therapies and social activities for our members, and in fundraising in order to provide these. However, we have found new ways of providing some therapy and of staying connected, and finding new online resources for our members.
Income
Fundraising
A number of members carried out individual sponsored events during March to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day on 21[st] March 2021. These included a sponsored walks of 21 three mile walks, a sponsored hair cut, a sponsored run of 21 miles and other similar achievements. All together these raised £4093 plus Gift Aid of £784. We also held some online raffles which raised £628.00 We were not able to hold any other major fundraising activities this year including our annual Summer Fete, which is a good source of income for the charity.
Merchandise Sales
Through the skill and hard work of some of our members we have made takings of £509 for products which are hand-made. This is less than the previous year as they are made by parent volunteers whose work has been reduced by having to have children at home due to the pandemic. The expenditure figure on merchandise is £234; however this includes decorative items made for fundraising events and gifts for our supporters.
Donations
We are very grateful for the many donations totalling £2667, from various sources such as collecting tins, private donations and the Paypal Charitable Scheme.
Grants
We have been fortunate to receive a grant of £7000 for Speech and Language Therapy in August 2021 from the Essex Community Foundation.
Community Support
We are very grateful to the Great Parndon Community Association whose venue, The Link, is used for discos. We were able to start having these events in September 2021. Their staff are extremely helpful and without them we wouldn’t be able to carry out our large fundraising and social activities.
We are grateful for the continuing support of MacDonald’s in Harlow which supplies catering equipment and some food for our events.
We are grateful to local companies which support us through matched funding, sponsorship and donations of items for raffles and prizes, particularly Halifax (Lloyds)
Expenditure on activities:
Speech and Language programme
Our expenditure in the last financial year on the provision of our Speech and Language programme for our school-age members has reduced from £5574 in the previous year (which was also partially affected by the pandemic) to £1286 in this accounting year. This is because we have been unable to use the venue where the sessions are held, and because we have had no input from the Qualified Speech Therapist who oversees the programme. A few members have been able to access their sessions from the Speech and Language Assistants at school or online. Each member who accesses the service receives an hour of speech therapy each week during term time, delivered by trained assistants who are supervised by a qualified Speech and Language therapist from The Owl Centre.
Specialist Teacher
Our Specialist Teacher has been able to continue the following service, remotely where necessary:
-
visited schools to advise them about teaching children with Downs Syndrome, and about resources available to them.
-
assisted parents/carers with EHCP reports and meetings
-
carried out one-to-one sessions with children in their homes or online
-
group advice sessions
-
training for LSAs
The expenditure for the year was £5551. Parents/carers pay a small fee towards the service and schools have paid an agreed fee, both of which come to £1500. The shortfall has been able to be funded from a generous donation in 2019.
Again, due to the pandemic, this service has not been used to its full extent.
Preschool group
The preschool group has been unable to meet at all during this accounting year due to the closure of the meeting venue. The expenditure of £443 was for online activities. We plan to resume the group sessions at the Venue as soon as it is open. As before, the fortnightly meetings at the Treehouse Children’s Centre will include an activity for the children to do such as Little Signers, or a visiting professional such as a speech and language therapist, or occupational therapist, who is available to work with the children and advise the parents/carers. This group has continued to access a very active Whatsapp group which has been a very valuable resource for new parents (and sometimes prenatal parents) as they are able to support each other and exchange information and tips.
Social activities
Disco : We have been able to hold one disco in this financial year, a Halloween event. The disco expenditure is £1238, however £1200 of that is the booking fee for the following year’s events at the GPCA venues.
Indoor soft play sessions : we have been able to hold one soft play session at Monkey Bizness Canal boat trips : we were able to provide 11 canal boat trips with Canalability in specially adapted boats. This cost £1990 and were offered free to members and their families, and are always very popular. It was particularly good this year to be able to meet fellow members for the first time in over a year.
Fundraising costs
There were no fundraising costs
Physical activities
Members who have been able to access swimming lessons and other sports or therapies have continued to been subsidised for a total cost of £2011.
Merchandise costs
See note on Merchandise sales above
| Restfisted | EndowmEnt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unr6trictedfunds t |
funds ff |
funds |
Totaltunds ff |
Lastyear | ||||
| 41Receiptt | ||||||||
| Speech andLanguageparents' payments Specialistteacher |
.878 1,50: |
878 ttT |
1,470 76 |
|||||
| Swimmingclasses | ||||||||
| Othercourses parentsr payments | ||||||||
| Activitlesparents'conributions | ||||||||
| Outingsparents' contributions | 65 | |||||||
| Discotakings | L2;- | 120- | 840 | |||||
| FunDaytakings | ||||||||
| Fun Dayfees | 745 | |||||||
| Fun Daymatched funding | 800 | 800 | ||||||
| Fundraisingeventreceipts(not | Fun Day) | s.037 | 5,O37 | 2,76; | ||||
| Merchandisesal.es | 509 | s09 | t,o24 | |||||
| Donations | 2,667 | 2,667 | 5,4s6 | |||||
| Gifr Aid | 1,S39 | L,539 | ||||||
| Paypal | ||||||||
| Grant(restricted) | 7,00; | 7,000 | ||||||
| Othersalesorincome | ||||||||
| subtotal | 13.05; | 7,000 | 20,05; | L2,A80 | ||||
| A2 Asset andinvestmeitsalBs, | etr | |||||||
| Total receipts | 13,050 | 7,OO; | 20,0s0 | r2,080 | ||||
| A3 Payments | ||||||||
| Speechand languagetherapyclasses | 938 | 348 | L,2&6 | 5,s74 | ||||
| Specialistteacher | tssl | 5,s51 | 4,462 | |||||
| Swimmingclasses | 1,696 | 1,695 | 2AZ7 | |||||
| Other courses | 315 | 315 | 10 | |||||
| Activities | s60 | 560 | 52 | |||||
| Costsof outings | 1,990 | 1,990 | 75 | |||||
| Costsofdiscos | 12s: | 1.,255- | 475 | |||||
| Costof funday | 340 | |||||||
| Fund raisingeventcosts | 2,A20 | |||||||
| Merchandise | 234 | 234 | 881 | |||||
| Presahoolgroupcosts | 443 | 443 | 446 | |||||
| Donations | 50 | 50 | ||||||
| Members'gifts | 673 | |||||||
| Goodwill | L7L | 111 | 66 | |||||
| Training,firstaid courses€tc. | 50 | 60 | 52 | |||||
| Licences | zo | 20 | 20 | |||||
| Marketing | ||||||||
| Webslte costs Postage(other than |
newsletter) | LM L54 |
U; 154 |
D; 4 |
||||
| Stationery | 28 | 28 | 41 | |||||
| Subscriptions | 744 | t44 | ||||||
| lnsurance | ||||||||
| Equipment | M6 | 406 | ||||||
| Purchaseofbooks,leafletsand Storagefaeilitycosts |
videos | 56; | s6; | rg; | ||||
| Otherexpenditure | ||||||||
| subtotal | 14660 | 348 | 15,008 | 17,875 | ||||
| A4 Assetand investmentpurchases,etc Totalpayments Net ofrqceipts/(payments) |
14,66; (1,510) |
34A 6,652 |
1s,oo; 5,042 |
17,87; (5,795) |
||||
| A5 Transfursbetween funds | ||||||||
| A6cashfundslastyear end | 54,160 | 64,160 | 59,95; | |||||
| .Cashfundsthisyearend | 62,550 | 6,65; | 69,202 | 64,160 |
| Unrestricted | ResffictedEndowment | ResffictedEndowment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | funds |
||
| Details | f | |||
| 81Cashfunds | Current account | 69,202 | ||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | ||
| funds | funds | funds |
||
| Details | f | Ef | ||
| 82Other monetaryassets | ||||
| Cost | Curentvalue | |||
| Fundtowhich | (optional) | (optional) | ||
| assetbelonts | ||||
| Details | f | f | ||
| 83lnvestmGnt assets | ||||
| Fundtowhich | Cost | Currentvalue | ||
| assetbelongs | (optional) | (optional) | ||
| Details | f | f | ||
| 84Assetsretained for the charity's ownuse | Vinylcuttingmachine | Unrestricted 351 |
||
| Workstation | Unrestricted 138 |
|||
| Vinylpress | Ljnrestricted 55 |
|||
| Fundtowhich | Amount | When due | ||
| liability | due | |||
| belongs | (optional) | |||
| Details | f | |||
| 85 Liabilities | ||||
| Sighed by one ortwo trustees onbehalfofall | Dateof | |||
| trustees | Signature | Printname | approval | |
| N.(IDLEy | otloslz |