CHOICES PREGNANCY CENTRE EXETER
Charity Number: 1159847
ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED
5[th] APRIL 2025
CHOICES PREGNANCY CENTRE EXETER
Charity Number: 1159847
TRUSTEES IN THE FINANCIAL YEAR
Dr Christopher Scott Hamilton (Chair)
Mrs Victoria Ann Neal (resigned 30[th] June 2024)
Ms Frances Mary Tilley – Treasurer
Mrs Janice Mechelle Passmore
Mr Andy Humphries
Ms Dawn Fallon (from 1[st] May 2024)
CHOICES PREGNANCY CENTRE EXETER
CHARITY NO: 1159847
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2025
| RECEIPTS Donations Fundraising Stewardship Grants Bank interest HMRC Gift Aid TOTAL RECEIPTS PAYMENTS Sundry Costs Rent Light and Heat Repairs and Renewals Meeting Costs Phone and Broadband Printing,Stationery and Postage Training and Supervision Costs Travel Costs Insurance DBS Checks IT Costs Conferences Funding Bids Wages Professional Fees Video Preparation Fundraising Costs Equipment TOTAL PAYMENTS NET OF RECEIPTS/PAYMENTS CASH FUND LAST YEAR END CASH FUNDS THIS YEAR END |
Unrestricted Funds 3,198 1,060 1,693 376 531 |
Unrestricted Funds 3,198 1,060 1,693 376 531 |
Restricted Funds 200 5,000 |
Restricted Funds 200 5,000 |
Total 3,398 1,060 1,693 5,000 376 531 |
Last Year 5,355 1,465 2,420 19,550 105 391 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,858 | 5,200 | 12,058 | 29,286 | ||||
| 359 44 732 164 228 634 570 150 60 347 276 350 84 699 |
4,785 102 179 375 200 7,260 1,500 |
359 4,785 102 179 44 732 164 603 634 570 150 60 347 200 7,260 276 1,850 84 699 |
5 5,070 626 368 250 454 492 157 1,697 1,240 180 600 1,811 |
||||
| 4,697 | 14,401 | 19,098 | 12,950 | ||||
| 2,161 19,452 |
-9,201 19,265 |
-7,040 38,717 |
16,336 22,383 |
||||
| 21,613 | 10,064 | 31,677 | 38,717 |
41 Current Account DepositAccount £10,064 £1.121 £20.492 £21.613 £10,064 Office equSpment Includingcomputers £754.00 Restslcted Fund £1.024.00 Unrestricted Fun £514.00 RestTlcied Fund £948.(Ml Unrestricted Fund £3,240.00 OfflcefuTnlture and fittings DR C S HAMILTONz- MS F M TILLEY
CHOICES PREGNANCY CENTRE EXETER
TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD 6 APRIL 2024 to 5 APRIL 2025
Reference and administration details
Charity name: Choices Pregnancy Centre Exeter
Registered Charity Number: 1159847
Registered Address: 5 Heavitree Road, Exeter EX1 2LD
Structure, Governance and Management
Trustees
Dr Christopher Scott Hamilton (Chair)
Mrs Victoria Ann Neal (resigned 31.05.2024)
Ms Frances Mary Tilley (Treasurer)
Mrs Janice Mechelle Passmore
Mr Andy Humphreys
Ms Dawn Fallon (from 1.05.2024)
Operations Team
Caroline White – Centre Manager
Audrey Humphreys
Janice Passmore
Mary Hamilton
Vikki Neale
Frances Tilley (Treasurer)
Bank
Coop Bank, 242 High Street, EX4 3QB
Management
Choices Pregnancy Centre Exeter (CHOICES) is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), whose governing document is its constitution dated 1 December 2014. It is managed by its Board of Trustees and, in accordance with the governing document, those Trustees are appointed for a term of 3 years by a resolution passed at a properly convened Trustees meeting.
A centre manager has been employed since 1 April 2019 CHOICES and reports directly to the Trustees. The current Centre Manager works 10hrs paid and carries 2 clients voluntarily. The duties include:
Administration: managing the office, ensuring all privacy, data protection etc policies are adhered to and regularly reviewed, collating statistics, chairing management team meetings and providing progress reports to the Trustees.
Counselling: organising initial assessments of potential new clients, allocating clients to volunteer practitioners, co-ordinating and facilitating supervision sessions for those volunteers and carrying out some personal client support.
Fundraising: researching potential sources of grant income and making recommendations to the Trustees based on that research, initiating and co-ordinating general fundraising activities.
Training: co-ordinating the recruitment and training of new volunteer counsellors, organising individual and group programmes of professional development of established volunteers and ensuring that her own professional training is kept up to date.
Liaison: raising awareness of the charity’s activities within local organisations and acting as the first point of contact for the charity except where legislation dictates otherwise.
Objectives and activities
In accordance with its governing document, CHOICES’ objectives are:
(a) Relieving persons in need, distress or hardship by the provision of impartial support in the areas of pregnancy choices, issues arising post-abortion or from baby loss and other pregnancy related concerns.
(b) The advancement of education for the public benefit in the subject of sexual health and relationships.
Activities in pursuit of those objectives:
(1) Pregnancy crisis support – where clients faced with a pregnancy crisis meet with a volunteer practitioner in a safe, confidential environment to discuss their situation and the choices available to them.
(2) Baby loss support – where, over a period of 4 to 6 months or so, clients who have suffered baby loss are taken through a Baby Loss programme, with a view to helping them to process grief and recover from associated difficulties such as depression and anxiety.
(3) Post Abortion stress support – clients having experienced an abortion may suffer with related anxiety and/or stress. Choices offers a 3–4month programme to process feelings and work on tools for a way forward.
(4) Our services are available to clients living in the Devon area, without distinction of gender, sexual orientation and race or of political, religious or other opinions. We also aim to make available relevant and accurate information regarding support services that will enable beneficiaries to feel informed, empowered and respected. We will signpost and refer beneficiaries on to other services as appropriate.
(5) School and Youth Group visits – where the aim is to support local High Schools and Youth Clubs in the education of students regarding baby development, making informed choices regarding unplanned pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections.
These services are provided by volunteers, all of whom have either been trained by CHOICES or, in the case of newer recruits, have undertaken level 3 accredited training provided by the Pregnancy Centres Network (PCN). The support undertaken abides by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s Ethical Framework for Good Practice.
CHOICES recognises the national organisation known as PCN as a source of support, Continued Professional Development (CPD) and information in the areas in which CHOICES is active. CHOICES therefore makes small voluntary donations to them.
Achievements and Performance
During the year ended 5 April 2025 the Choices team consisted of 6 active volunteers, with 6 other team members remaining but not available. In the year we saw 41 new clients, of these 6 were crisis pregnancy, 21 miscarriage, 6 still birth, 8 termination of pregnancy stress, 6 termination for medical reasons support. This showed a marked increase in referrals as a result of links made with bereavement leads in Exeter and Torbay. It also suggests a confidence in Mental Health Teams and GPs in the specialised support we can provide.
The relationship built with the Lead Bereavement nurse at Torbay this year, finally allowed a connection to be made at the local hospital in Exeter, also covering North Devon. This has meant a sharing of skills and practices, ease of communication between Choices and the NHS, making the support offered more informative for the clients.
In October, the Centre Manager gave a presentation to 150 year 11’s about Crisis Pregnancy, Post Termination stress and Sexual Health. This was very well received and the head of year said,
“I wish Choices had been available when I was at school, it has been invaluable and just what is needed in schools”
In September and October, the team were invited to St Peter, Paul and Thomas (PPT) Church at Bovey Tracey, to give presentations to both congregations and in an evening session, to the Youth Group. As a result, Choices have been asked to visit again and three people expressed an interest in training to join the team.
The team were invited to speak to the Devon Young Farmers in Cheriton Bishop, covering Cheriton and Tedburn. The group have elected Choices as their Charity for the year and are holding events and fundraisers to raise funds. This was as a direct result of support given to a client connected to the Young Farmers, who had told them how grateful she was for Choice’s support following her loss.
The team has welcomed a new member who has successfully completed the Crisis Pregnancy Training with PCN and is working alongside an experienced practitioner. She has added new skills from her previous role working with Mind, which will enhance our services.
Financial Review
Our funding comes via a mixture of regular and one-off donations by individuals, our own fundraising events and grants made by various organisations and Trusts.
We were very grateful to receive a grant during the year from Devon Community Foundation
We began the year with a very well-supported quiz which raised £976 net of all costs.
For the year ended 5 April 2025 CHOICES had total income of £12058 and expenditure amounted to £19098, resulting in a net deficit for the year of £7040. However, £5200 of the £12058 income was in the form of ring-fenced grants and £14401 of the £19098 expenditure was similarly ring-fenced.
The Charity has a bank balance at 5 April 2025 of £31677, of which £10064 is ring-fenced and £21613 is available for general use.
The principle foreseeable expenditure continues to be the Centre Manager’s salary and rent payable for the Teignmouth office. The cash held at the bank means that the short-term future of the Charity is assured.
As always, we remain very grateful to the following organisations who have provided valued financial support to enable us to run CHOICES:
Bovey Tracey PC
The Lighthouse Church, Teignmouth
Together Church, Torquay
Client Feedback
At the conclusion of our baby-loss and post abortion stress programmes we ask our clients for feedback, with the aim of seeking to continuously improve the service which we provide. It is heartening to have received the following feedback from two such client:
“I felt like I wasn’t deserving of the help and in a vulnerable enough position. The second I stepped through the door I knew that I was in safe hands. I felt like I was supported by a family instead of an organisation.”
“I processed my grief in the way that I should have done and I felt like a completely different person. There was nothing but genuine concern and kindness”
Practitioner Feedback
“I am privileged to bring my counselling skills to our clients. Seeing distressed clients process and explore their emotions related to baby loss and pregnancy decisions is hard at times. Some stories are sad and very hard to hear, but we help the clients come to a place of acceptance of what has happened, to equip them to resume life, accommodating the loss in their ongoing lives”
“It has been a wonderful shadowing experience with the team, getting alongside clients who have suffered abortion, miscarriage and baby loss. Working through the ten sessions following brilliant notes but also being able to be holistic in approaches to individual needs. Working with mental health clients for many years, I could not wait to start face to face sessions again”
Focus
The next year Choices will focus on increasing its volunteer base to meet the rising need in the community. This will involve outreach, mentoring those undertaking the accredited training, monitoring performance and engaging in shadowing to ensure professional standards.