1 ## **Unity in Diversity (2015) CIO Annual General Meeting on 18[th] July 2023 Chair’s Report on behalf of the Trustees** This report highlights the work of the charity from June 1[st] 2022 to May 31[st] 2023, using as a guide, the monthly Community Group / Drop-In Coordinator’s Report to the Trustees bi-monthly meetings. Overall, these last 12 months have been a time of change: in personnel, in ways of working, in ways of meeting the needs of our beneficiaries. In terms of personnel, we have known that one of our Trustees, David Browell who has been the Treasurer and Volunteer Community Group / Drop-In Coordinator for six years, would be stepping down from both roles during the year. This meant recruiting 2 new people to fulfil each of these roles. In June 2022 the trustees were pleased to appoint Saba Humayan, an existing Trustee, to become the Secretary for the Charity as up to this point the Treasurer and Chair were fulfilling the role. In January 2023 the Trustees were delighted that Hazle Boyles an existing Trustee agreed to become the new Volunteer Community Group / Drop-In Coordinator. In June 2023, the trustees were equally delighted to learn that Jane Wheeler agreed to the invitation to join the charity as a nontrustee treasurer subject to being elected as Treasurer at this year’s AGM. All new role-holders bring change and new developments to UiD. Another change during this last year has been the ending of the separate Women’s Group. This has been mainly due to the ending of the funding for this strand of work in the charity’s funds but also due to a decrease in need of this strand of work. All UiD activities now attract both women and men. A celebration event to mark the end of the Women’s Group work is yet to be held. Another difference for the Charity is that we are aware that our work is becoming more hybrid in nature – i.e. we continue to see and support people seeking sanctuary at our Community meetings / English classes; on average 70 adults per week and often some children too, but we are also greatly supporting people through our what’s app group by sharing news on a range of sanctuary issues, sharing details about contents at the two UiD clothing banks, responding to food support requests, advertising details about trips and more recently promoting visits to the Swansea Climbing Hanger. The membership on average of the UiD what’s app group on average is 170 people, monitored by 3 of the trustees. Various trustees during this year have been asked to write letters of support for members of the UiD Community as they continue with their asylum case. Sometimes the trustees have had the uncomfortable experience of knowing people who have been detained and then released or have been detained and then deported. It would seem from current government policies, these circumstances are set to continue if not increase! Below is a summary of activity for the last 12 months under our main activity headings. ## **Community Drop-in / Community Meetings** 2 Since October 2022 and the beginning of the university academic year, we have once again been well served by a team of volunteers from the STAR Project of Swansea University’s Discovery Volunteer Project, well led by the Team Leader Isabel. This team has greatly complimented UiD’s own Volunteer Team which has changed and developed since the last AGM and to whom the trustees are very grateful. With the end of this year’s STAR volunteering, a new Partnership Agreement has been drawn up between UiD & Discovery in readiness for the next academic year. Since the last AGM, we have continued to meet at York Place Baptist Church, 1 York Street, SA1 3LZ for the weekly morning Beginners English Class and the weekly afternoon Community Drop-Ins and Intermediate English Class. The minister of the church became a trustee at the 2022 AGM, and he has continued to make improvements to the building; inside; to enable UiD to use an upstairs room for a second clothing bank, with UiD making a contribution to costs and supporting with volunteer time and outside the building again with some resources and volunteer time from UiD. Since the beginning of 2023 the Coordinator has spent much time, in addition to the Drop-In meeting times, with church members, UiD volunteers and volunteers of another user group at the church building (Swansea Asylum Seeker Support) upgrading the standard of the kitchen, implementing better food hygiene systems and paperwork and increasing the training opportunities for the kitchen volunteers. UiD raised funds to cover the cost of a new cooker for the kitchen. The core activity at the afternoon drop-in is the intermediate class and a community meal cooked and served by UiD volunteers, plus the use of the clothing bank. When possible 2 volunteers engage with the children that attend with their parents, with play and art so that their parents can enjoy their English intermediate class. The additional activity offered at the Drop-In changes to meet needs of people attending. Some of the activities that have been offered this year include: the continuation of the Graded Readers Project, some 60 books were leant out to the UiD community; massages; board games; sewing sessions; guest speakers; First Aid training (02.03.23) and planning for short courses organised through Swansea University’s community outreach officer (25.05.23) ## **Outreach** The outreach work of the charity has continued with the distribution of food, the number of households receiving support having increased though the year and the delivery of clothing and housewares from the original clothing bank which is based at another church in Swansea. This continued outreach enables UiD to support additional people to those that attend the drop-in meetings and to reach out to new arrivals. **1. Food distribution** : In summer 2022, we were successful in accessing funding from Swansea Council through their food poverty grant for £1500. This funding paid for the Drop-In meals and refreshments and for food to take to households – approximately 10 addresses a week. In addition, 6 UiD volunteer drivers have continued to deliver some 30 monthly deliveries from Sketty Foodbank to families, including several single parent families. **2. Clothing & Housewares Bank** : 8 UiD volunteers have continued to support the clothing bank at Uniting Church Sketty, receiving and putting away donations and putting up and delivering on average 4-6 deliveries most weeks. The referrals come from people known to 3 UiD; self-referrals; new arrivals met by A Better Welcome to Swansea; people known to Swansea Asylum Seeker Support and EYST. The open afternoons at UCS jointly with people from that church, have continued approximately once a term or when bus travel is free. Usually, 60 people attend. **3. Swansea Climbing Hanger Sessions** : In March 2023, SCH approached UiD to invite UiD community members to visit the climbing hanger to experience rock climbing. This project has become very successful with adult sessions and after school sessions being arranged so that children can attend too. Staff at SCH are excited by the project and see it as offering a service to improve people’s mental health. SCH is fundraising for UiD to meet the cost of the bus fares for the participants who attend the free sessions. At the latest session twelve adults and fifteen children attended. ## **English Classes** The volunteer teachers for the Beginners class and Intermediate Class have changed over the year due to the individual teachers’ circumstances, but we have been able to continually hold each class thereby offering a regular opportunity for learning which we see as being a crucial element of the charity’s aims. This has been reflected in the good average attendance that has been achieved. The Beginner’s class has been attended by between 10 and 20 people a week in term time. In September 2022 we learnt that most of the previous year’s Beginners Class learners had either moved on to college or Adult Learning Wales courses. Again, a Trustee who works at Swansea University was able to gain University approval to recruit two or three interns to teach the classes which has complemented the role of the volunteer teacher. As the academic year has progressed, in both classes we have been able to offer more than one teacher and therefore for example in the Beginners class, a teacher has been able to teach a small group of more advanced students (pre-intermediate) and in the afternoon Intermediate class, support has been given to people who need more one to one teaching. ## **Additional Activities/Events** - **Oct 22nd:** UiD had a presence at the anti-Rwanda policy demonstrations held in Swansea town centre – a trustee spoke and another trustee and community members made a banner for the event. Show and UiD Christmas Event, funded by Hay Refugees. delivering Christmas gifts to some 350 - **Dec 15th:** Asylum Seeker led Fashion Brecon & Talgarth Sanctuary for - **Dec 16[th] & 17[th] :** Joint venture with SASS, delivering Christmas gifts to some 350 households in Swansea, known by both organisations. Gifts donated by various churches and charities. - **Planning through the Spring for Digital Skills Courses to be held on 5-6[th] June and 12-13[th] June.** - **Beginning of 2023 through to Refugee Week:** Kite making & Flying Project funded by Western Bay Community Cohesion Small Grants Fund: a project for adults and children to make & decorate kites learning from an Afghan kite flyer followed by a UiD kite flying competition. Due to the nature of this activity experiencing the appropriate weather conditions was key and proved a challenge! We were finally able to fly kites in Refugee Week. The new UiD Coordinator was instrumental in running this project and ensuring that it happened. Key milestones: First Making Session on February 23[rd] at 10am and 4pm, with support from the Art Therapist working with SASS, an Afghan community member with kite making knowledge and STAR Students. Second Making session: March 9[th] at 10 am. First date proposed for FLYING was Saturday 25[th] March if the weather was good, it wasn’t so the new date was Sunday June 18[th] at the Waterfront Museum at the invitation of the Museum and Oxfam to start off Refugee week and Thursday June 22nd at Drop-in time. Both of these dates were kept and were very successful. It has been a privilege once again to be the Chair of Trustees of this Charity which is totally volunteer led. I thank all the trustees for their continued commitment and enthusiasm and greatly thank David Browell and Ros Bevan as they end their term of office. I thank all the volunteers who give of their time on a weekly basis and I admire and hugely respect the people seeking sanctuary with whom UiD engages as we walk alongside them as they and try and make their new lives in Swansea. Adella Pritchard 09.07.23 Unlty In Diversity (Swansea 20151 Accounts 1st June 2022 to 31st May 2023 Opening Balance 7934.54 Income 11777.19 Expenditure 10936.13 Closing Balance. 8784.08 TS8 Account 8758.13 Cash 25.95 Closing Balance 8784.08 Independent examlner's ststement n connettion wlth my examinatlon. no matter has come to my attention: l. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material repect the requirements.. to keep accountln8 record5 In accordance with settlon 130 of the 2011 Act and to prepre accounts which accord with the accountin8 record5 and comply with the the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met or 2. to which in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understandlng of the accounts to be reached. Signatu Date F.ctsA . Q.T.A.