**Spennymoor Youth and Community Association Annual Report** **January 2023 – December 2023** 2023 marks the fourth anniversary of Communities Together supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and the start of the first year of our Communities Together Stepping UP project which is taking our partnership project to the next level; more sustainable organisations, more sustainable community buildings and more involved volunteers and trustees. Over the last 5 years, The National Lottery Community Fund grant of £296,966 to date has allowed us to secure additional funding of £600,400. We have continued to develop and deliver a community programme which is supporting increasing numbers of struggling families and adults, isolated older residents, people with lived experience of mental and physical health problems as well as the wider community. We were delighted to have secured a three year National Lottery Community Fund grant and cost of living crisis uplift of £196,755 for this second phase; Communities Together Stepping UP, which began in October 2022. In project year 1, we were able to secure £74,451 in additional grant funding which has funded new activities and helped to sustain our established activities. As well as generating £14,670 this year from new projects to make our programme more sustainable. 4,913 project users benefited in Year 1 across our two community venues. This report highlights some of our achievements over the last 12 months and our plans for next year. **Activities for struggling families** and adults have included access to free and affordable food. We are part of the Feeding Families service which provides basic food parcels to residents in emergency need, The Bread and Butter Thing Project providing bags of food surplus to 80 customers every week packed by our Centre Friends, Fareshare food surplus allowing people to fill a bag of food for a small donation and our Eating Together project which provides weekly breakfast, brunch, Cuppa Club and community café sessions. **Activities for isolated older residents** have included a programme of Look Out trips for older centre user groups throughout the year, as well as targeted activities providing social space, social contact and exercise as part of a co-ordinated programme to reconnect older people with their communities. **Activities for people with lived experience of mental and physical health problems** have included wellbeing group sessions, our young people’s Chillax CREE and partnership working with County Durham Wellbeing For Life, becoming one of their recognised wellbeing hubs, promoting health campaigns and our staff trained to signpost to services and people who can help. ## **Residents looking for new skills, to become volunteers, learning, training and** **employability** activities have been delivered in partnership with DurhamLearn teaching ESOL English, Multiply Maths and Business Studies. Eden Academy has delivered Driving Theory training sessions. Triage has delivered employability support and other training partners have delivered construction site certificates, door security courses and Health & Social Care for residents looking to gain sector specific employment. Project Worker Danielle has supported our team of Centre Friends, a core group of 25 regular volunteers, to identify training and development needs as well as increase their confidence and involvement within the Centre. We achieved Hallmark accreditation during the year which recognises good governance and management. Kitemark accreditation is in progress recognising the work we do with our volunteers which we hope will be awarded later this year. **Some of the activities and events delivered over the last 12 months:** ||**Activities**|**Partners and**
**funders**|**Beneficiaries**| |---|---|---|---| |**#Eating**
**Together**|Food has continued to be a big part of the project.
Weekly access to free and affordable food has
provided families and residents in food need with
emergency food and access to food surplus.
We have given out 520 free Feeding Families
emergency food boxes.
634 Fareshare food surplus bags in return for a pay
as you can afford donation.
12,480 Bread and Butter food surplus bags at £8.50
for three bags per customer (groceries, fruit, veg,
meat, fish and dairy).
The Bread and Butter Thing hub at Spennymoor
Youth and Community Centre is one of their biggest
with 1039 members.
Twice weekly community café sessions. Café
Together offering cooked breakfasts popular with
older residents and a family café offering small
meals, snacks and kid’s lunch boxes with free Stay
and Play for preschoolers and their grown-ups. We
were pleased when Café Together was given a
Food Hygiene Rating of 5 with a kitchen and Café
well managed by Cook Ashley, Project Worker
Danielle and volunteers, in particular Josie who
commits 12 hours every week in helping us make it
happen.
By layering up food projects we’ve been able to
develop an offer which helps residents with different
levels of need; residents in crisis, residents
struggling with the cost of living and residents who
want to reduce food waste.
Café Together has provided a place for residents
and parents to meet and eat. It has also created a
space where centre users from different activities
come together before or after sessions helping
people and groups integrate.
Our food projects have been our biggest source of
volunteer help. 20 regular volunteers are involved
weekly in delivering the centre’s food projects.
Project Worker Danielle has supported our Centre
Friends building confidence and capacity to run
activities with minimal staff involvement, developing
the group as a team with a commitment to the
partnership and involvement in other aspects of|The National Lottery
Community Fund
Kingdom Culture
Church
Places for People
Feeding Families
The Bread and
Butter Thing|1,124 including
struggling
families, older
residents and
low income
isolated
residents,
residents in
food need.| ||Communities Together including growing our
management committees.||| |---|---|---|---| |**#Growing**
**Together**|Our community allotment was used most during the
year by children from North Park Primary School
who attended weekly growing sessions with Project
Worker Gemma and Josh from OASES, a
partnership project teaching children how to grow
and harvest food. It is hoped OASES will continue
to access the allotment for group sessions next
year, growing for food, learning, volunteering and
offering social contact.
Chosen as a Co-op Good Cause, grant funding of
£1,239 has paid for new equipment, compost,
plants and signage for both the allotment and our
Spennymoor Courtyard green space which has
been well used by groups for breaks, outdoor eating
and by Learning a New Way for play and learning
sessions.
Volunteers from Durham University, The North East
Autism Society and Esh Group have all taken part in
action days on the community allotment.
A Fun and Food session in October brought
together children and their grown-ups on the
community allotment to carve pumpkins and access
holiday food and North Park Primary students have
been back to harvest the vegetables they grew to
make soup students.|The National Lottery
Community Fund
Spennymoor Youth
and Community
Association
OASES
Co-op Community
Fund
Fun and Food
County Durham
Council
Durham University
North East Autism
Society
Esh Group|54 including
Key Stages 1 &
2 children,
SEND children,
autistic young
people and
employee
volunteering.| |**#Moving**
**Together**|Exercise and dance sessions:
Baby Movers and Little Movers, sensory, music,
movement and dance following Early Years
Curriculum for birth - crawling, walking - 5 years,
Tuesdays and Thursdays at Spennymoor Youth and
Community Centre.
Hartbeeps sensory, music, movement and dance
for 2-12 months, Wednesdays at Spennymoor
Youth and Community Centre.
North Park Primary School weekly term time yoga.
Multi Sports, games and exercise for children and
young people 7-12 and 12 plus delivered by Moors
in the Community sport coaches as part of our
weekly term time youth sessions at Spennymoor,
Tudhoe and outreach.
Gentle Circuits for adults with long term health
conditions, new to exercise or looking to increase|Sedgefield North
Integrated Health
Coach Service
Little Movers
Durham, Seaham,
Spennymoor and
Peterlee
Hartbeeps South
Durham Bishop
Auckland
Spennymoor,
Coxhoe and
Hartlepool
PCP Happiness
Hub/NHS North East
and Cumbria
Welcome Spaces
Point North|458 babies,
toddlers, adults,
parents, carers
and older
residents.| ||mobility and strength, Friday and Monday evenings
at Spennymoor Youth and Community Centre.|North Park Primary
School
Moors in the
Community|| |---|---|---|---| |**#Being**
**Together**|Improving wellbeing is a priority for the project. For
residents who are isolated, we have developed
social sessions in both centres which combine with
our community café (Café Together), access to free
and affordable food and food surplus, Look Out
Trips and volunteering opportunities through our
Centre Friends programme. We have been able to
build a committed community of weekly sessions
with good crossover:
Breakfast Buddies at Spennymoor aimed at men,
offers breakfast buns and round table conversation.
The group is well established and growing with 10-
12 Buddies meeting every Monday morning. Kurling
in the hall adds a physical activity and regular Look
Out trips this year with group member Steven
volunteer driving and making good use of our
community vehicle funded by the National Lottery
Community Fund.
The Monday Club is another well established group
at Spennymoor for older women offering traditional
round table chat, snacks and bingo. The group is
attended weekly by 14-16 women and managed by
Centre Friends including providing transport where
needed.
On Wednesdays we open the Lounge at
Spennymoor and encourage parents/carers
attending baby and toddler classes to stay and have
a coffee. We are grateful to Centre Friend Moira for
serving and chatting to those who drop in. Open
Lounge has also been used for fundraising, as part
of our support for local student Amelia to travel to
Africa to be part of a community development
project with her school and Learning a New Way
has used the space for information sessions and as
a Warm Space.
We have also opened the Lounge around our
Gentle Circuits session on a Monday evening as a
Welcome Space. And at weekends free pop up
Stay and Play for parents/carers and their children
delivered 34 hours of social space, music and toys
over 17 sessions.
Where we have funding and capacity, we are trying
to encourage people to stay and socialise as part of
a wellbeing group or before and after stand alone
activities|The National Lottery
Community Fund
Cost of Living uplift
County Durham
Community
Foundation
Welcome Space
Spennymoor AAP 7
Day Centre
Places for People|337 residents,
parents and
carers taking
part in regular
wellbeing
sessions and
accessing social
space.| ||Our Survive and Thrive wellbeing group meets
every Thursday with typically 8-10 members
attending for people with lived experience of mental
health problems and/or addiction. With staff trained
in mental health wellbeing, we can offer low level
1:1 support and have worked with mental health
professionals during the year to support some of the
group members as needed. As a social group,
sessions offer snacks, chat and a game of bingo
with good friendships formed.
A Book Club meets fortnightly at Spennymoor and
volunteer efforts have been made to establish a
Pride Group with our help and support. Although a
group hasn’t yet established within the Centre, it
has led to an online social LGBT+ group with 14
members.||| |---|---|---|---| |**#Learning**
**Together**|We have continued to host a range of adult learning
and training providers, making full use of our
improved training spaces and facilities over the last
12 months.
Durham Learn delivered ESOL for our group of
Arabic speaking refugees. The group has become
part of centre life, volunteering, benefiting from food
surplus, socialising, cooking and sharing food and
celebrations with other Centre Friends. Some of the
learners featured in a mural, sketched by Rach (The
Live Sketcher) and Hazel (Nocciola The Drawer), as
part of Spenny Mural Fest.
Other training delivered for residents included
Multiply Maths and basic English, Health & Social
Care, Sewing, Triage employability skills, Wellbeing
for Life cooking skills, Youth Justice restorative
cooking courses, learning and employment support
with the Educational Development Trust, Eden
Academy Driving Theory, Tea & Tech digital drop
ins with Digital Durham, Business Support, CSCS
and Security.
It is a real challenge for many of the training and
learning providers in filling courses. Barriers to
participation such as transport, confidence and
lifestyle often prevent learners from taking up
opportunities, but we have found that when people
take the first step, the centres act as a stepping
stone towards employability and/or further learning
and skills.
We were able to offer work experience placements
during the year in partnership with Employability
Durham, The North East Autism Society and directly
through our own volunteering opportunities.|Durham Learn
Social Prescribers
Link Workers
Network
Durham Community
Action
Triage
Youth Justice
Eden Training
Academy
Digital Durham
DurhamWorks
Employability
Durham
Noth East Autism
Society
E Learning at Work
Crafty Kitz|140 adults
taking up
learning,
training,
employability ad
work experience
opportunities.| ||Building staff and volunteer confidence and
capacity, we have also invested in more training this
year on safeguarding, COSHH, trustee
responsibilities, good governance and food safety.||| |---|---|---|---| |**#Celebrating**
**Together**|Weekend venue hire has increased significantly
during project year 2. The employment of two
weekend workers funded by Spennymoor AAP and
The National Lottery Community Fund at
Spennymoor has allowed us hire out the centre for
42 children’s birthday parties, welcoming 1,594
people and generating £3,888 in venue hire. Our
party package including large bouncy castle, soft
play, speaker, lights and member of staff offers
families an affordable large venue to celebrate.|The National Lottery
Community Fund
Spennymoor AAP|1,594 children,
families and
friends| |**#Young**
**People**
**Together**|For struggling families, our youth work team has
delivered a programme of term time and holiday
activities for children and young people. Youth
sessions adapted to suit different needs, in
particular including SEND, tailoring activities to be
inclusive.
Open youth sessions were well attended at
Spennymoor Youth and Community Centre;
Mondays for Juniors and Wednesdays for Seniors
offering young people aged 8-11 and 11-16 years 4
hours of traditional youth provision with access to
games and crafts as well as space to socialise.
Partnership working with Moors in the Community
brought in a Sports Coach for Seniors at
Spennymoor and the Monday Youth Club session.
Outreach youth work has allowed us to engage
young people out on the streets. This has been
strongly supported by community safety partners as
part of multi-agency efforts to reduce antisocial
behaviour. Funding from Spennymoor AAP, Livin
and Government Trailblazer grant has allowed for 5
hours weekly outreach and pop up activities for
young people aged 8-16 in hotspot areas.
Chillax continued to be funded by Public Health as a
wellbeing CREE for young people aged approx. 8-
13 years with additional needs, SEND, low
confidence or anxiety, where a smaller more
structured youth session is more appropriate.
Learning a New Way CIC continued to operate from
Spennymoor growing its activities for SEND
children, delivering training for families around
autism and ADHD and providing group and 1:1
tuition for home ed young people as well as tea time|The Ballinger
Charitable Trust
Public Health
Learning a New
Way CIC
Moors in the
Community
Spennymoor AAP
Livin
Government
Trailblazer
Durham County
Council|1,206 children,
young people
and their
families.| and lunch clubs for struggling families and children with additional needs. Their programme is meeting a huge need for families with children and young people with additional needs. Learning a New Way which grew out of our Learning Together COVID catch up project for children who had fallen behind with functional skills during COVID restrictions, complements the work of Communities Together with users a key part of other activities and events. In July we organised the Spenny Youth Fest which brought together 400 young people and their families with 30 youth organisations, clubs and service providers to showcase, signpost and sign up young people with local provision. We also again took part in the Gala Parade under the theme of diversity. A great opportunity for our young people to create costumes, decorate umbrellas and parade together, raising the profile of who we are and what we do. ## **Funding and Sustainability** We increased the amount of grant funding on the previous year and have broadened our funding base over the last 12 months. Smaller grants have been secured from more grant funders, allowing us to develop new relationships with funders. We have also increased revenue from project activities including funds raised from our Community Café (Café Together), weekend venue hire party packages, venue hire for centre based CIC, Learning a New Way. Where we’ve had successful activities which were previously 100% grant funded, we’ve introduced charges to help sustain them while keeping them affordable and accessible for beneficiaries: Eating Together food sales: £6,690 Weekend party package venue hire: 4,888 Youth session membership subs: £1,824 Fareshare donations: £1,26 Grant funding secured during the year included: |**Funder**|**Project**|**Funding secured**| |---|---|---| |Public Health|Chillax Wellbeing CREE|£3,000| |Livin Holiday Actvity Fund ‘24|School holiday youth actvites;
Spennymoor and Tudhoe|£2,000| |Spennymoor AAP|Youth Connect Outreach|£5,962| |Livin and Government
Trailblazer Grant|Youth Connect Outreach
Dec ‘23 – July‘24|£2,500| |Co-op Local Community Fund|Outdoor space and community
gardengrant|£1,239| |Places for People, Community
Connector Fund|Youth session venue hire,
Community Café food, Survive
and Thrive, learning and
trainingrefreshments|£1,000| |Spennymoor Area Acton
Partnership|Beter Together|£5,178| |Spennymoor Area Acton
Partnership / Department of
Educaton|February Half Term Fun and
Food ‘24|£1,005| |Spennymoor Area Acton
Partnership|7 Day Centre|£6,112| |Spennymoor Area Acton
Partnership|Spenny Youth Fest ‘24|£2,125| |Durham CountyCouncil|SpennyYouth Fest ‘24|£500| |||| |---|---|---| |County Durham Community
Foundaton|Welcome Space|£3,890| |Wellbeing for Life|New Age Kurling set and
CommunityCafé equipment|£500| |ASDA|Volunteer coin collecton|£145| |Kingdom Culture Church|Christmas donaton|£200| |Kingdom Culture Church|Stay and Play venue hire|£720| ||**Total**|**£30,076**| **Priorities for the year ahead** as we enter year 2 of Communities Together Stepping UP, is to consolidate our programme and work towards a more sustainable project as we continue to step up how many people we support, strengthen our governance, train staff, involve our trustees and volunteers and broaden our income to include directly generated revenue, fundraising, giving and sponsorship, as well as grants. We have further developed our Communities Together partnership between Tudhoe Community Centre and Spennymoor Youth and Community Centre over the last 12 months. Joint regular Trustee meetings and new members to both management committees have helped us better co-ordinate and share ideas. Achieving Hallmark has helped us improve governance, policies and procedures. We are working towards Kitemark, working closely to make sure that our volunteers have the support and development that they need to play more active roles in the partnership. Hiring more space at both centres with Learning a New Way CIC and Kingdom Culture Church, making better use of our kitchen spaces for ourselves and private hire, growing our youth work services, upgrading the boiler management system and funding other energy saving measures recommended in our independent energy assessment are all priorities in progress for next year. **Thank you** to all our funders and supporters. Thanks particularly to our trustees, Centre Friends and staff who deliver what we do. Their time, energy and dedication made a difference to 4,918 people this year and everything Communities Together has achieved over the last 5 years; helping people get through COVID, supporting struggling families with the cost of living, bringing people together to celebrate, working with children and young people to develop and grow, helping people improve their confidence, health and wellbeing, helping people on their first steps to learning and employment and reconnecting older people with their communities. Let’s keep going! SPF.NliYMOOR YOIITH & COMMLNITY ASSOCIATION RECEIPTS AND PAYIIFNTS ACCOU￿T- YFAR ENDFD_II DFC.FNIBER 2023 RECEIPTS 2023 2011 PAYMENTS 2023 2022 Rcntal IncoThc 16245 21057 Clcaning CJ&S & El¢rtri Watcr Bllildin¥ In%urdnLL 7277 5%76 85 4453 499X 772 1058 Telephone & Internet 11488 OtTic&CJenernl Admin Expenses 2900 40(h) Sundry Ixpcnses Accounrancy Charges T V License CDCF Food Product￿Ha]I 257 Living Holiday5 Activilic5 21-22 AAP FunlFoodlH¢althy R¢lalion5hip 15150 PPI.-PRS F¢¢5 BlllldngLrTru4t 17795 B￿￿k ('hargL% NLLF- Stcpping Up 42193 3x270 NLCF StCPPlnB Up Happiness H￿b Sports Fundirt¥ AAP LrHrnittWMaki￿B Links 62022 AAP Leyrnirt¥ Together GDig11AI Drivc 1747 IAAP Coiid Clotlies Bank t)on&iion Funding Fun & Food Jubileemuke of FAinburgh SYACS F&F Compu¢¢[￿]rT TUdh￿ CC Income Youth Club Activities irant% F.xp¢ns¢¥ 25305 11208 PhuluLOPlir EXpL￿ Ihillax Lxpcnscs 31Y06 350X RLVair VehiLlc Ixpcn¢L'S 324 30 443 20 2265 354 159 1822 Youth Club Resources CTrullax Sessions 354 159 120 174 505 174 238 8261 25898 21609 56 2333 736 7428 1004 629 29Y3 3814 7651 1820 1000 9622 Non Prvfit InLomL uneatc￿￿ZCd Income 17h 2253 2086 Gran 24520 1774 Wa8c5 Expenscs Your Ncighbour ExsKnse5 2100 tlof F. Fxpen%¢ 104076 78990 75 2n0 fi7 374 LiviDS Holiday Arl PayPal F¢¢5 CDCF Halllcovid 19 Fothl PaLks Ctsvid 19 TgkL Away Lating Together Ballanger Trusi Cassop F&F SuIn￿er Exp tIRS Checks T)efihrillJtor Food & Fun 121K) 645 1678 240 255 156 51K) I6￿) PaymÈnL%- i)veT Plu% F.xLL￿ts l)f RtLeTrPts- (IVLT PaymLnt RLxripL 188941 161431 188941 161431 sPEN￿YmOOR YOUTH & co￿[mLIK1Ty ASSOCIATION IMAR 202.1 2022 2011 2022 Balanco as at 01.01.23 159179 14136 Balancc as at 31.12.23 F.xco5s of Payrn¢nts ovcr rcccipts for thc Ycar Unity Trust Bank T)cbtnr Creditor 46237 323x7 14686311347271 Pllls Excess ofReceipts Over paymenis for the Year C8sh in Hand 3￿ 31M) 170760 141300 170760 1413tAJ Ayprortd B(ab W¢ hAve cornpilLd ihcse unaudited accounts from the books And records of Spennymoor Youth & Coininunity Asswiaiion and from informaiion given ￿ us. We haie noi perfomied an audii iherefore we do noi exprc5s any Opinio￿ on the financial inforniaiion. 4547 Chrap51de SpennyrniK)r DL16 OQF H¢nnik¢r & Co Ltd I￿ MarLh 2n24 AROUNPME PLAYIN