SAMARITANS TcThworth Annual Report 2024-25 WARMING Introduction Background This report has been written in the spring of 2025 05 report on progress in the financial year 2024125 and in preparation for our AGM in October 2025. team of Deputy Directors selected by the Co-Directors who hove responsibility for different areas of the branch's operations (mentoring, shift leoders, rota. troining. recruitment. volunteer care. outreach). Individuol volunteers olso take responsibility for specif ic tasks to support the running of the chority, including IT svpport, health ond sofety, first aid. purchasing. D8S checking, etc. About Tamworth Somaritans The Samaritans provides confidential emotionol support through a listening service 24 hours o doy by telephone, email and online chot through a network of over 200 bronches in the UK and Republic of Ireland and also in a range of outreach setting5. The vision of Samaritans is thot fewer people will die by suicide each year and the service is for onyone who feels they need support and someone to talk to, whatever they are facing. We aim to formally welcome an additional Trvstee {Treasvrer) on boord ot the AGM in October 2025. The whole Branch Leadership Team meets on a monthly basis, with odditional Trustee meetings taking place every other month. Trvstee5 and DDS lead separate teom meetings as required. Tomworth Samaritans 15 one such branch providing this service, as an independent chority ond offiliate branch of central Samaritans. Tamworth Samaritans volunteers respond to collers via emoil and telephone and deliver outreach and aworeness events ond octivities. As ot 31st March 2025, Tamworth Samaritans consists of 96 volunteers ond currently is governed by a team of seven Trustees. Two of the Trustees are Branch Co-Director5 elected to run the branch in the autumn of 2023, with o three year term beginning on 1st December 2023. The Trustees are supported by a wider r) In the yeor1st April 2024 - 31st March 2025, Tamworth Somaritons supported 745 emails. 8,937 telephone callers, totallin9 9,682 callers in need. Tamworth Samaritans Annual Report 2024-25 Administrative details Registered Address Manor House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 7QF. Tamworth Samaritans is a registered charity with the Charity Commission, 1170514. Directorship The Branch Co-Directors are Megan Hubbard and Shannen Sawyer (term stort date 01112/23). Thanks to our supporters Trustees We are extremely grateful to all of our supporters, whether it is in-kind or financial support. Every donation we receive helps us to sustain our branch and therefore provide vital services to people in emotional distress. Thanks for recent support go to: The Trustees In office as of 31st March 2025 were: Central Co-op, and the Central Co-op Support Centre Lichfield Stretton Co-op stores ond Lichfield Morks Walk Co-op The Nationol Lottery Lea Mar5ton Golf Club Briers Woste Monogement Masonic Hall Ashley Bayliss, Barry Davies, Ben Phillips. Pete Dunnill, Dave Hamilton. Ashley Millward. Kristian jeffrey, Katie Pearce, Lloyd Answermoz; under the coordination of Chri5533 Customers of Asda Tamworth Customers of Waitrose Lichfield Lichfield District Council Tomworth Borough Council Paypal Giving Fund Lemon Zest Event5 Staffordshire Mediation Estate of Stella Sanders Dosthill Wl Cathy8 and the Open Garden scheme Bill and john Smith and all of the friends ond family of Al Smith Caro1554 (stone painting) All volunteers who took part in, or sponsored, the lonuory reset. Megan Hubbard Shannen Sawyer Lindo Bird flli Mark Emly David Tickle Trudi Thomas We extend our thanks to Kevin Redfern for his hard work as Trustee for Fundraising and Publicity. Kevin has since stepped down from this role. Further, Steve Richards 15 Octing in apacity as Treasurerond will be nominated as a Trustee ot the AGM. Everyone who has made a personal contribution, raised funds through sponsorship, encouraged donations through friends, family and colleagues, or selected Tamworth Samaritans as the chosen charity in memory of a loved one. Thank youl Tamworth Samaritans Annual Report 2024-25 Co-Directors Report What o brilliant yeor we hove hod ot Tamworth Samaritans as we have continue through our directorship period. There are always so many people we wont to thank for the support we are givenl We are very grateful to have the support of a dedicated, knowledgeable and hard- working 8ranch Leadership Team. without whom we could not do this role. We are also thankful for oll volvnteer5 in our bronch We hope you enjoy reoding the updates who make Tamworth Samaritans what it from the rest of the Branch Leadership is. There are so many volunteers who toke Team which will hopefully give you o on that little bit lor a lotll extra to keep sense of the great work of our branch over our branch running in order to 5vpport the post yeor. We ore looking forword our callers and we are lucky to have 80+ to continuing to lead the branch up until volunteers answering calls to those in December 2026,. at the end of Tamworth need alongside a team of brilliant support Samaritans, 50th yeorl volunteers. to some new events ond opportunities for us. We've also supported some big central chonges with the introduction of the Listening Centre and making sure everyone hod o new DBS check completed in line with the central charity'5 new guidance. These changes vltimately help us to deliver an even more effective service. We'd like to finish with our final thank We hove had many successes as o bronch you to everyone - thonk yov finonciol over the past year. not limited to the supporters, in-kind supporters. or both; number of caller5 we support. Earlier in for your much-valued contributions to the year we completed the Volunteer keeping Tamworth Samaritans going Voice Survey, and over all we received and supporting over 9,000 collers in exceptionally positive results from our need by phone and email each year. volunteers at Tamworth Samaritans which This could not be achieved without ovr was a huge success for us. Fundraising- fabulou5 volunteer5 who make Tamworth wise, we have been very lucky to have been Samaritans an absolutely fantastic friendly recipients of some very generous donations charity and a team we are so proud of. and we have engaged in some really exciting awarenes5 and outreach activities including riding the trains and having a presence at Tamworth Football Club. VAL> <1>V 1L<> VALL We are lucky to have 80+ volunteers answering calls It was a pleasure to welcome the CEO of Samaritans, julie Bentley, to our branch in October 2024. That month also sow the beginning of the central charity's partnership with Central Co-op which led 1•4L> i>V L<> **----- Start of picture text -----**
Recruitment
Simon477
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8 Tamworth Samaritans Annual Report 2024-25 9 vAJvcr Deputy Director Reports Probationers who are sufficiently skilled to potentially progress to Full Samaritan status. There is additional tailored support for those Samaritans who are returning to duty after a period of leave. This year the Mentor Team team have expanded their offering to include the annual requirement for each of us to undertake a period of Ongoing Mentoring, aiming to ensure that each of us know our practice to be 50fe, secure, supported and effective. We have welcomed new member5 to the training team, though are still quite a smoll team to cover a lot of Branch Training, so we always welcome volunteers who wish to join,. please get in touchl Since the last AGM on 30th October 2024 to 30th April 2025 we hove collectively supported 5 New Samaritans, signed off 6 Probotioners as Full Samaritans ond supported the return to duty for 4 experienced Samaritans. The Ongoing Mentoring is allowing each of us to be ossured that our practice is supported, sofe. effective ond positive with the annual activity having been completed for 19 of ovr colleagues to dote. .2 Alongside our Branch EDI Leod Steven 524. I have helped to develop our opprooch for this year's focvs on roising the profile of, and everybody's understanding of, EDI and its importance in what we do at Samaritans. As part of our Bronch meeting in lune we will use the time to complement the mandatory online training. Mentoring Katy271 Tralnlng Nlk1455 I hove the honour of leoding a team of Somaritans who are trained to fulfil one of the most rewording roles at Tamworth Somaritans,- that of being o Mentor. At the time of writing this report we hove a Mentoring Team consisting of around: In the post year two cohorts hove received Core Training. Our biggest cohort to dote completed their training in Morch. Embedding training runs concurrently. A number of our volunteers have token the opportvnity to toke part in different regional training opportunities which is excellent and svpports our branch greotly. We are now actively working with the 11 New Samaritans, who graduated from Core Development in Spring 2025. We will all be working to help them experience, embed and be secure in the skills, awareness and application of policies ond build trust in other bronch colleogues. The Ongoing Mentoring is allowing each of us to be 05sured thot our proctice 15 supported. safe. effective and positive with the annual activity having been completed for 19 of our colleagues to date. .32 New Samaritan Mentors, although not all ore octive/availoble for current or upcoming cohorts .13 of these colleagues olso oct os Lead Mentors, helping us to be safe and secure in the skills of our Probotioner5 before they become Full Samaritans .17 of our Mentor5 are able to fulfil the demands of being Ongoing Mentors to our existing Samariton5 .4 colleagues are actively progressing their skills to become Mentors and I further volunteer is keen to progress The svpport of these experienced colleagues is invaluable for New Samoritans ofter they complete the CORE Development programme and for We trialled doing Skills Practice differently for the Spring 25 cohort which proved successful. New Samaritans received brief oral feedback, then more comprehensive written feedback. We continue to look for willing Skills Practice volunteers to help support our new volunteers on their maiden Skills Practices. We trialled doing Skills Practice differently for the Spring 25 cohort which proved successful I look forward to another period in which we work together to ensure thot oll volunteer5 feel fully supported and that our skills, ospirotions ond influence ore possed on a part of a very rich and valuable offering for our callers, colleagues ond our community. 10 Tamworth Samaritans Annual Report 2024-25 11 Deputy Director Reports We are reaching out to Tamworth and Lichfield Schools in order to promote our service There are 9 members of the team and each one of us has a group of volunteers we check in with regularly Richard441 Sue88 This year hos seen an increase in outreoch in the Tamworth and Lichfield area. We hove developed c105er links with Lichfield Council, attending presentations with the housing ond homelessness departments which were very well received. We ore reaching out to Tomworth and Lichfield Schools in order to promote our service and work olongside teachers ond young people. Currently we have South Stoffs College interested in us working Wlth them. The role of the Volunteer Core Team is to be supportive to all volunteers on rota and on leave and who ore Svpport volunteers. Presently there are 9 members of the team and each one of vs ha5 o group of volunteers we check in with regularly. needs to talk. The team send cards to volunteers who are unwell, off rota or had a bereavement. We olso send Thonk you cards when volunteers step down from being o volunteer. We arrange volunteer events svch as Christmas get togethers, pvb meet UP5 etc. Our volunteers are our greatest resource and we hope to ensure volvnteers feel supported, apprecioted ond happy in branch. We have developed links with the Central Co-op, attending their partnership lovnch with Samaritans and being invited to talk ot ond be present at the Men's Voice5 Day and Women's Voices Day. We continve to overlap and support Portnerships including Network Rail, joining them on the rail network. The team can be contacted if volunteers hove ideas, suggestions ond comments on how their experience and journey with our bronch could be improved or chonged. We are also there if volunteers have personal issve5 they need support with. The outreach team and are alwoys on the look out for opportunities to listen to collers from vulnerable communities. We have been invited to porticipote along side Age Concern in one of their commur)ity tea shops in Sutton Coldfield ond we ore still aiming to have a team out on the canal networks ofter on initiol meeting with the chaplain for the orea. In Tamworth we have attended fairs in the pork and four community hvb events in different wards around Tamworth listening to the public and other services. The outreach team have an increasing number of volunteers who have been trained in face to face conversations. We can guide volunteer5 towords the right person they need to contact or just be available for o chat if o volunteer 12 Tamworth Samaritans Annual Report 2024-25 the UK GDPR rules ond regulotions. Recogni5ing the importance of safeguording the personol information of our volunteers and service user5.1 have emborked on o criticol project to develop a comprehensive Record of Processing Activities (ROPA). ond sofeguording the reputotion of both the branch and the wider charity. Trustee Reports Key elements of the plan include: .Risk Assessment.. Identifying potential threat5 and their impact on our operations. the charity's reputation are proactively identified, assessed, and addressed. .Cri515 Re5pon5e Framework.. Defining roles, responsibilities, and communication channe15 to ensure a coordinated approach during disruptions. This initiative is designed to provide a clear and concise framework for documenting how we hondle, store, and process data. By doing so. we aim to demonstrate occountability and vphold the highest standards of transparency and trust. While this project is ongoing, substantial progress has been made, including the identification and cotegorization of key data processing activitie& By embedding this practice into our operations, we are not only safeguarding those who rely on us but also fostering a culture of accountability and preF)arednes5. .Service Prioritization: Establishing which services must remain operational under all circumstances to minimize the impact on callers. The Rlsk Monogement Procedure includes: .Comprehensive Risk A55essments: For every external event, we conduct detailed evoluation5 to pinpoint potentiol hazards and determine mitlgation strategies. .Training and Awarene55.. Equipping our volunteers ond staff with the knowledge ond tools needed to implement the plon effectively. Looking oheod, my focvs is on collaborating with the Branch Leadership Team to finalize thi5 document in the coming months. Once completed, the ROPA will not only ensure our complionce but also serve as a valuable resource for mointaining best proctices in dota protection across the branch. l am confident that this initiative will significantly enhance ovr or9onizotion's ability to protect sensitive information and odopt to evolving regulatory requirements. Trustee for Governance and Compllance - Trud1493 .Event Information Packoges: These packages are designed to provide clear guidonce and essential resovrces for our teams, ensuring smooth execution and effective communication. This plan not only reinforces our commitment to operational excellence but also reflects our proactive approach to oddressing challenge5 head-on. By fostering o culture of preporedness, we aim to maintain the trust of our community and continue delivering meaningful support, regardless of the circumstances. As Trustee for Governance and Compliance, my focus is on fosterin9 0 culture of accountobility and best practices within our organizotion. By championing key areas such as Safeguarding, Data Protection, Health and Safety. Asset Management, and Risk Management, I aim to ensure the Safety, wellbeing, ond trust of both our volunteers and the wider community. Each initiative l undertake is guided by the shared vision of maintaining a resilient ond welcoming environment for all. .Regulor Monitoring and Review.. To maintoin its effectiveness, the procedure undergoes ongoing evaluation and refinement, adapting to new challenges and feedback from volunteers. In my role as Trustee for Governance ond Compliance, I remain dedicated to maintaining an environment that prioritizes safety, transparency, and resilience. The progress we have achieved in key areas such as risk management and dato protection demonstrates our commitment to upholding the highest standords of accountability. Moving forward, l am eager to bvild upon these foundations, address emerging challenges, and continue Supporting the Branch Leodership Team in delivering a safe. inclusive, and welcoming spoce for oll. Together, we can ensure the ongoing success and positive impact of our branch within the community. Bronch Contlnulty Plonnlng To ensure the resilience and ongoing functionality of our branch, I have been developing a comprehensive Branch Continuity Plan. This plan 15 designed to prepare for unforeseen circumstances that covld disrupt our operations, protecting both the vital services we provide to our caller5 ond the wellbeing of ovr volunteer5. While certain challenges. such as technical foilures, extreme weather events, or unexpected staff shortages, may be beyond our control, it is essentiol thot we are prepared to respond swiftly and effectively. The Bronch Continuity Plan outlines clear strategies and protocols for mitigoting risks, maintoining core services, l am proud to report that this initiative is now fully operational and has been instrumentol in enhoncing the safety and efficiency of our events. Its success reflects the collaborative efforts of our team ond a shared commitment to excellence. Moving forword, l aim to continve refining thi5 procedure, ensuring it remains a robust foundotion for sofegvording ovr volunteers and the wider community. Risk Management Procedure As Trustee for Governance and Compliance, implementing an effective Risk Management Procedure has been a cornerstone of my efforts to promote safety Data Protectlon Initiatlves and wellbeing within ovr orgonization. This procedure ensures that potential risks to As part of my responsibilities, I hove our volunteer5, members of the public, ond prioritized Data Protection to ensure our organizotion remoins compliant with 14 Tamworth Samaritans Annual Report 2024-25 15 Trustee Reports VAL looking forword to the Listener family day in May which we are helping to organise. We have o relatively new BPSO (Branch Prison Support Officer) in Erica 464 who enthusiastically leads ovr team. to make improvements and respond to suggestions/reflections thot hove come from our team of volunteers. This is in oddition to undertaking oll the necessory safety checks such as electrical, fire and woter quality that need to take place. Network Rail We've had a bvsy year supporting Network Rail lond vice versa). our regular events being Brew Monday and Smoll Talk Saves Lives campoigns at which we held owareness events ot both Tomworth and Nuneaton stotions. Both were ￿￿11 supported by ovr volunteers. We were also asked to support Network Roil events at both London Evston ond Liverpool Lime Street stations where we operated alongside Network Roil stoff. We also talked to passengers on the troins and ot stations on the way to and from Tamworth. Hopefully volunteers have enjoyed the benefits of the new boiler, the extro space in the training and meeting room, the re- organi5ed quietldebrief room and the new display boards. In addition, the feedback from volunteers which was Shared with the landlord has led to investigation of the 51gning in book, the new intercom system and the grit box for the pathway. Trustee for Partnership - Dave161 Resources - Mark423 Tamworth Borough Councll We regularly have volvnteers go to Tamworth Borough Council and Support Stoffordshire events include regulor VCSE (Voluntary Community Social Enterprise) forums which ore often held at the Sacred Heart Church Centre. As o BLT we ore olwoys extremely keen that our volunteers feel very supported ond volved. An important part of this is to ensure that the premises in which we volvnteer, engage with our callers and interact with each other, feel comfortable, welcoming and safe. Therefore, over this lost year we hove looked to continue On o more sombre note we were osked to offer Postvention support at Tamworth Station following several serious incidents in the locality. We have a wonderful team of volunteers who help maintoin an oversight of our premises and resources. Thank you so much to them for everything they do, it is hugely appreciated. They are, Rache1481 who ensures thot oll our refreshments are kept stocked up and who responds to specific requests,. Chris357 who oversees all our IT equipment and systems and links in with Centrol Somaritons, john361 who monitors our health and safety, Christine520 who looks after our First Aid and Cathy8 who provides the lovely flowers. HMP/YOI Swlnfen Hall We currently have 12 Listeners at the prison,- most of whom were trained last year. Our team of 4 volunteers regularly visit to support the Listeners either on their wings or at the prison Bistro. They are We have a wonderful team of volunteers who help maintain an oversight of our premises and resources 16 Tamworth Samaritans Annual Report 2024-25 17 Trustee Reports Shift Leaders Team Fundraising Charley484 stepped down as Deputy Director for Leaders during thi5 reporting period, but before her departure mode great developments in developing the shift leader role inclvding: We said goodbye to Kevin529 as Trustee for Fundraising and Publicity right as the end of the financial year closed and we have thanked Kevin for all he h05 done in this capacity. Kevin was able to build the Fundraising and Publicity team and strategy and objectives were put in place to not only raise funds for the bronch but to olso ensure that we had a good process for creating thank you letters and for developing our publicity. Prioritisation of investment, by our Co- Directors. in Samaritans branded clothing and promotional material, for use during a variety of events, has been welcomed by volunteers and our partners at these events. This proactive approach helps to raise awareness of Samaritans services and attroct ond inform F)Otential volunteers. The effective use and organisation of these 05set5 continues to be o priority. .Setting in motion clear gL*idance and porameters for debriefing and contacting leaders, which we've now developed into a protocol. .Creating a whatsapp group for shift leoders to share vpdotes ond top tips and to support each other to problem solve. .Promoting the importance of the shift leader role It is hard to know where to start with writing this update, 05 we have been so very Ivcky with fundraising in this reporting periodl We have received some Listening shifts cannot operate without very generous donations from chorities, a shift leader ond we ore so grateful businesses and wills, ond from the hard to our shift letsder teom. Due to their work of some of our own volunteers, raising commitment, a shift never closes due to not funds for us in a number of ways. Some having a leader in place. volunteers hove odditionolly donoted funds We have o team of 13 shift leaders at through their companies and through their the time of writing and whilst we would connections. A full list of funder5 appears love more volunteers to join the team, our on page 5. urrent shift leader teom ore dedicated, supportive. and make such a difference to ovr branch! The bronch olso held a Bronch meeting ond its AGM, both of which were well attended ond gove volunteers the chance to heor from our Co-Directors, Deputy Directors, Regional Officers ond some of our partner organisations. We also had the chonce to osk questions of the Bronch Leadership Team and to chat with each other. Branch Secretary Linda460 My role is made much easier by all our great volunteers who help keep the bronch tidy, organised and compliant. Volunteers help in numerous ways including by moking Over the next 12 months I look forward to sure we have stocks of the paperwork we all need, by populating and maintaining notice working with, and supporting, members and information boards to keep us up to of the leadership tetsm and their teoms. I date, by shredding information which hos am keen to make sure volvnteers have the information ond administrative processes reached its disposal date and by provide dedicated administrative support to areos around them, so they feel well supported as such as f inance, training and recruitment. they deliver our 5ervice5 to our collers. We have also raised funds together as a team including festive bucket collections at Asda and Waitrose with our very own in-house Santal These events are great for raising awareness as well as raising funds., the bright green clothing {funded throvgh our National Lottery grant) really helps us to stand outl Toword the end of the period, we had a brilliant fundraising quiz event organised by the Smith family in memory of A1243,. it was a lovely event to remember Over the last 12 months we have changed how we monage our governonce meeting5 so that we can monitor the decisions we toke ond the actions needed to put what we decide into practice. Our electronic file System has been reviewed and restructured and we continue to work to make key documents ovoilable to volvnteers. As we move into 2025-26 we look to grow on the successe5 of 2024-25 as we enter into our 50th yeor in 20261 18 Tamworth Samaritans Annual Report 2024-25 19 **----- Start of picture text -----**
£1000
Donated to Walsall
267% Samaritans; towards their
Increase in income from last year new building
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20 Tamworth Samaritans Annual Report 2024-25 21 ## **Financial Report** ## **Funding** |**Balance sheet**||| |---|---|---| ||**2024-25**|**2023-24**| |**Net assets**|**£143,302**|**£100,412**| |**Fixed assets**||| |Tangible assets|£4,331|£4,331| |**Current assets**||| |Debtors
Short Term
investments|£0
£0|£250
£2,485| |Other current
assets|£0|£4,705| |Cash at bank|£138,971|£95,230| |and in hand||| |**Creditors**
**Funds & Reserves**
Trading creditors
Restricted funds
Other creditors
Unrestricted
general funds|£0
£0
£1,560
£141,302|£6,590
£0
£1,296
£99,116| 22 Tamworth Samaritans Annual Report 2024-25 23 FOTAS• • Tarnworth $4marilan5 ChlrityCOmvA>lktshtOT E￿ILl￿o and Walts. 140. 11711514 Four Oaks Taxation l Accounting SeThices kn"Mrted WIIEMffj I¢(￿11￿13.11￿lYJl S￿￿￿￿75. ttGISllllD &LffjIIthI Balance Sheet- ¢Dfftpaiative 31 2025 Jl Mthr 21J241 FIAeLIA5S•IS l•Th¢iNe Asse'.s 4.331 4.331 Cwi¢DfA5Ws Ind•P￿d￿l Ex•mkn•rf• Report 10 th• Tw•t•es ol T•fflworlh 250 51wx'. ILYiiI *r•L%S1I-￿,￿I R•spfynslblllU•s and b•Jls of i•wt Anr CieOrfiy* lildwn￿*nl ￿•m•b￿rI •l•l•Aw rxnv.. CJof.il.-. 14é1 Ameis I￿,30? 14)D.412 P*s11lt.':•￿ 1.5Gg IINP*Af*.IpY GÈr&..￿ P￿17￿¥ 141.742 Fu41Lls Pwvloe 145,¥QZ ?4Xl,4J? ICAEW CHARTEAID ACCOUNTANTS ¢*L. ¥,. w f