Trustees' Annual Report for the period
Period start date Period end date To 01 04 2025 31 03 2026
From
Charity name Social Education Voluntary Association (SEVA) Trust UK Other names charity is known by SEVA Trust UK Registered charity number (if any) 1172654 Charity's principal address 265 London Road Bedford Postcode MK42 0PX
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole **year ** |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charan Sekhon(Mr) | Chairman | Charity trustees (by resolution) | ||
| Dr Baljit Upadhyay (Mrs) | Vice-Chair | Charity trustees (by resolution) | ||
| Shital Gandhi(Mrs) | CommunityEngagement | Charity trustees (by resolution) | ||
| Kunwarjeet Pannu(Mrs) | Youth GroupCoordinator | Charity trustees (by resolution) | ||
| Satnam Galsin(Mr) | Treasurer | Charity trustees (by resolution) | ||
Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)
Name Dates acted if not for whole year
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Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of adviser Name Address
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
Section B Structure, governance and management
Description of the charity’s trusts
Constitution adopted on 22/01/2017 (amended on 20/02/2019) Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution) Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company) Appointed by resolution by the charity trustees Trustee selection methods
(eg. appointed by, elected by)
Additional governance issues (Optional information)
You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:
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policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
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the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
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relationship with any related parties;
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trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.
Policy & Procedures in place:
1. Guidance for Volunteers
2. Risk Assessment
3. Complaints Policy
4. Equality & Diversity Policy
5. Safeguarding Children Policy
6. Safeguarding Adult Policy
7. Date Protection Policy
8. Photography/Filming Consent Forms
9. Volunteer Recruitment/Application Form
10. Volunteer Induction Check List
11. Volunteer Code of Conduct
12. Volunteer Expenses Policy
13. Feedback Forms
14. GDPR Info & Notifications
15. International Projects (Risk Assessment Checklist & Matrix) 16. Students’ hardship grant application form
Section C Objectives and activities
Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document
Education – For the public benefit to promote the education of students from Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background in Bedfordshire and elsewhere in England and for underprivileged communities in northern India and elsewhere in India in such ways as the charity trustees think fit, including, but not limited to:
- (1) awarding to such persons scholarships, maintenance allowances or grants tenable at any university, college, school or institution of higher or further education;
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- (2) providing coaching, mentoring to furtherance of that education, guidance for higher studies, oversees studies or for entry to any occupation, trade or profession on leaving any educational establishment.
Health & Wellbeing – For the public benefit to promote health & wellbeing among BAME communities in Bedfordshire and elsewhere in England and underprivileged communities in northern India and elsewhere in India including, but not limited to:
(3) coordinating health awareness (including mental health) and yoga sessions;
(4) arranging or assisting in organising health checks.
Environment - To promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment among BAME communities in Bedfordshire and elsewhere in England and underprivileged communities, farmers and pollution affected areas in northern India and elsewhere in India in such ways as the charity trustees think fit, including, but not limited to:
(5) coordinating sessions to raise awareness of ecological and environmental sustainability , local and global environmental issues and challenges; (6) arranging or assisting in environmental monitoring and sharing the findings with the local communities and the appropriate bodies; (7) promoting eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyles including helping to explore renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power.
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Main Activities:
1.1 Continuation of Support Projects in East of England
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)
Cost of living crisis and the ongoing wards (Ukraine-Russia & the Gulf conflict) continue to bring challenging times for all. In addition to negative impacts on health (post-Corona pandemic), high level of living cost is impacting all communities especially the most disadvantaged, Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, vulnerable and elderly, low-paid and part-time workers, the international students and people experiencing homelessness have been impacted severely. We are a small but a dedicated charity which is run by all unpaid volunteers. We do not have any paid staff in our charity (more details in the next section, page 8). As listed in the objects section, we mainly focus on (but not limited to) Education, Health & Environment related projects in East of England (Bedfordshire and the surrounding counties). Following Corona pandemic in 2020, the Trustees decided to focus on social welfare and community support projects helping the elderly and vulnerable, people with special dietary needs and students facing extreme hardships. We are proud to support major projects related to education, health and social-welfare for the disadvantaged children and communities in India. During 2025-26, we continued our support projects for families and elderly facing hardships, people experiencing homelessness or in temporary accommodation and international students (mainly offering advice and guidance re fee, accommodation and hardship matters). Leading from the front and under the leadership of our Chair, Vice-Chair and the Trustees, new volunteers joined in to support the communities. We also worked closely with the other organisations and charities to ensure a best use of resources and manpower and we delivered 350+ food parcels, and other daily use items. We continued our support for the most vulnerable and the elderly people. From 01 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 we supported: 1. 25+ families and elderly facing hardships 2. 25+ int. students (advice re fee & accommodation) 3. 75+ people experiencing homelessness or hardships *Total: 300+ Food Parcels and 15+ Hot-meals
Note: We receive a significant amounts of food donations and hot meals direct from our donors and volunteers and the supporting partners that helped to keep our charity spending low and allowing us to use funds towards the other core projects that were halted due to COVID19 (please refer to our previous reports). Though we closed our food support hub in April 2021 and stopped our hot-meals service in August 2025 but our staple food support for the most vulnerable and exceptional cases continued throughout 2025-26. We would like to thank everyone who has sent us direct feedback and through social-media. More details of all the key projects we delivered are on our social media handles (Facebook, Twitter & Instagram) @SEVATrustUK 1.2 Donation of funds and staple food to support people facing homelessness and rough-sleepers in Bedfordshire Working with SMART CJS (a charity supporting homelessness), we continued our regular support for people experiencing homelessness. We continue to provide deliveries of staple food throughout the year. 4 March 2012*
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1.3 Continuation of Support & Advice for International students and liaison with universities
Our team dealt with a wide range of students’ issues including requests for advice and help about tuition fee, rent & accommodation, health, wellbeing and emotional support. We continued our support efforts and dealt with regular students queries for help who lost their part time jobs or unable to support themselves. We continue to receive positive feedback from students. Many sent us their feedback direct or online (Google review or social media platforms) @SEVATrustUK
1.4 Work with Bedford Borough, UNISON & other organisations
We worked closely with Bedford Borough Council lead community support and awareness campaigns and time to time promoted the key messages with the local communities. We continue to work with UNIOSN Welfare Officers and Reps of East of England who previously helped to identify people in need. Our volunteers supported other local charities in fundraising activities who are helping elderly and families from diverse communities to meet their various needs. We continue to support various community initiatives and community cohesion (further details in section 3 below) 1.5 Volunteers network & working policies and procedures In order to respond to emergency support situations, we need a strong network of volunteers. We are pleased to strengthen our volunteers and supporting partners’ network. We have robust policies and procures in place to ensure we follow the latest guidelines and rules. We regularly review our policies and procedures to ensure we can provide a safe working environment to all our volunteers. We feel proud to complete another challenging year without a single H&S related incident or any other shortfall. This demonstrates our commitment, ability to plan, handle and deliver complex and emergency projects within tight deadlines. Big Thanks to All our supporting partners and volunteers The recent years have been very challenging for all but we reached-out a significant number of people and students. It was only possible due to a collective effort and support by all. We received an amazing support from many local and national organisations who provided us significant amounts of the staple food we needed. Many individuals offered to help us with food shopping, door to door deliveries and other support. We would like to thank everyone who supported us in one way or another. Health and Wellbeing 2.1 Continuation of support for Yoga and Health sessions Due to relocation of our local Yoga teacher, we had to stop face to face sessions but we continue to connect local communities with free online yoga classes. We are in a process of re-staring local classes and we also continue to promote International Yoga Day and other Health Awareness Days among diverse communities. Education and Other Projects & Support Activities 3.1 Promoting job opportunities Many public sectors are struggling to reflect the communities they serve. They are not able to attract enough candidates from diverse
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communities. Throughout the year, we promote local job opportunities with the Council, Fire & Rescue, Police, Schools, NHS, etc. among students and local diverse communities.
3.2 Donated free laptop computers to help students to access digital
Under this unique project, we donated free laptops to children without home laptops who are involved in community services and studying additional Indian languages at Sunday schools run by local charities and community groups in Bedfordshire. In line with our charity objectives to support educational initiatives and help students from diverse communities, we decided to work with all local Gurdwaras and Temples who are doing wonderful work to help children to teach additional languages and give them opportunities for social service (selfless Seva). This not only helps children to connect with their cultural roots but enable them to become good citizen and progress in their future careers with multilingual skills. We honoured all students with medals as token of appreciation for their social-services and Seva. We received excellent feedback from children, parents and local organisations.
We would like to appeal to IT firms to work in partnership with us and support the young talent who struggle to afford personal laptops. www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/education/free-laptops-gifted-by-seva-trust-ukto-honour-young-talent-5288308
3.3 Promoting Community Cohesion
SEVA Trust team lead by our Chair Charan Sekhon and Vice Chair Dr Baljit Kaur Upadhyay, played an instrumental role in supporting Bedford Bandhan Group who organised Indian Independence Day celebrations in Bedford on 15/08/25. The Indian Independence Day event involved cultural program followed by unfurling of the Indian flag at the old Town Hall, Bedford. The event was attended by local dignitaries, leaders and reps of diverse communities and large number of attendees. Our team engaged with many community and youth groups and helped in sharing information with them. This was a great community and educational event that helped in promoting community cohesion and involved the youth and diverse community groups.
3.4 Community Support and Other Updates
We attended various other community meetings/events (for example our stand at Festival of Lights) and educational events throughout the year to promote diversity and community cohesion. Our Chair attended UNISON lead Eastern Region Education Weekend and gave a presentation on our ongoing projects locally and in India. Further details and updates are available on our social media platforms.
3.5 Community support and educational projects in India*
SEVA Trust UK (India) Team lead many projects supporting disadvantaged families and children by providing immunity booster kits, daily use essentials, health awareness workshops, blood donation camps and many more. More details are available on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @SEVATrustIndia *Note: All projects in India are led by SEVA Trust UK (India) which is a registered public trust in India. For further details, please visit:
www.sevatrustuk.org
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Environment
We supported a wide range of environmental projects in Bedfordshire including Litter pick days, Tree Plantation and prompting environmental awareness messages via our social media platforms reaching out to diverse communities’ groups.
SEVA Trust UK (India) Team lead many tree-planation projects and organised environment awareness workshops in India. Further details are available at Facebook @SEVATrustIndia
Other Projects
We are pleased to support and be part of this landmark project lead SEVA Trust UK (India) to establish India’s 1st free multifacility of this type. A comprehensive “Multi-Facility Centre” managed and operated by SEVA Trust UK (India) which is dedicated to education, healthcare, environmental sustainability, and social welfare. A proposed building covering 59,895 square feet area near Village Saha, District Ambala, Haryana (India), this state-of-the-art centre is designed to provide comprehensive care and support for disadvantaged and marginalised children and families, with a special focus on children suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and other rare diseases. It will include a Diagnostic Centre (a fully equipped facility providing diagnostic services to support the health and well-being of the community), a Computer Skill Development Centre for Girls (a training centre designed to empower young girls with vital computer skills to enhance their educational and career prospects), a Sewing Training & Production Centre for Women (a vocational training and production centre aimed at providing women, especially those from rural backgrounds, with sewing skills for employment and financial independence), a Senior Citizens Day Care Centre (a supportive environment for senior citizens, offering social interaction, activities, and care throughout the day).
During 2024/25, we donated £20k and in 2025/26 we donated £13.2k. Phase 1 of this project has been successfully completed with formal opening of this free centre is planned for this year. Further details are available at: www.sevadhaam.org
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Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)
| Youmay chooseto include further statements, where relevant, about: •policy on grantmaking; •policy programme related investment; •contribution made by volunteers. |
Our motto is 'True Service to Humanity'. All SEVA Trust UK team members (Trustees, Supporting Teams and Advisers) are fully committed volunteers. Any donations received go to fulfil the charitable aims and objectives,not to pay salaries to anyone or expensive overheads.Here is the approximate financial value of unpaid and voluntary work delivered by our teams to support local communities through Education, Health, Environmental work and Social Welfare (based on national minimal wage 2025 figures) 5 Trustees–36 hrs/week = £440/week= £22, 880 per year (£12.21 per hr) 4 Youth volunteers (age 21 to 24) – 12 hrs/week = £147 = £7644 per year (12.21 per hr) 4 Youth volunteers (age 18 to 20) – 8 hrs /week = £80/week = £4160 per year (£10 per hr) 12 Volunteers (age 25 & over) – 36 hrs/week = £440/week = £22,880 per year (£12.21 per hr) Total contributions=£57, 564 per year SEVA Trust UK Team has given voluntary time/input equivalent to 57.5k in 2025/26. This does not include the work and input given by SEVA volunteers in India. |
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Section D Achievements and performance
Achievements, Awards and Media Coverage Summary of the main achievements of the charity www.samajweekly.com/free-laptops-gifted-by-seva-trust-uk-to-honour- during the year young-talent/ www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/community/seva-trust-uk-indian-organised-3rdeducational-support-camp-in-punjab-50-children-received-educationalsupport-5086480 www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1349675567193639&set=a.3497664 17184564&type=3 www.facebook.com/unisonessex/posts/charan-talking-about-the-sevatrust-uk-charity-working-in-east-of-england-and-in/1271689454986489/ Media updates, feedback from the beneficiaries and our supporting partners We received an excellent feedback from many beneficiaries, community reps, charity groups and supporting partners. There has been many other updates. For further details please check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube links: @SEVATrustUK & @SEVATrustIndia https://twitter.com/SEVATrustUK https://www.facebook.com/SEVATrustUK/ https://www.instagram.com/sevatrustuk/?hl=en - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4Ff7Wj TIWmgUEFFEPdJJQ/videos
Section E Financial review
Brief statement of the All details covered in our financial statement (Ref - Receipts and charity’s policy on reserves payments accounts Report CC16a) Details of any funds materially N/A in deficit
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Further financial review details (Optional information)
You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:
All details covered in our financial statement (Ref - Receipts and payments accounts Report CC16a)
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the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);
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how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
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investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.
Section F Other optional information
Section G Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
| Signature(s)CKSekhon SGalsin Full name(s)Charan S Sekhon Satnam S Galsin Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Chair & Trustee Treasurer & Trustee Date14/05/2025 |
CKSekhon | CKSekhon | SGalsin | SGalsin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Satnam S Galsin | |||||
Chair & Trustee |
Treasurer & Trustee | ||||
| 14/05/2025 |
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| Social Education Voluntary Association (SEVA) Trust UK 1 SEVA Trust UK |
Social Education Voluntary Association (SEVA) Trust UK 1 SEVA Trust UK |
Social Education Voluntary Association (SEVA) Trust UK 1 SEVA Trust UK |
172654 | CC16a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For the period from |
01/04/2025 | To | 31/03/2026 | ||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||
| A1 Receipts Donations & Gift Aid 11,684 Grants - Refunds 198 Fundraising - Bank Interest 214 - - - 12,096 - - Sub total - Total receipts 12,096 A3 Payments 449 Donations to other UK charities or gropus - Hardship grants(Post-Covid)to students - Insurance 105 58 Telephone,IT support & website costs 237 Charityevents & meetings 264 Goverence Costs - Staff salary- Nopaid staff - Education,Social-Welfare Projects - India 13,210 Sub total 14,323 - - Sub total - Total payments 14,323 Net of receipts/(payments) - 2,228 A5 Transfers between funds - A6 Cash funds last year end 25,787 Cash funds this year end 23,559 Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ Sub total(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). Charitable activities & projects (Education, Health, Community Welfare & Support) Other Expenditure (postage, stationary, publicity&printing) A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Restricted funds |
to the nearest £ Endowment funds |
Total funds to the nearest £ 11,684 - 198 - 214 - - - 12,096 - - - 12,096 449 - - 105 58 237 264 - - 13,210 14,323 - - - 14,323 - 2,228 - 25,787 23,559 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
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11,684 | 10,449 | |||
| - | - | ||||
| 198 | 23 | ||||
| - | - | ||||
| 214 | 464 | ||||
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| 12,096 | 10,936 | ||||
| - - - |
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| - | 12,096 | 10,936 | |||
| - - - - - - - - - |
449 | 5,360 | |||
| - | 110 | ||||
| - | - | ||||
| 105 | 109 | ||||
| 58 | 483 | ||||
| 237 | 58 | ||||
| 264 | 665 | ||||
| - | 25 | ||||
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| 13,210 | 19,999 | ||||
| 14,323 | 26,809 | ||||
| - - - |
- | - | |||
| - | - | ||||
| - | - | ||||
| - | 14,323 | 26,809 | |||
| - | - - - - |
- 2,228 | - 15,873 | ||
| - | - | - | |||
| - | 25,787 | 41,660 | |||
| - | 23,559 | 25,787 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Details Total Bank Accounts balance on 31/03/25 Cash in hand Details NA Details NA Details NA Details NA Signature SGalsin CKSekhon Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
to nearest £ to nearest £ 23,559 - - - - 23,559 - OK OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Print Name Satnam Galsin Charan Sekhon Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) |
to nearest £ Endowment funds |
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| to nearest £ Endowment funds |
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| Current value (optional) |
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| Date of approval |
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| SGalsin | Satnam Galsin | 10/05/2026 | |
| CKSekhon | Charan Sekhon | 10/05/2026 |