bb8sWith4 Reglstered Charity Number:l 173978 DADDYS WITH ANGELS ANNUAL REPORT DAN HILL
DADDYS WITH ANGELS ANNUAL REPORT 2021 / 2022
• Daddys with Angels (DWA) A Brief History
In 2010 Paul Scully Sloan’s son TJ passed away suddenly despite his huge attempts to resuscitate him. Once the funeral and later normality of life set in Paul found himself struggling to access support, yet he was turned away from loss groups as ‘fathers aren’t welcome’, a shocking and shameful statement in a society that ‘expects’ dads to be the strength in loss.
On the 8th of December 2010 the first DWA Group was formed for all family members. Paul was determined that DWA would be all-inclusive and our mantra of ‘any age or gestation and by any cause’ is the very cornerstone of what we do to this day. As the group grew it became clear that there was a need for male family members to have an outlet for their grief. As said above, society expects fathers to be strong, to hold things together yet with the loss of a child the grief is all consuming, debilitating and devastating. DWA were the first to open a dedicated support facility for male only members and from its start it has grown at the same rate as the families group.
In 2017 Daddy’s with Angels became an official registered charity in England and Wales number, 1173978, and with over 4,000 supported members globally and with a following footprint of over 10,000 on Facebook alone.
DWA is not a counselling service despite several admins having completed counselling courses at varying levels. We are a peer support service with members helping each other having ‘lived’ child loss. It is a unique service and currently the most active group in the world daily.
Dan Hill took the reins in 2019 following the sad death of Paul and he has streamlined the service to ensure its stability especially during the pandemic, post pandemic and cost of living crisis with the focus on growing the charity whilst reducing overheads, both aims are currently being exceeded.
It's an angel dad thing we understand www.facebook.comlgroupsldaddyswithangels. familiesgroup.international/ www.facebook.comlgroupsldaddyswithangels. angeldad5.internationall
• Awards
The loss community very quickly realised that DWA were making an impact and in 2014 and 2016 The Butterfly Awards recognised this presenting DWA with Best Support Organisation.
Paul was awarded Inspirational Father of The Year in 2014 followed by Dan Hill being awarded the same huge honour in 2016.
Two lifetime achievement awards followed from Darcys Dream Charity and Northampton Chamber of Commerce.
DWA are currently the Central England Community Interest Charity of The Year 2020/21
In May 2021 DWA were made the Wigan MBC Mayoral Charity by Mayor Yvonne Klieve, becoming the first individual charity for child loss (non-age specific) to have such an honour.
DWA were named the DHL European Charity winners in Lisbon, Portugal
• The year in brief 2021 / 2022
A sad note to report is that Benjamin Fountain who was my first addition to the admin team sadly passed away due to Covid complications.
Ben was a massive part of the team, he was exceptionally well liked, funny, positive and a genuine delight to know. He is survived by Michelle and his two children who he adored and the whole DWA family were in shock at his passing.
Following our most successful year in 2020/21 our aim for this reporting period was to combine our standing in this niche sector whilst growing our community outreach and awareness position.
To achieve our target, it was decided to expand on our event attendances. DWA purchased more equipment and attended a total of twelve regional events. The aim was to attract families to our presentation area and whilst the children were entertained on the event inflatables, we would introduce our services to the parents. This proved far more successful than first envisaged with an amazing 2800 leaflets and business cards given out across the season and the feedback from families almost completely positive on the unusual approach to promoting the removal of taboos surrounding the subject of child loss. As a result, we will be looking to expand this still further in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial periods with the aim of holding entire DWA themed events by 2025 and attending events farther afield to maximise our coverage.
Bridal Gown Service
Our Burial Gown service has also increased in importance with the seamstress team now up to three. These wonderful ladies not only produce completely individual gowns and cribs but have also paid for the postage during this year which is an amazing gesture, and we are all extremely grateful to these hugely talented professionals for their dedication and generosity.
Covid 19 provision
Despite the Covid pandemic becoming more the norm Daddys with Angels is still committed to supply advice and guidance to the medical profession including the NHS on bereavement pathway support following the death of a child within medical establishments and have consulted on 15 cases across England and Wales during this reporting period.
We are still available to all PALS and Bereavement Teams moving forward.
- 2021 / 22 Significant Expenditure
With the financial climate and post pandemic slump in full effect it was decided to reduce our significant spending and increase our reserves to set up a safety net and secure the charity financially.
It was decided that our spending on postage and printing would be reduced to an absolute minimum both for financial and environmental impact reasons.
We decided that we would no longer arrange collection of donated wedding dresses but to encourage donors to send them directly to our seamstresses therefore at no cost to the charity.
It was also decided that as we intended to increase our event equipment portfolio, we would buy preowned items via the Facebook marketplace app and similarly source the necessary IT equipment via auction houses. It was decided that the risk versus reward level was acceptable especially as the savings to DWA would reach up to 80% over the option of buying these items new.
Our significant expenditure therefore was reduced to just a few items, these being a new inflatable (pictured above), two petrol blowers for the equipment and 5 x laptop tablets for the graphics team.
Below photographs of the event equipment (only adults shown)
West Lancashire Events
DWA fully intend to further roll out their attendance at events across West Lancashire to serve as a recorded pilot and reach even more parents and families across the region. With an affected rate almost double the national average in the most deprived areas in Merseyside and the Fylde we aim to show that these areas can be served in a cost effective and above all accessible way, so these affected families get support so obviously lacking or currently inaccessible to them.
Our core support structure has also continued to grow to such an extent that we have now separated our support and graphics teams ensuring that there is no confusion between the two.
Our graphics team is now 5 members strong with Alex Smith as the lead. This team produces not only ‘special days’ graphics for individuals but also dedicated events i.e., religious holidays and national celebration graphics as well as providing other charitable organisations and non-members with graphics upon request. To achieve this DWA bought 5 x tablet type graphics units at auction.
Support teams have seen significant growth during this financial period however the infrastructure in place can manage further growth of 25% at this time.
Opening Balance / Balance carried forward.
The balance in DWA CAF account stood at £12,823.07 on 1[st] Oct 2021
A year later that balance stands at £35,635.72 which shows significant growth despite the post pandemic slump and the benefit of tighter financial controls during this period.
Within the closing balance £21,000 is ring fenced for supplying a further two more memorial gardens.
As per our records, DWA are showing we have obtained a total income of £34,085.65 and expenses of £11,283.44 which signifies by far our best fiscal year to date.
With 2022/23 already looking to exceed this fiscal year and discussions with a global sponsor for 2024 we are confident that DWA will be able to expand even further in the next 24 months whilst keeping our costs at £0.00 for staffing and labour.
We have seen other similar sector charities showing up to 33% staffing costs. This has contributed to all of us working for DWA feeling immensely proud that the word charity will remain at the heart of what we do.
Bank Accounts transactions are shown in the below table.
- Independent examiner’s report
Projections
By period 2025 we aim to have generated a sustainable income of £50,000
Spring 2024 will see the launch of DWA Child Loss Support Emirates
We are in discussion for a global sponsorship agreement for a period of 10 years with effect from Autumn 2024
• Summary
Despite the charity sector floundering for almost two years Daddys with Angels are showing that when an organisation sticks to its core values and its original purpose it is possible to not only survive the trials that the outside world brings but it can thrive. Membership growing steadily as is the funding avenues with strict spending controls in place.
DWA continues to forge new partnerships and aids other loss specific organisations. With a return to their core competencies, they look to strengthen their position within the sector even further not just in the UK but on a global scale. Their no wage structure ethic is still in force.... charity should be exactly that.
Who will be there for me when the world moves on? sWith4 www.facebook.com/groupsldaddyswithangels. familiesgroup.internationall www.facebook.com/groups/daddyswithangels. angeldads.internationall