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NEW HAW & WOODHAM GOOD NEIGHBOURS (NH&WGN)
23[nd] ANNUAL REPORT
December 2022 – November 2023
The scheme exists for the benefit of the residents of the local community who need help from time to time
Registered Charity No.1174995
New Haw & Woodham Good Neighbours Scheme (NH&WGNS)
Organisation details for the Year ended 30[th] November 2023
| Chair | TBA |
|---|---|
| Treasurer | Jeffrey Pearce |
| Secretary | Wendy Tompsett |
| Management Committee: | Julie Dixon |
| Rosemary Potter | |
| Amanda Preston | |
| Bill Preston | |
| Audrey Taylor | |
| Specialist advice and support from | Justine Aldous |
| Surrey Community Action | |
| NH&WGN Address | c/o Heathervale Baptist Church |
| Heathervale Road | |
| New Haw, Surrey | |
| KT15 3NW | |
| Bankers | Barclays Bank |
| Town Gate House | |
| Woking | |
| Surrey | |
| GU21 6AE | |
| Independent Examiner | Mr Alick Strevens |
The scheme is a local voluntary organisation affiliated to Voluntary Support North Surrey and Surrey Community Action. It is for the benefit of local residents who need help from time to time and is administered by our local Management Committee.
The objective is for the scheme to be self-funding by accepting voluntary donations for transport related help. This pays volunteer's travel expenses and running costs, such as public liability insurance PLI.
Registered Charity No.1174995
I would like to offer you all a very warm welcome to this, the twenty third Annual General Meeting of the New Haw and Woodham Good Neighbour’s Scheme.
The Schemes’ volunteers have completed about the same number of jobs as last year approximately 600 since December 2022. We still have not reached the levels seen before the Covid lockdowns. We are seeing medical appointments being the vast majority of the jobs booked. With the day centre re-opening in Addlestone and clients returning to shopping and social events it is hoped the job numbers will increase.
We have had volunteers retired from the Scheme, but we have been lucky enough to recruit both duty officers and drivers during the last year, making sure we are able to continue offering the service our customers have come to rely on in the past 20 years.
Where we are vulnerable as a Scheme is the Management Committee, we really need new members to help. There are only four committee meetings per year in February, May, August and November and of course an Annual General Meeting in March. These meetings last approximately an hour, and cover the nuts and bolts of running the scheme. Its great way to learn new skills and have a say in the way the scheme is run. New blood is needed to help continue with our successes and to ensure we can continue serving our clients for many more years to come.
We have gained 13 new clients during the year, sadly some have passed away and due to GDPR rules, more will be removed from the list as they have not used our service for nearly two years. The management committee also decided that on a very rare occasion NH&WGN could decline a request and remove a client if it was felt that their mobility risked our driver’s well-being and safety. As of 30[th] November 2023, we had 99 clients registered with our scheme.
Our outgoing Treasurer Mike Clark, successfully handed over to Jeffrey Pearce and some parts of our banking system has been reviewed and simplified. He has prepared the accounts for 2023 and these show a surplus for the year, and we would like your help in assigning where this money goes to best use, however small donations will be made to the Heathervale Baptist Church, New Haw Community Centre as these organisations all help significantly in the scheme’s success. Our accounts for the year ending November 2023 have been independently examined and signed off with no financial issues identified.
Sadly, it is believed that the Midsummer Event usually held in June, will not go ahead this year. It seems that due to various logistic and organisational issues the event committee have resigned. We will be looking to find other opportunities to promote ourselves to the local community and to recruit new volunteers to the scheme by promoting awareness. We have tried leaflets and adverts, if anyone has any other ideas the committee would appreciate them.
As highlighted last year explorer scouter, Mia Rogers, attended the World Jamboree in South Korea. She is a little shy so she has given me a piece describing her trip which was very eventful.
In conclusion may I and the Management Committee take this opportunity to thank all the Volunteers without whom the Scheme could not operate.
New Haw & Woodham Good Neighbours could not run without you all so please give yourselves a round of applause
Registered Charity No.1174995