## **Trustees’ Annual Report** From **April 2023** Period start date To **March 2024** Period end date **Charity name:** Shoe Aid **Charity registration number:** 1175254 ## **Objectives and Activities** ||| |---|---| |Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Shoe Aid collects and redistributes unused, used, and unwanted
footwear to people struggling financially with the cost of living. Our
aim is to reduce shoe poverty and reduce the impact on the
environment from shoes sent as waste to landfill. We receive
footwear from donations in the UK from both the retail sector and
the public.| |Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or services
identified in the accounts.|This period for the charity has been remarkably busy. We had a
huge influx of donations of brand-new footwear which we were able
to use to support more organisations. Not just locally but
reasonably and nationally also. We are continuing to see an
increase in demand from asylum seeker and refugee support. With
an estimate of 7000 pairs of footwear donated to organisations in
England alone.
We have forged stronger relationships locally with community
groups, social services through local authorities and in particular,
charities who are looking to help the homeless.
Having considered all the UK based donations and those we
support internationally through projects based in the UK our total
donation figure exceeded is 150,000 pairs. This was a significance
increase year on year.| |Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Shoe Aid has continued to develop and forge relationships with
manufacturers wholesalers and retailers which assists in a supply
chain of footwear which can be donated. This approach has also
been a mainstay of the local and regional relationships we have
forged with community groups and local authorities. By doing so we
are extending the opportunities to help more people in need. We
have focused more on the local communities to help raise
awareness of how they can repurpose this footwear and how it can
be usedforaworthy cause| **Additional information (optional)** **Shoe Aid Impact on the lives we change and support** ## **Wirral Council** I have used Shoe aid several times over the last couple of years in my role as a family support worker. The families I work with often are often on a lower income or have multiple of children and the financial pressure of ensuring their children have the correct fitting shoes all the time can be a huge worry. The families I support, have always been very thankful for the service and have shared how pleased they are that the shoes match what they requested. The service from Shoe aid is brilliant. Great communication and superfast delivery. ## **Lighthouse** The Lighthouse is a vibrant, thriving community that seeks to transform lives through kindness, belief and hope. It is run primarily on the generosity of donations and volunteers, and hosts over 20 projects to tackle local need . We provide practical support with food, hygiene and second-hand clothing, as well as initiatives that encourage friendship, help with mental health, or improve social wellbeing. All our projects aim to encourage, empower, and equip people. We support anyone who finds themselves in need - those experiencing loneliness or social isolation, individuals with mental or physical health challenges, people who have experienced violence in the home, those struggling with the cost of living crisis, refugees, families lacking support, street homeless, youth, people in later life, households experiencing food poverty and many more. I’ve got a couple of quotes from guests who have benefitted from shoes. “ I will have more confidence and will be able to go out more. I will feel cooler.” “ Feel confident in arranging interviews at a range of positions without worrying that I have nothing to wear. Also, I’ll walk further due to decent trainers. “ As part of the welcome team, we see people arrive with gaping holes in their shoes, or the soles flapping dangerously, and it’s been amazing to see them leaving the building with a big smile and decent footwear. So thank you! ## **Eastern Raven Trust** On behalf of the family you donated to & the team at Eastern Ravens, we would like to thank you all very much for all your hard work & your kind donation of 2 pairs of shoes for a girl I was working with in November 2023. At the time parents were struggling financially, their daughter was having am massive growth spurt, parents couldn't keep up with paying for new school uniform as well as other clothes, the girl was having to go school in her trainers. She was then getting into trouble at school for wearing trainers. I contacted school to ask if they could help out with donating any shoes, unfortunately they didn't have any in her size. I found out about your charity, contacted yourselves by email & approximately a week later the family received 2 pairs of shoes, both suitable for school. ## **Nottingham Free School** We were made aware of Shoe Aid last year and it has provided a great support to our young people. As a secondary school, we have uniform available to all of our students who need it forever, long term, or just for the day. Previously we have purchased shoes to supply the cupboard out of our tight budget. However, with a simple email to Shoe Aid, we were able to receive a large number of highquality shoes for free to have available to our students. Additionally, the variety of shoes Shoe Aid has was a great benefit as our PE department was able to have a larger selection available for students; Shoe Aid have, also, been able to support our students on Duke of Edinburgh by providing them with walking boots, this has allowed our students to broaden. We will definitely be using Shoe Aid again! ## **Framework** I have contacted shoe aid a number of times for both the homeless service users I worked with at Framework and now in child protection as a social worker at Nottingham City Council. I have always received a speedy and polite reply. The shoes received have always been suitable and of good quality. Andy is always contactable and does a fantastic job assisting the vulnerable. Shoe Aid was an invaluable service over winter when my homeless clients needed hardwearing footwear. Andy sourced a large number of walking/hiking boots, these were so greatly appreciated by our SU. ## **RAM Working Group** We were delighted to receive your boxes of shoes last year. Our learners are male asylum seekers who are housed in hotels. They arrive with nothing and footwear is essential. So, it was a great moment when our learners turned up and found rows of beautiful trainers set out in order of size, with enough for everyone. They really appreciated this gift, which showed that people care. Male asylum seekers have had terrible experiences before they arrive here, and we were so happy because your parcel of trainers met a real need among the men who come to our volunteer English lessons. Of course, this year the number of asylum who arrive unshod has doubled. They tend to be Afghans, some of whom have never worn shoes, so trainers are the only possible option. Our learners are also keen on sport, and we also seek to equip them with football trainers. There are currently about 400 men in these hotels, and I do hope you will continue to support our learners. ## **Aldercar High School** Shoe Aid in Nottingham have been an invaluable resource for our school, young people, families and the wider community that our school serves in the Heanor area of Derbyshire. We have noticed in recent years a real change in terms of the ability for our community to purchase school shoes as part of our uniform. Ultimately decent, robust footwear is unaffordable for many families in the current economic climate. Our students have made real use of the service that Shoe Aid provides and what they have received is always good quality and long-lasting. Shoe Aid has gifted us around 30 pairs of footwear over the past couple of years or so and all have been to put good use for our students, as well as an additional 15 pairs to the primary age children of another local school within the community that we donated the smaller sizes to. All recipients of these shoes have been very grateful for the service. As a school we have found this support immensely useful in not only being able to gift shoes to families in need, but also as a resource within school, supporting us to maintain a school uniform that means a As the staff member who has used Shoe Aid at service level I have always found the charity quick to respond to our requests, friendly, knowledgeable and most of all genuinely caring and helpful. This is a great local charity doing a wonderful job for people in communities across this area and we will no doubt continue to use them in years to come. ## **Ellison Primary Academy** Shoe Aid was recommended to our school from another school in our trust. We were so thrilled to receive a large box of school shoes, both boys and girls and of various sizes. The quality of the shoes were fabulous. To see a child’s face when they come to me with shoes that are broken or worn beyond repair, and to receive a brand new pair of shoes is priceless! We are aware that a lot of our families are struggling financially and simply cannot afford to buy a new pair of shoes. To be able to support our families in this way has made such a huge difference. We wish to thank you for your work in helping children to feel confident in school, which obviously helps them to concentrate and achieve in the classroom, without the worry of their feet getting wet at playtime because of the poor condition of their shoes. Long may you continue to help us to put smiles on our pupil’s faces. ## **Heath Primary School** I wanted to take a moment to extend our heartfelt thanks for your incredibly generous donation of wellies for our school on Tuesday. The children were absolutely thrilled to receive them, and they are now able to engage in a wide variety of messy play activities and explore nature in ways we couldn’t have offered before. Your contribution has truly made a meaningful impact on our school community, providing the children with opportunities that would have otherwise been out of reach. Once again, thank you so much—your kindness and support are deeply appreciated. Kind regards, Georgia, all the children and staff at Heath Primary School ❤️ ## **Diversity Voice** We work with hundreds of displaced people from around the world who are fleeing war, torture, persecution and natural disaster. We created a project called OMAID, which means Hope in Pashto, in conjunction with Somerset Cricket Foundation to provide women and children with the opportunity to learn cricket. Many of them had left their countries literally in the clothes they were wearing and turned up to the first session wearing open toe sandals or inappropriate and flimsy footwear. We asked Shoe Aid to help and took two deliveries of trainers. The ladies and children were absolutely thrilled! We ran a total of 12 practice sessions and two mini tournaments. We are now up for an award for supporting Muslim Women in Sport and the project has left a lasting legacy as many of the team have gone on to join local cricket teams. They all said their mental health and wellbeing had improved hugely, and they were able to come together to form connections with ladies and children with other cricket clubs in the local community. Thank you to Shoe Aid for your generous support and improving the lives of some extremely vulnerable women and children who have already been through immense suffering. Continuing the theme of local integration, we have a lot more commercial and non-commercial organisations wishing to the donate their time to support the work that we do. And to facilitate more opportunities to volunteer, we have set aside one Saturday Contribution made by every month to allow People who work you on the week who wants volunteers. to volunteer the opportunity. we are also receiving an increasing number of requests to support people with work experience on a voluntary basis to help them back into work. Shoe Aid volunteers are the mainstay of all operations, both processing and distribution. ## **Achievements and Performance** Summary of the main We have started to collate several testimonials which highlight the achievements of the charity, impact that she made makes to both the organisations in the identifying the difference the community. this feedback will enable us to build an impact charity’s work has made to statement which can be shared on a wider scale to further evidence the circumstances of its the work that the charity does. In this period, we were able to beneficiaries and any wider secure over a 9000 pairs of school shoes which intern, has helped benefits to society as a us to support more schools in particular people premium pupils. whole. in Nottinghamshire alone we have donated over 12,000+ pairs of footwear (school shoes) which have helped increase attendance rates and provide an equilibrium to those less advanced students who cannot feel more inclusive. or further (Outreach) work has enabled us to increase support to homeless charity is not just locally but on a national basis also. The approximate figure for donation of footwear for homeless is circa. 3,500 individual pairs. |Achievements against
objectives set|The charity was able to secure sufficient funding to operate
throughout the 2023 - 2024 period. We had another successful
launch and campaign during September. which not only raises
awareness about the charity but also the opportunity to fundraise.
Schools and businesses are like have Raised funds by having
coffee mornings, wearing odd shoes, donating footwear, and
attaching a pound coin.| |---|---| |Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|The fundraising activities (September, corporate, online social
platforms, Facebook, Instagram) contributed towards the overall
running costs of Shoe Aid, fees and expenses, vehicle costs,
insurances, maintenance, and utilities.| ## **Financial Review** |Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|We have now set in place recycling schemes for both paper
cardboard, plastics, and footwear that is not fit for purpose. Some
of these schemes yield a rebate which helps with the overall
income we need to run the charity. During this period, we have
been able to secure several small grants which have also assisted
in acquiring the funds needed to run the charity.
We intend during the next period to increase financial value of
these grants in line with the growth forecast of Shoe Aid during
2024 - 2025.
Donations total £13,734
Revenue/Rebate from Recycling£10,500| |---|---| 9 Statement explaining the N/App policy for holding reserves stating why they are held 10 Amount of reserves held N/App 11 Reasons for holding zero N/App reserves 12 Details of fund materially N/App in deficit Explanation of any N/App uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern |The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|The charities principal source of income will continue come from
local and region for fundraising, our annual (step timber) campaign.
Corporate sponsorship recycling of cardboard paper and plastics
and public donations through our web portal.
Will we be marketing the corporate sector to illustrate the
advantages of supporting a charity such as Shoe Aid. We will
highlight the environmental credentials as well as the economic
impact the charity has when donating footwear to those most in
need and those returning to work.| |---|---| |Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|The charity completes periodic applications through social funding
trusts and community enterprise. These are lesser amounts and
more for regional purposes.| |A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|The forward risks we have identified are those are related to retail
and their economic decline resulting in the potential of less
footwear in particular new footwear being made available. The
manufacturing and wholesale markets are still quite buoyant, so
this will be our focus for 2024 2025 and beyond| ## **Structure, Governance and Management** |**Structure, Governance**|**and Management**| |---|---| |Description of charity’s
trusts:|None to report| |Type of governing document|Trust Deed| |How is the charity
constituted?|CIO| |Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Trustees are selected using professional networks and
recommendations. We use internet searches to verify identity and
validation. Trustees are also asked to sign a disclaimer with
reference to DBS and financial stability.| ## **Reference and Administrative details** |Charity name|Shoe Aid| |---|---| |Other name the charity uses|| |Registered charity number|1175254| |Charity’s principal address|Beech Avenue, New Basford, Nottingham NG7 7LS| ## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** |1
2
3|**Trustee name**
Andrew Hughes
AnthonyBeaumont
AmyNoakes|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|**Name of person (or body)**
**entitled to appoint trustee**
**(ifany)**| |---|---|---|---|---| |||Chair||| |||||| |||||| |4
5
6
7
8|Alison Beddow||1/4/2023 - 20/6/23|| |---|---|---|---|---| ||Sarah Aitken|||| |||||| |||||| |||||| ## **Shoe Aid Income from Donations** ## **£24,234** **Shoe Aid Expenses/Expenditure for the period £21,723** ## **Declarations** **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** |**Signature(s)**
**Full name(s)**
**Position (e.g. Secretary,**
**Chair, etc)**
**Date**||| |---|---|---| ||Andrew Hughes|| ||
Chair|| ||30/01/2025|| ||30/01/2025||