Trustees' Annual Report for the period
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| Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod | Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod | Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod | Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod | Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod | Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod | Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod | Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **From ** | Period start date | To | Period end date | |||||
| Date 1st |
Month March |
Year 2024 |
Day 28th |
Month February |
Year 2025 |
Section A Reference and administration details
Charity name Engage
Other names charity is known by TN22 Clubs
Registered charity number (if any) 1175761
6 Chelgates = Bexhill on Sea East Sussex TN39 3BU
Charity's principal address
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee(if any) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillian Roberta Smyth |
Chair | |||
| Janet Tourell | ||||
| Denise Agnes Leary |
Secretary | |||
| Peter Damian Smyth |
||||
| Amanda Mary Chapman |
||||
| Janice Stuart- Menteath |
From 9thNovember 2024 | |||
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)
| Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) | Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) | Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) |
|---|---|---|
| Type of adviser Name Address |
||
| Treasurer/Book-keeper | Karen Hammond | Magnums, Pages Hill, Heathfield, TN21 0UU |
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
Denise Leary, Secretary & Lead Engage Co-ordinator
Section B Structure, governance and management
Description of the charity’s trusts
Type of governing document
Engage Constitution
- (eg. trust deed, constitution)
How the charity is constituted
CIO
- (eg. trust, association, company)
Trustees are appointed by the existing 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.
We are finding attendance figures at both clubs fluctuate and lately, they have been quite low. As members become frailer or pass away, numbers decrease and then we have an influx of new members. We need to keep on top of publicity and promotion to ensure our numbers keep at an optimum level.
We have gained a few new volunteers, as many of our volunteers are of long-standing. We are always looking for new volunteers to join our team and in particular we need more volunteer drivers.
We have quarterly Board meetings generally in Trustees’ homes. As a Board of Trustees, we are reviewing a policy at each Board meeting and then sending out to all our staff and volunteers for their comments, before ratification. This ensures that our policies remain updated and relevant.
We sadly lost a treasured Trustee and volunteer of both clubs last year, who passed away unexpectedly. However, we have been able to recruit a new Trustee, with a different skill set.
Section C Objectives and activities
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| Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document 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) |
To promote and protect the health of older and frailer people in the Wealden area of East Sussex, who have dementia or memory loss and their carers, by the provision of social activities, information and support. The promotion of social inclusion among older people, who are excluded from society because they live in a rural isolated area, may live alone, or who are unable to drive or easily access public transport. We provide recreational and therapeutic activities, socialisation, outings, a freshly prepared lunch, including transport to and from home. |
|---|---|
| TN22 Social Lunch club The TN22 club runs on alternate Wednesdays from 10.30am to 2.00pm in Hadlow Down village hall, Hall Lane, Hadlow Down. It is run by staff and volunteers who are passionate about combating social isolation and loneliness of older people. The Club offers entertainment and activities, a freshly prepared 2-course lunch and refreshments. Transportation is by volunteer drivers and the use of a mini-bus, when it is available. We also organise occasional outings throughout the year. TN22 Plus Dementia Club The TN22 Plus club runs on alternate Wednesdays in Hadlow Down and is especially tailored for people with memory loss, or mild to moderate dementia needs. The Plus club runs from 10.30am – 3.30pm and offers respite for carers as well as an activity-packed day for members. The club provides personalised activities and one-to-one support, regular entertainment, a freshly cooked 2-course lunch, refreshments and volunteer transport. Travelling Tea Trays Through a Big Lottery Community Fund grant, we are expanding our services and are in the process of organising a Travelling Tea Tray (TTT) in East Hoathly and in Horam villages. These are monthly social clubs, with no need to book, based in local rural village halls. They offer refreshments, social opportunities and a more relaxed feel. We held our first TTT on 18thFebruary 2025 in East Hoathly village hall. It was well attended for our first one and we are looking forward to it growing. It will be held every 3rdTuesday of the month. The intention is that the social clubs will eventually be led by local people and we will expand the number of villages they are held in. If they are successful, we would like to see them organised more than monthly. |
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Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)
You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:
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policy on grantmaking;
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policy programme related investment;
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contribution made by volunteers.
Our charity couldn’t function without the support of our 30 plus volunteers who have a variety of roles. These include, drivers, activity helpers, setting-up and clearing away, kitchen help, befriending, helpers with outings and coffee mornings. Our volunteers are an enthusiastic group of people, who are committed to helping people have a fun and socially interactive day and thus increase wellbeing. Living in a very rural area, with limited transport links in the village, volunteer transport is essential and our drivers are indispensable to helping people get to and from the clubs and on outings. We are encouraging our volunteers to take up more training organised by East Sussex County Council learning portal, which is free to voluntary organisations. In particular, there have been some positive reports from the online Dementia Tiers 1 & 2 courses, which allow the volunteers to work at it in their own time over a 5-day period plus receiving a certificate at the end. In May 2024, we financed a Basic First Aid course for all.
We are continuing to post more club news on Facebook and the “likes” and “shares” are growing in number. We are receiving a lot more interest, which, in turn, is generating more referrals.
Last year the Board of Trustees took the decision that the charity needs to expand in order to survive. We successfully applied for a grant to recruit a Community Development Co-ordinator, who has now been recruited. She has been researching needs in the Wealden area, particularly in mid- Wealden and within the vicinity of Hadlow Down. As discussed before, plans are in place to develop further Travelling Tea Trays Social groups in rural villages. With increased funding, we might widen our area, but still within the Wealden district.
Section D Achievements and erformance p
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Section D Achievements and erformance p
Our main achievements throughout the past year have been to ensure Summary of the main that we deliver the clubs on a weekly basis in a safe, welcoming and achievements of the charity friendly manner. We are finding new members at both clubs start coming during the year to us when they are older and frailer and therefore very often their time with us is shorter than would have been in the past. Travelling Tea Tray (TTT) in East Hoathly . We held our launch TTT on 18[th] February 2025. We were very pleased that 17 people attended, this included invited guests and local villagers coming along. We had a singer and vintage crockery, to celebrate the opening. We anticipate this group will flourish and we will open new groups in rural villages as time goes on. The TN22 Plus club supports around 12 members per session, which in turn supports their families and carers. This offers respite from their caring role whilst also offering stimulating activities for dementia members. The majority of the club sessions had externally facilitated entertainment and we provided therapeutic activities and themed events, keeping the sessions fresh and topical. Our monthly session with Dementia Singing Experience Sussex is very popular with members and volunteers alike. We are often able to offer a ratio of one volunteer to one member, which ensures personalised support and individualised attention. TN22 Social Lunch Club – we have lost a few members and are averaging around 20 members attending the club, which is less than last year but we do have more capacity. The club helps combat social isolation and loneliness for older people, so we hope to increase our numbers. We often have entertainers or an external person visiting with interesting topics, presentations and skills. At the TN22 club, we organised two outings. In May 2024, we visited Hall Hole gardens and had a lunch there and in May we also went to a local garden called Rose Cottage. In November 2024, we visited Sussex County garden centre for Christmas shopping and lunch. We were able to subsidise these outings so more people could afford to attend due to the generosity of our donors. We had a wide selection of entertainers visit both clubs, again funded by our donors, which were very much enjoyed by our members. Some of these include: Marco the Magician; Rosie Retro; Birdie; Music4Health;The Revelators Band; Our Amazing Animal World; Bell ringers; Puppet Shows by two volunteers; Sara McGowan seated exercises; Elderly brothers, Jimmy Van Lim, Nigel Stephens, Beverly Healey – musicians/singers; Susanna Steer – singer and sheep and wool demonstration; Summer Fair with plant sale and bring and buy; Speakers and presentations. Christmas parties were held at both clubs with a delicious Christmas lunch, entertainment and presents. Easter was also celebrated with small gifts to members. We have welcomed some new volunteers to the club and this is good news as it enables us to offer a new and different skill set and a fresh dynamic for members. We had a couple of celebrations to thank volunteers for their contribution. This included: a summer afternoon tea party in Hadlow Down cricket pavilion, celebrating Volunteers’ Week and a Christmas lunch. It’s important that we continue to thank and show appreciation for our staff and volunteers, as we couldn’t function without
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Section D Achievements and erformance p
them. In May 2024, we gave out surveys to both clubs, asking for members’ and carers’ feedback. Here are just a few of the comments: “A lot of thought is put into making the days all work to a theme, which makes the day special”. “G benefits from change of scene and meeting people plus the activities. It’s important that he goes as it gets him out and it gives me a rest!” “D likes coming to the club, as it’s away from the house and amongst other people. The helpers are all very kind and understanding and have a different conversation spurred on by the organised activities of the day”. “The club is a huge benefit to both my mum, as it gives her stimulation and company and to me as I know she is well cared for and having a lovely day whilst I’m at work”. “Gives L an opportunity to meet other people which she would otherwise avoid. A good break for us both”. “It is very well run and the volunteers are very kind and thoughtful”. “Very good - meeting other people is important as I live alone”. “Friendly and welcoming, helpers are very willing”. “I enjoy the camaraderie and home-cooked meals by the cook”. “It’s very important to get out and meet people, keep it going”. “A very good club – we need the company/friendship, lovely lunch, wonderful volunteers, never miss it!” “Nice to meet people and chat and I enjoy the company and like the food”. .
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Section E Financial review
Restricted reserves are represented by funds that are received for a Brief statement of the specific project or purpose. We ensure that these funds are restricted for charity’s policy on reserves the use according to the funding agreements of donors’ instructions by accounting them in a separate spreadsheet.
Unrestricted reserves are made up of the charity’s activities for generating funds, and other donations which are expendable at the discretion of the Trustees to achieve the objectives of the charity. The Trustees have determined that the appropriate level of reserves to be held for non-earmarked expenditure should equate to 20% of total funds to provide sufficient working capital to cover delays in the spending and receipt of grants and to provide a cushion for unexpected emergencies.
The Trustees are responsible for ensuring that the level and use of reserves is monitored. They will do this through the receipt of financial reports prepared by the Treasurer at each Board meeting.
Details of any funds materially in deficit
None
Further financial review details (Optional information)
Our principal source of funding is through grant applications. This You may choose to include generally funds paid staff, volunteer expenses, training and venue hire. additional information, where relevant about: We are fortunate to have the expertise of a local person in Hadlow Down the charity’s principal who writes our grant applications. We were very grateful to receive grant sources of funds (including funding in this financial year from: The Big Lottery Community Fund; any fundraising); Chalk Cliff Trust; Sussex Community Foundation; Gatwick Airport charity, how expenditure has Hadlow Down parish council and the Masons. supported the key objectives of the charity; We also received some generous donations from: John Lewis/Waitrose; investment policy and Uckfield Lions; Buxted Bonfire Society; Buxted Construction and Buxted Ball. These funds are generally used for the extras such as objectives including any entertainment, activities, craft supplies and outings. It enables us to ethical investment policy expand our offer to members and not be concerned that the extra costs adopted. might be prohibitive as we want our fees to be as low as possible.
The Wealden Community Grant lottery continues to generate small but consistent sums of money for the charity. We are also signed up to Gift Aid and hope that we can attract some tax relief on our donations.
We also generate income from our club sessions, although this does not cover all the costs incurred such as staffing and venue hire.
We wouldn’t be able to function and meet our key objectives without some paid staff. Most of our personnel are volunteers but we find that paid staff is a necessity. These include a TN22 Club Manager and TN22 Plus Club Manager; Community Development Co-ordinator, Dementia Support Worker; Lead Engage Co-ordinator and a cook, all are selfemployed and part-time.
Section F Other optional information
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Section G Declaration
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 (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date |
D A Leary | G R Smyth |
|---|---|---|
| Denise Agnes Leary | Gillian Roberta Smyth | |
Secretary |
Board Chair | |
| 17thJuly 2025 |
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Charity Name No (if any) Engage 1175761 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 1.3.24 28.2.25
Section A Receipts and payments
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 13,450 7,025 1,172 - 389 189 - - 22,224 - - - 22,224 20,320 - - - - - - - - 20,320 - - - 20,320 1,904 - 27,371 29,275 |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - 31,355 - - 344 - - 31,699 - - - 31,699 29,485 - - - - - - - - 29,485 - - - 29,485 2,213 - 15,440 17,653 |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ 13,450 7,025 32,527 - 389 533 - - 53,923 - - - 53,923 49,805 - - - - - - - - 49,805 - - - 49,805 4,118 |
Total funds to the nearest £ 13,450 7,025 32,527 - 389 533 - - 53,923 - - - 53,923 49,805 - - - - - - - - 49,805 - - - 49,805 4,118 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plus Club subs | 13,450 | 11,570 | ||||
| TN22 Club subs | 7,025 | 6,412 | ||||
| Grants & Donations | 1,172 | 30,244 | ||||
| Amazon Smile | - | 36 | ||||
| Fundraising | 389 | 3,200 | ||||
| Wealden Lottery | 189 | 459 | ||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
22,224 | 51,920 | ||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total | - | - | ||||
| Total receipts A3 Payments |
||||||
| 51,920 | ||||||
| 20,320 | 41,901 | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| **Sub total ** | 20,320 | 41,901 | ||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| - | ||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | ||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
||||||
| 41,901 | ||||||
| 1,904 | 2,213 | - | 4,118 | 10,019 | ||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 27,371 | 15,440 | - | 42,811 | 32,792 | ||
| 29,275 | 17,653 | - | 46,929 | 42,811 |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
11/07/2025
1
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B1 Cash funds |
Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details Details Details Signature G R Smyth |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 29,275 17,653 - - - - 29,275 17,653 OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name Gillian Roberta Smyth |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| When due (optional) |
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| Date of approval |
|||
| G R Smyth | Gillian Roberta Smyth | 17.7.25 | |
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
11/07/2025
2
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
| Report to the trustees/ members of On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages |
ENGAGE | ENGAGE | ENGAGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 February 2025 | Charity no (if any) |
1175761 | |
| 2 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) |
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 28 February 2025. Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
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Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have
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examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed: Jacqueline Woollven
Date: 09 July 2025
Name: JACQUELINE ANNE WOOLLVEN Relevant professional ICB Fellow Member (Retired) qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 24 Danforth Way, Ringmer, Lewes, East Sussex BN8 5GF
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .