The Treatment Bag CIO
Trustees Annual Report
22.5.25
For the period 01 April 2024 – 31 March 2025
Charity Name: The Treatment Bag CIO Charity Registration no: 1177345 Registered Office: Charlton Musgrove House Rectory Lane Wincanton BA9 8ES Trustees: Maymie White Lisa Dennis Jo Anson Bank: Barclays Bank plc Finance Manager: Emily Showering
The Treatment Bag
The year in numbers:
12 wrap days 35 volunteers
3 trustees 9 ambassadors 7 hospitals 2 grants 1,028 bags
Purpose and Aims
As we celebrate the 8[th] anniversary of our inception, our charity’s purpose seems, if anything, even more relevant to those who have received a cancer diagnosis. In these uncertain times, small acts of kindness seem to have a greater impact. Our goal is to offer support to those who are living with cancer and are having or have had treatment by providing them with a bag of luxury treats, chosen especially to act as antidotes to the side effects of cancer treatments.
As one recipient wrote:
“…I was lurching from hospital appointments to tests to results to decisions. The care and support of my family and friends, plus all my insta community, got me through so much, and I felt loved. I also received a Treatment Bag which gave a different type of support to me, one of “you are not alone in this” and I realised so much in that moment and how important these acts of kindness are to so many and what a difference they can make when you feel so vulnerable and scared.”
We aim to reach as many cancer patients as possible in the UK.
In addition, we aim to benefit patients’ friends, family and colleagues by providing a way for them to show their support.
Day-to-day Activity
We assemble and send out by post or hand over in person, beautiful linen gift bags filled with luxurious, relevant treats specifically chosen to help mitigate the side effects of treatment for cancer.
Structure
The charity is managed by three trustees and one part-time, self-employed paid member of staff from offices in Somerset and Dorset, UK.
Each month a different group of volunteers meet in Somerset to wrap and pack the following month’s bags. These are then distributed via Royal Mail to individual recipients and also to the x7 NHS hospitals that we regularly supply.
The trustees’ activities include:
- Procuring all the products which go into the bags
Arranging the wrapping sessions Maintaining relationships with the NHS hospitals we supply Monitoring the financial health of the charity Marketing the charity
The trustees have regular meetings to monitor the management and progression of the charity.
The member of staff’s responsibilities include:
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wrapping gifts
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answering email enquiries
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managing and fulfilling bag requests
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giving out and posting bags
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liaising with and delivering bags to local hospitals and oncology centres
Marketing
The trustees spend much time marketing the charity to reach as many patients as possible. New routes to a wider audience include:
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Formulating marketing strategies to increase reach
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Approaching companies to see if they would like to donate relevant products for the bags – either for free or at ‘trade’ price
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Increasing brand awareness through social media and other channels
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Managing marketing communications such as the website and emailers
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- Identifying and approaching cancer influencers on social media
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Inviting other cancer charities to form collaborations
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Entering into partnerships with corporate entities where the Treatment Bag is featured as a company’s recommended choice
Treatment Bags
Bags can be ordered for an individual patient through the charity’s website, www.treatmentbag.co.uk where the requested donation covers the cost of the bag only. Running costs are met by other, additional donations.
During the year, there were 12 wrap days, where, overall, 35 unpaid volunteers met to wrap the contents of the bags.
During this year of trading the charity was able to send out and give away a total of 1,028 bags (last year the total was 480; the 2023 total was 274):
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56 Original Bags (last year - 116)
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16 Man Bags (last year - 50)
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24 Mini Bags (last year - 94)
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880 Handbags (last year - 220)
Hospitals and Oncology Centres
The greatest area of growth is the number of arrangements we have with NHS hospitals and oncology centres to whom we make free, monthly donations of smaller bags (Handbags). In 2023/4 we had an arrangement with Yeovil Hospital and Hampshire (Basingstoke) hospital, with the beginning of a trial run at Southampton Hospital. We now have fixed arrangements with the following seven hospitals:
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Hampshire (Basingstoke)
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Salisbury
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Southampton
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Taunton
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The Royal Marsden, London
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The Royal Marsden, Sutton
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Yeovil
We remain committed to creating high-quality bags, containing considered, premium gifts, individually wrapped in tissue paper with a hand-wriitten note from the donor where relevant.
Giveaways and Collaborations
In the spirit of a common goal – to improve the lives of those who have received a cancer diagnosis – we collaborate with, and support other cancer charities:
Something to Look Forward To
This year we have given for free x18 bags to Something To Look Forward To in a collaborative free draw each month, held via Social Media.
The Cancer Club
We have sent x26 bags to The Cancer Club members, a charity set up specifically for men. The Cancer Club have made generous donations to Treatment Bag.
Giveaways and Collaborations cont’d
From Me To You
We include a letter in each bag, donated to us from the charity From Me To You and have featured them in our monthly emailers.
Stories of Cancer and Hope
We promote the wonderful book ‘Stories of Cancer and Hope’ in each of our emailers, the proceeds of which go to Maggie’s Centres.
Ambassadors
During the year, we introduced our first group of ambassadors. The role of an ambassador is varied, from raising awareness, to help with fundraising events and more. With their broad range of skills and experience, we’re incredibly proud and grateful to call this group ours:
Benji Lewis Emma Howarth Georgina Jarratt Hatty Lane Fox Jenny Kimber Lucinda Storm Mandy Dicksee Mark ougatch Nicola Fewings
A brief cv on each can be seen on our website: www.treatmentbag.co.uk/about-us
Income and Fundraising
The cost of bags requested by friends, family and colleagues via the website is covered by the suggested donation. The cost of bags we donate to hospitals and oncology centres, and other cancer charities needs to be met via fundraising. Our principal fundraising events in 2024-25 were a tea morning, Tea for Ten and an online art auction, Perfectly Formed .
Tea for Ten
A tea morning where individuals were encouraged to invite 10 friends for a cup of tea at 10am on 10[th] October and donate £10 each. Total raised £9,133.
Perfectly Formed
Our inaugural online art auction for which x88 artists – mostly professional and some internationally acclaimed - created x100 A5 works of art especially for Treatment Bag. The auction ran online 7[th] -14[th] May and raised £10,162.
Supporters
During the year we were extremely grateful to the following supporters:
1. Gavin and Jack White who ran the world’s steepest marathon on the Great Wall of China and raised an incredible £10,017
2. Gail’s Bakery for providing vouchers for hot drinks to coincide with our Tea for Ten campaign and the lauch of our new arrangement with The Royal Marsden
3. Flora Soames, internationally acclaimed interior designer, who invited us to be present at her ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ sale, where we collected £1,600
4. Lucinda Storm, an award-winning artist, who donated an extremely generous percentage of her art sale
5. A Somerset artist who sold their beautiful art and donated £500
6. The Charlton Musgrove Plant Sale who adopted us as their charity and donated £600 of the day’s revenue
7. Gillian at Caboodle who took part in the ‘Buy Women Built’ cancer campaign and in the process, raised funds for Treatment Bag
Grants
We were extremely grateful to be the recipients of the following grants:
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The Grocer’s Society - £2,500
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The Semma Fund - £2,000
Expenditure
Expenses include the products within the bags, packaging and postage, as well as printed materials, the cost of running the website and commission fees to Paypal, Stripe and the unavoidable percentage that JustGiving deduct from donations and Gift Aid. Costs are kept to a minimum and where possible, at least two quotes are considered before each purchase. Negotiations for the products within the bags are ongoing.
Including high quality gifts is central to our bags but given the inflation of costs across the board, finances need to be monitored more closely than ever.
Objectives
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to raise our profile so more people get to hear about Treatment Bag
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to reach more men, as donors as well as recipients of bags
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to send out more bags to cancer patients via the website
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to increase income to give away more bags for free
www.treatmentbag.co.uk Treatment Bag CIO Registered Number 1177345 Charlton Musgrove House, BA9 8ES
Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Donations Grants Gift Aid Interest
Sub total(Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
Sub total
Total receipts
A3 Payments Registration Administration Web & Advertising Printing & Packaging Fundraising Costs Postage Products
Sub total
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
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Page 1
Categories
B1 Cash funds
B2 Other monetary assets
B3 Investment assets
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use
B5 Liabilities
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
Page 2
The Treatment Bag
| Receipts and payments accounts | ||
|---|---|---|
| For the period from | Period start date | |
| 01/04/24 | ||
| Unrestricted funds | Restricted funds | |
| to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | |
| 38582 | - | |
| 5000 | - | |
| 2164 | - | |
| 153 | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| 45899 | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| 45899 | - | |
| 50 | - | |
| 1835 | - | |
| 572 | - | |
| 4597 | - | |
| 1247 | - | |
| 1629 | - | |
| 17878 | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| 27808 | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| 27808 | - | |
| 18091 | - | |
| - | - | |
| 27861 | - | |
| 45952 | - |
Page 3
Details
Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))
Details Details Details Details Signature
Page 4
1177345
To Period end date 31/03/2025
| Endowment funds | Total funds | |
|---|---|---|
| to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | |
| - | 38582 | |
| - | 5000 | |
| - | 2164 | |
| - | 153 | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | 45899 | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | 45899 | |
| - | 50 | |
| - | 1835 | |
| - | 572 | |
| - | 4597 | |
| - | 1247 | |
| - | 1629 | |
| - | 17878 | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | 27808 | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | 27808 | |
| - | 18091 | |
| - | - | |
| - | 27861 | |
| - | 45952 |
Page 5
| Unrestricted funds | Restricted funds |
|---|---|
| to nearest £ | to nearest £ |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| 45952 | - |
| 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 |
Page 6
CC16a
Last year to the nearest £ 26119 - - - - - - - 26119 - - 26119
50 1647 1898 1163 695 941 9742 - - 16136 - 16136 9983 - - 9983
Page 7
Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - OK Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - - -
Current value (optional)
Current value (optional)
When due (optional)
Date of approval
Page 8
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees
Charity Name The Treatment Bag CIO
On accounts for the year 31/03/2025 Charity no 1177345 ended (if any) Set out on pages pp.3 (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 31/032025 .
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.
Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) 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.
- Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
Date: 22.10.2025
Signed: Name: Ivo Hobson Relevant professional ACA (ICAEW) qualification(s) or body (if any):
1
Oct 2018
IER
Address:
67 Florence Road London N4 4DJ
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 n.a. any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
2
Oct 2018
IER
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