2022-03-31-accounts - Herefordshire Heartstart

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

Herefordshire Heartstart Charity Number 1177931 24 Netherwood Road, Hereford, HR2 6JU Annual Income is less than £25,000 A Charitable Incorporated Organisation

The Trustees at 31 March 2022 are David Landey, Clive Edwards (Chair), Jan Powell (Deputy Chair), Cathy Matthews (Treasurer), Sarah Grimes (elected November 2011), Gina Children. The Charity seeks and welcomes applications for new Trustees and Volunteer members via its various social media platforms, its liaison with local charity coordination groups and by word-of-mouth.

The Objectives

Providing training in emergency life support [CPR] and the use of public access defibrillators. This Charity raises funds from the public and does not work with professional fundraisers or commercial participators.

The Charity’s Activities and achievements 2021-22

Herefordshire Heartstart’s activities from April 2021 to March 2022 were again constrained by the Covid pandemic, the lockdowns and the closure of clubs and community facilities and/or the restriction of numbers permitted to attend meetings. It was not possible for several months to assist school training nor to provide cardiac rehabilitation talks.

The Trustees, Committee Members and Volunteers were continuously engaged by the Charity and regular Zoom meetings were held for Committee and Trustees. In line with The Charity Commission guidelines and the Constitution the AGM was postponed from June to November 2021. We thank all our members and supporters for their active engagement during the pandemic and are appreciative of their willingness to return to face-to-face training in 2022.

During this financial year, the Charity Co-ordinator [Sarah Grimes] resigned for external business reasons, the post was advertised and the position filled by Marie Robinson from September 2021 with a structured handover. Ms Grimes was elected as a Trustee at the AGM.

In May 2021, the British Heart Foundation [BHF] announced that it had “sadly decided to close the Heartstart programme by 20th June 2021.” There had been no direct communication with this Charity and the accidental discovery of this announcement caused consternation for the Trustees and meant a significant impact on courses, the content, the insurance and the ability to deliver them. It meant that the Charity could not train teachers from that date. A formal complaint was made to BHF and sincere apologies received from them for their poor communication of vital news. However, within one week of the discovery the Trustees mobilised the Volunteers to gather views and to galvanise support for the continuation of the Charity’s mission outside the BHF. The Trustees thank their members for the whole-hearted support and additionally recognise the in-depth guidance given by the Malvern Heartstart charity who had been working separately from BHF for some years. The Charity continued its alignment with the Resuscitation Council. By the end of July 2021 the Charity had confirmed its viability and determination to continue, with the primary emphasis on community courses, had commissioned the re-writing of the course content and organised insurance cover [previously supplied by BHF]. All materials referencing BHF were identified and edited. A new, simpler brochure combining course content and publicity and the training certificate was designed and produced by the Trustees. Within the month the new training programme had been devised, trialled, published and approved and the active Volunteers were trained by early October. The Charity decided to offer courses to schools to train students on a ‘requested’ basis. This was a significant workload and commitment over and above the impact of the pandemic. The Trustees recognise the work done by Jayne Jenkins, Marie Robinson and Sarah Grimes, who, with trainer and medical specialists, revised the training course content in line with Covid risk assessments and the removal of BHF materials. The confidence and resilience of the Charity in overcoming the setbacks of this year and in realigning itself with speed is evidenced in its new independent status.

The Trustees acknowledge again significant unpaid support from Stoyan Tenev and David Williamson in updating the social media platforms, including a new booking form. The Charity continues to benefit from meeting facilities and other support, including sponsorship of specific printing costs from the TRP Sealing Group of Hereford.

To date in 2022, following the return to face-to-face training, the Charity delivered 14 public courses and trained 132 people who are prepared to benefit the local community by knowing how to react in emergency situations. The Charity passed its 25 year anniversary in 2021 with over 25,000 local people having been trained in essential lifesaving skills since 1996. Schools’ courses were delivered on an as-requested basis with Whitecross School being the first example of CPR training made to around 120 students in one day. The return to public training began in February 2022 and several requests are currently received each month with courses for a wide number of local organisations now back on the calendar. There is a healthy schedule of activities for 2022-23 which gives assurance that the risk of being unable to fulfil the objectives of the Charity is beginning to recede. The Charity took part in the national ‘Restart a Heart Day’ in October 2021.

The restrictions in the ability to deliver courses during the year are reflected in the amount of income from £13096 (pre-pandemic ) in 2019-20 to £6475 in 2021-22, which is improved from £2717 in 2020-21. The Charity increased its expenditure, year-over-year, from £3999 to £4900 as the courses recommenced and the course content and insurance was restructured post-BHF affiliation, applying commensurate controls over Co-ordinator contractor hours and course costs. Income was helped by the second payment from the Co-op Local Community Fund, which in total from 2020-22 amounted to £5028 and was a great boost to the Charity. The Trustees wish to record thanks to the Leominster Co-op staff, customers and members who gave so generously and we participated in their Celebration Day in November 2021. In addition, the Trustees recognise generous private and organisation contributions from local walking festivals, where the walk leaders received training and from the Arnold Clark Community Fund and from the Rotary Club. The Charity is pleased to report that its finances remain sound with a closing bank balance of £16579, an increase from the prior year of £15004 and that it was again able to weather the impacts of the pandemic without needing to access the reserves of £5000 which are provided for a structured re-organisation. This sum is reviewed annually by the Trustees. All funds are held within the Charities Aid Foundation bank account. There was no income from central or local government or local authorities and furlough payments were not applicable to the Charity. There were no payments made to Trustees.

A patron for the Charity is being actively sought to support the work we do.

Despite the unanticipated changes, combined with the pandemic impacts in 2021-22, the Charity is pleased to report that training practices have been overhauled during this period and that its members are committed to continue and to deliver its charitable objectives. We look forward to serving the communities of Herefordshire in the future with renewed momentum.

The financial statement for 2021-22, reviewed at the Trustee Meeting on May 16th 2022 is attached.

HEREFORDSHIRE HEARTSTART YEAR TO 31 MARCH 2022

		2021/22	2021/22		*16,286* 749 140 0 400 1,428 0 0 0 *2020/21*
Total 15,004 1,163 0 0 0 3,600 1,000 500 212	Total	Unrestricted		Restricted Funds
		Funds 13,576 1,163 0 0 0 0 1,000 500 212	Funds
				1,428 0 0 0 0 3,600 0 0 0
6,475		2,875		3,600	2,717
3,400 112 108 100 0 284 697 199 0		0 112 108 100 0 -25 697 199 0		3,400 0 0 0 0 309 0 0 0	3,233 368 0 211 21 0 0 166 0
4,900		1,191		3,709	3,999

16,579		15,260		1,319	15,004
9,443 2,136 5,000		8,124 2,136 5,000		1,319 0 0	7,968 2,036 5,000
16,579		15,260		1,319	15,004