Annual Report, 2022.
The year has seen some real successes, after such a bad previous year. The award and presentation of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service was the highlight. The equivalent of an MBE, awarded only to voluntary organisations, and in the last list chosen by the Queen, made it extra special. It was a great afternoon to come together to celebrate our 12 years of achievement. I felt so proud of all my volunteers for all they do. Every time I meet with one, there are always seems to be an extra mile they have gone, and a sense of energy and enthusiasm about what they do. We need to convey this to others in a sad often broken world, that helping others makes the world a much a happier place. Our volunteers now number 130, and I extend a warm welcome to our new ones this year.
The award of £28,000 for a new wheelchair car from the generosity of the Winslow and Villages Community Board heralded a continued increase in journeys and new customers. We have been able to do emergency trips too and at weekends, including 2 to help disabled passengers visit their dying relatives. The passenger feedback and commitment from our drivers has enabled us to keep a 7 day service going.
Our relatively new services supporting people getting back outside in a 1:1 arrangement with a matched volunteer continues to be pretty unique. We now work with Oxford Mental Health who refer directly to us any people with low to medium anxiety for support. The results have been life changing. Similarly with our sitting service, where carers are now able to get out and enjoy some sort of normality.
This year has seen the last 2 of our services that operated pre Covid recommence. Our dementia friendly Memories and our Film shows are now up and running again very successfully. Thanks to Winslow Lions especially for their specialist help in getting the film shows going, we could not do it without them.
We are refining our referral systems so that people who need help or answers are now directed to the appropriate places, if the issue is something we cannot deal with. Our general enquiry line, managed with the Community Car Service has been so helpful in doing this. We also now have an up to date list of village contacts that ensures those in the villages get the help they need too.
We also celebrated last year the 10[th] anniversary of our Friendship Lunches and our Gentle Walks, and this year celebrate the 9[th] anniversary of the Community Car Scheme.
One new venture we hope to set up very soon is an Equipment Store, which will hold small items of equipment needed for care, eg sticks, crutches, frames and a small manual wheelchair. It will be available for loan to local people .More on this later.
So lastly but not least, I want to thank so many people, that I don’t know where to start. Our partner organisations eg Winslow Town Council, the Patient Support Service, Winslow and Villages Community Board, Winslow Lions and Rotary, and others are so vital to our existence. Without their help, advice and support we could not manage. I’d also like to thank Diana Slevin and Kay Peck who were founder members of our Committee and are now taking a welldeserved rest. Also, to Liz Gardner who has been a Car Scheme Coordinator for many years, and is now retiring. Thank you all so much.
I’d also like to thank all those who donate money to us, via a variety of sources. We run on a mean budget, so any extra is always helpful.
As we move into this New Year, my hope is that our services will continue to grow and that we can meet the increasingly varied demands of our local community. Conscious of our villages too and their potential isolation, we want to extend a welcome to those who would like to use these services too. All except the Community Car Scheme are available to them. We need to continue to listen to others to ensure we are fulfilling a need, and to continue to grow and change as life changes.
I wish you all a happy new year, thankful for the wonderful place of Winslow that we live in.
Vron Corben
January 2023.
Registered Charity Number 1179561
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