TAUNTON
WELCOMES
REFUGEES
TAUNTON WELCOMES REFUGEES
Trustee and Staff Appointments
Taunton Welcomes Refugees (TWR) welcomed Finbarr Owahoney and Ali
Batchelor as Trustees and Caroline Adams as the employed Coordinator.
Following the resignation of Gail Griffiths as Chair in April 2021, Simon
Forrester was appolnted as Acting Chalr.
Achlevements
This perlod was durlng the Covld pandemlc and assoclated restrlctlons meant
that the normal arrangements for Trustee meetings and events for families
could not take place. However, Trustees continued to meet regularly by video
conference and befriending clrcles contlnued to provlde support to famllles
and also started to support a group of young asylum seekers. TWR we
successful in their application to the Fairfield Trust for a grant to cover the
costs of employing a part tAme coordinator for one year and appolnted to the
post In May 2021.
The Trustees, led by Kate Murdoch, stsrted to plan to hold weekly English
conversation and coffee sessions for refugee families. These were unable to
start untll September of 2021 because of Covid restrictions.
Two of the trustees, Lynne Mayers and Juliet Harkness prepared and tutored
the three formal training courses for volunteer befriender5 in July 2020.
November2020 and May 2021. 15 volunteers attended, 5 of whom have been
placed In befriending circles and 2 are helplng wlth Engllsh conversatlon, 4 are
waiting to be placed in befriending circles and the remainder are helping with
other tssks. TWR now has a professional approach to training volunteers for
thelr respective roles in the organisation.

In addition, Induction courses were held for new trustees and refresher
courses for other trustees and volunteer befrienders.
The Future
This year has been a time of consolidation in readiness for new resettlement
programmes. There will be challenges ahead with
the introduction of the Afghan resettlement scheme,
the amalgamation of Somerset County Council with the District Councils
to form a Unitary authority
changes in personnel with a new manager In the Somerset County
Council Resettlement team.
Slgned
Date
10 2222.
Slmon Forrester
Chalr

|**Taunton Welcomes Refugees**|**Taunton Welcomes Refugees**||
|---|---|---|
|**Annual Accounts for Year Ending 31/3/21**|||
||||
||**2020-2021**|**2019-2020**|
|**Initial Balance**|**#NAME?**|**£0.00**|
||||
|**Income**|||
|Individual Donations|£2,421.00|£268.00|
|Church Donations|£100.00|£495.00|
|Grants|£10,050.00|£3,160.00|
|**Total**|**£12,571.00**|**£3,923.00**|
||||
|**Expenditure**|||
|Grants to  Families|£345.69|£107.75|
|Admin|£1,233.12|£516.55|
|Translation|£182.05|£257.50|
|DBS|£118.50|£169.00|
|Training|£25.00|£150.00|
|**Total**|**#NAME?**|**#NAME?**|
||||
|**Balance**|**#NAME?**|**#NAME?**|
|**Restricted Fund Balance**|**£0.00**|**£0.84**|