2020-09-30-accounts - Early Essentials UK

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EE Trustees' Annual Report for the period Period start date Period end date From 1[st] Oct 2019 To 30th Sept 2020

Section A Reference and administration details

EARLY ESSENTIALS UK

Charity name Other names charity is known by EE Registered charity number 1186657 Charity's principal address 7 Shortland Crescent, Manchester Postcode M19 1SZ

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Trustee name	Office (if any)
Jennifer Slack		Co-founder
Christine Scott
Lee Leech
Graham Leech		Bookkeeper
Sarah Hope
Martin Austin
Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)
Name	Dates acted if not for whole year
None

Names and addresses of advisers – EE engages no advisors

Name of senior staff member

Sarah Newton-Smith – Co-founder and the only EE paid staff (part time) as ‘Coordinator’

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document How the charity is constituted Trustee selection method	CONSTITUTION
	Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
	Appointed by existing Trusteesunder para#10 of Constitution

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Additional governance issues (Optional information)

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You may choose to Early Essentials (EE), and from now on in this report, ‘we’, first appointed
include additional Trustees in 2019 during the process of applying for ‘charitable status’. We
information, where
relevant, about: received confirmation on 29 [th] November 2019 that the Charity Commission for
England and Wales was satisfied that EARLY ESSENTIALS UK is a charity and
 policies and we had been entered onto the Register of Charities with the Registered Charity
procedures Number 1186657.
adopted for the
induction and
training of This is therefore our first Trustees report as a charity, and we have included
trustees; background details to cover EE’s ‘operating history’ up to this date. Future
 the charity’s Annual Reports will not need this same level of detail and history.
organisational
structure and EE was started by two mothers with young families, and they provided their first
any wider Moses Baskets of essential items in March 2015, working from their homes. The
network with charity EE UK is currently operated by a team known as Early Essentials
which the charity
works; Manchester, packing and delivering Moses Baskets from donated or rented
premises in the M21/M22 postcode areas of south Manchester. There are
 relationship with satellite groups known as Early Essentials Stockport, Warrington, Peterborough,
any related
parties; operating in their local areas during this 2019-2020 reporting year.
 trustees’ All our activities are undertaken by volunteers, except for one paid part-time
consideration of Coordinator, receiving monies during this reporting period from funding
major risks and
the system and specifically for the Coordinator’s salary. One of the roles of this part time paid
procedures to employee is the obtaining of monies to ‘self-fund’, meaning donations for the
manage them. general activities of EE are separate from monies for the Coordinator role.
Early Essentials operates for the ‘public benefit’ so does not ‘gift’ starter
packs/Moses baskets directly to the eligible mothers, and therefore does not
meet or know the mothers and babies. The need is identified by ‘referring
agencies’, and the professional staff/volunteers of these agencies apply to us
explaining how the recipients meet the eligibility criteria. Our staff/volunteers
then check the application and notify the referring agency whether or not the
criteria are met, and if met, from where and when the starter pack can be
collected by the referring agency.
Examples of the ‘referring agencies’ who have received starter packs for
vulnerable mothers are:
Asylum Seekers midwife team; Barnabus; City Hearts;
Cornerstone; Early Help practitioner;
Emmelines Pantry; Fallowfield Shelter;
Families First; Homelessness families team;
Housing Connect; Ingleside birth centre;
Manchester Sure Start Centres; Manchester food bank;
Manchester women’s aid; Martenscroft Children’s Centre;
North Manchester general hospital; Out There Charity;
Pankhurst food bank; Pankhurst Trust;
Refugee Action; Safe Families;
St Mary’s Hospital; Vulnerable babies team;
Women’s hostel Whalley Range; Wythenshawe Hospital;
Young parents midwife team;
….and numerous Manchester health visiting teams and social workers.
EE Manchester’s beneficiaries are all within Greater Manchester. Each satellite
team/location serves referring agency professionals and staff with beneficiaries
in their local communities, which are - Stockport, Warrington, and
Peterborough. (And, about to start-up soon after the date of this report, Whitby.)
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Section C Objectives and activities

Summary of the To relieve or prevent the financial hardship of parents or carers of newborn objects of the babies in the UK, in particular but not exclusively by providing Moses baskets charity set out and items of baby clothing, bedding, toiletries and other essentials. in its governing document We are an emergency service providing Moses basket starter pack hampers, generally packed in a Moses Basket, for the most vulnerable pregnant women who would otherwise be unable to provide for their babies directly after birth. The women are referred to EE via either their midwife, health visitor, social worker or charity (as Section B above); they must be 32 or more weeks pregnant and also fall into one of the following categories (a) homeless (b) refugee/seeking asylum (c) fleeing domestic abuse (d) in serious financial crisis (e) or similar disadvantage. To provide a safe place to sleep when a baby is born, a starter pack is packed into a Moses basket with a brand-new mattress, unless the referring agency staff identify this is not necessary. The majority of Moses baskets are new – Summary of the being kindly donated by Clare De Lune from their Manchester Factory. The main activities Trustees record their huge thanks to Clare De Lune staff for this generous undertaken for support of the work of Early Essentials. We do also use donated pre-loved the public Moses baskets, but only after they are carefully inspected and checked. benefit in Baskets with any signs of unsafe imperfections are not used and safely relation to these disposed of. objects (include within this Within the starter pack are baby clothes, blankets, nappies, wipes, breast section the pads, maternity pads, toiletries for mum, toiletries for baby, toys, a towel, either statutory a snowsuit or coat, a chocolate treat, a gift set and/or whatever extra goodies declaration that are available from donations. trustees have had regard to The (Moses basket) starter pack is collected from us by the referring third the guidance party agency staff, who then deliver the pack to the mother. In exceptional issued by the circumstances, we would provide a Moses Basket starter pack in special but Charity equally urgent and needy circumstances, for example, tailored to the needs of Commission on a father and new-born baby where a mother and baby are separated at birth. public benefit) The Trustees have each been provided with applicable information, and each have signed the required Trustee eligibility declaration. This includes the declaration each trustee knows the purposes and object of EE, including its underlying requirements for public benefit, and will help EE carry out its purposes. The declaration regarding working with vulnerable groups is not signed as staff and volunteers and trustees do not work with vulnerable people including children.

The public benefit requirements are met by implementing a referral process, maintaining an independence of the team leaders and volunteers from the choosing of which mums-to-be receive the benefit of a Moses basket. The health care and other professionals and staff of the referring agencies make a referral against set out criteria (see first paragraph of this section, above), and this referral is checked by a team leader – a process described in Section B above.

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Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

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We do not make grants to others, and do not undertake financial investment.
We are entirely reliant on our volunteers, who make up more than 88% of
direct working time (approx. 56 hours estimated each week). Most of these
hours, vital for our work, is sorting, washing, and storing of clothing, and the
packing of baskets with the many items we provide, but volunteers contribute
in many ways, including replenishing stock, collecting donations, disposal of
unsuitable items, communicating with referring agencies, marketing and social
media promotion and admin, public speaking/presentations, website
writing/input, setting up new satellite teams, and the training and support of
You may new volunteers.
choose to
include further Some volunteers who are also trustees are involved in decision making,
statements, accounting/book keeping, banking/financial transactions, policy/procedure
where relevant, writing, and attending trustee/members meetings
about:
We are grateful to the assistance of many community volunteers who manage,
 policy on sort and deliver donations from drop off points in cafes, toddler groups etc and
grantmaking make their own houses available for people to drop off items. There are also
; many knitting/quilting/crafting groups and individuals who spend many hours
 policy making handmade blankets, cardigans, mitts etc for us to include in the Moses
Baskets.
programme
related
investment; The collection, inspecting, storing and, if necessary, washing, of donated items
was initially carried out from team leaders’ or volunteers’ homes, including the
 contribution packing of Moses baskets. This continues to be the case in some locations,
made by but as the work has expanded Early Essentials has been generously
volunteers. supported by the use of space in, and access to, donated premises. We are
so thankful to the following organisations for their help and support in
resources and/or the use of facilities:-
Ivy Church Manchester;
Eden Merseybank and the use of the Den and portacabin;
Romiley Life Centre;
Lifechurch Warrington;
St Peter's Yaxley, Peterborough (especially the ‘Sparks’ group);
THANK YOU to each and every person who has helped us in this past year –
without you EE’s work could not continue.
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Section D Achievements and performance Early Essential’s (EE’s) ‘core’ activity is the supply of packed Moses baskets Summary of starter packs to ‘referring agency’ staff who deliver them to the needy Mums. the main In this reporting year commencing October 2019 and ending September 2020 achievements the numbers of baskets provided have been just under 430 across our four of the charity locations: - during the year LOCATION Baskets THIS YEAR Total since starting – start date EE Manchester - 219 895 March 2015 EE Stockport – 121 614 July 2015 EE Warrington – just under 60 155 March 2016 EE Peterborough – 29 105 March 2017.

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Section D Achievements and performance

The Trustees give thanks and credit to the four teams and their supporters and volunteers for the growth in this valuable work.

These figures show that up to September 2019 the four teams averaged just over 27 baskets per month. For the year being reported this increased to over 35 baskets per month, which the Trustees commend as a remarkable achievement given that for half the year everyone has been operating under the various lockdown restrictions imposed to manage the Covid19 Pandemic.

The total number of baskets EE has provided, up to the end of September 2019, since starting, was 1,769.

We are so thankful to all our supporters who donate the many items for the Moses baskets, who give of their time in collecting, sorting, and packing, and who give financially to enable the four EE locations to continue to provide this essential service. EE functions with a heart to show unconditional love through a free gift to Mums in difficult circumstances, based on the verse “ For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.” John 3:16 GNB . We thank God for his continued provision of resources this year and since we started.

The Trustees also note that for the first four months of the year 2020-2021, in the most restrictive lockdown rules so far, the average baskets provided to needy Mums has again increased to more than 39 per month.

This is a fantastic effort by all involved, and a great credit to the team leaders and teams at all 4 locations who are all reacting positively to the increase in referrals due to the increased need.

The Trustees also wish to record grateful thanks to the following organizations who chose EE Manchester as their ‘Charity of the Year’(or made significant donations):St Ambrose RC Primary School St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Didsbury C of E Primary School Elmwood Church Toffee Moon Faraway Books ITV Coronation St Vernon Building Society Stockport Blue Owl books CJ’s coffee shop Woolston CofE Primary School Asda Warrington Community Mentor Soroptimist International (SI) Peterborough.

There are many more, too many to list individually, but we do appreciate each and every supporter. Thank you.

In October, EE Manchester was visited by 2 Trustees from the Relief in Need funding panel, who helped pack baskets and sort bags of donations. Their feedback was extremely positive, helped strengthen our relationship, and led to further grants being offered and approved.

In January our Stockport team celebrated their 5[th] ‘Birthday. Thank you to the Romiley Lifecentre and all their staff and volunteers. Also, in January, our Manchester team members were provided with an EE logo embroidered uniform of T-shirt and fleece.

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Section D Achievements and performance

In August a new ‘branded’ website was launched. This includes quality promotional video clips filmed by Northern Sparks Productions. See https://earlyessentials.org.uk

EE has had media coverage on BBC Radio Manchester where Sarah NewtonSmith has been invited to speak on three separate occasions. Our Salford coordinator Ruth Day was featured on Salford City News.

The following are four examples of feedback received from referring agencies:

“Just wanted to say thank you for the lovely Moses basket hamper collected yesterday. A dad, following the one delivered yesterday, said this: " I just want to say a huge thanks to the organization and professionals to help my family welcome the new born to this beautiful world...it was more than expected very beautiful things loved it so much please keep doing the good work may God bless y'all..." This is to let you know that your service is making a massive impact on our needy families across Manchester!” - Edith A, Health Visitor, Rusholme

“I would like to thank you on behalf of my client for the 2 beautiful Moses baskets full of essential items for her 2 new baby boys. It was wonderful to see Mum’s face light up as there was everything she needed for her boys in each basket and some lovely items for her; it made me smile as well. Mum text me later to say thank you, and I would in turn like to pass on her appreciation and mine for a wonderful gift which was really needed” - Norah M, Support Worker

“The journey to get the baskets was worth every minute when I saw the look on my clients face. Thank you for everything you do” - Vicky S, Boaz Trust

“The Families First Team wish to thank you for all the support that you have provided over the last year. All our requests for support have been met with a swift, friendly and professional response. The work that you provide is invaluable. Thank you for all that you do” - Carole C, Families First Team

Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

Please refer to our Annual Accounts, published together with this Annual Report. We started the year with £8,919. Our Receipts were £19,355. Our Payments were £12,115. Our end of year balance was £16,159.

Most of the contents of the starter packs are donated items, and to date Early Essentials, from all four teams/locations, has in just over 5 years given out over £541,000 worth of stock on an average budget of £9,000 per year. This shows an exceptional uplift / added value – giving £12 of delivered service for every £1 donated and spent. (or a full basket of essentials worth over £300 for just £25 incurred costs).

For the expenditure necessary to achieve this, the Trustees’ current policy is to maintain 6 to 9 months financial reserve - £5,000 to £7,500 (averaging the last 2 years). At the end of the financial year, we have just over £16,000 in the bank. This is a strong financial position, with which the Trustees are satisfied that the known additional expenditures caused by the Covid19 pandemic are covered.

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Details of any funds materially None. in deficit

Further financial review details (Optional information)

You may choose We received £1,815 from ‘Relief In Need’ in January and February 2020. to include additional We have set up a ‘giving page’ on ‘Give.net’ through which anyone can give information, donations. Donations this year have been £ 1,014 (all figures rounded). where relevant ‘Give.net’ claims identified Gift Aid tax relief from HMRC and pays this to EE about: together with the donated amounts, less their service fee.  the charity’s Many individuals and families choose to donate directly to us, and we thank all principal sources of our donors for over £2,600 given this year in amounts between £10 and £500. funds We are also grateful this year to St Ambrose School for £257, and to South Manchester Family Church for £588. These monies enable us to continue our (including any work. We are in the process of registering with HMRC to be able to claim tax fundraising); relief on direct ‘Gift Aid’ donations. We expect to apply for £275 tax relief on  how this year’s donations by April 2021. expenditure has supported We are also thankful to ‘Jo’, who secured a place in the 2020 London the key Marathon and opened a fundraising page with all donations coming to Early objectives of Essentials. Thank you to all her sponsors who together raised over £230, the charity; despite the Marathon being cancelled due to the pandemic.  investment The additional pressures and challenges arising from the COVID19 restrictions policy and starting in March 2020 have necessitated additional expenditure, and we give objectives heartfelt thanks to the funding agencies who have supported our work since including any the pandemic took effect: - ethical £1,000 in May from ‘Relief In Need’; investment £1,000 in June from the Charities Trust - Movement for Good (EE Stockport); policy £7,700 as ‘Covid19 Response’ monies from HM Government in partnership adopted. with the National Lottery Community Fund, received in July, as was £3,000 from the Manchester Guardian Society Charitable Trust.

Section F Other optional information

Full details of the work of Early Essentials, including details of what we pack in baskets, a video showing what we do, contact details of all locations, testimonies from referring agency staff and Mums to whom they provide baskets, and more – can be found on our website - https://earlyessentials.org.uk

The website (https://earlyessentials.org.uk) also provides links to Facebook and other social media pages run by each location.

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	EARLY ESSENTIALS UK	EARLY ESSENTIALS UK	EARLY ESSENTIALS UK	#1186657	CC16a
	For the period from	Period start date 01/10/2019	To	Period end date 30/09/2020

Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 4,599 6,815 233 7,700 8 - - 19,355 - - - 19,355 6,112 663 1,515 471 699 - - - - - - 9,460 - - - 9,460 9,895 - 5,352 15,247	Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - # - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2,655 - 2,655 - - - 2,655 - 2,655 - 3,585 930	Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Total funds to the nearest £ 4,599 6,815 233 7,700 8 - - 19,355 - - - 19,355 6,112 663 1,515 471 699 - - - - 2,655 - 12,115 - - - 12,115 7,240	Last year to the nearest £
donations (voluntary receipts)	4,599				1,672
grants/funds_(voluntary receipts)_	6,815				4,585
sponsorship- Jo & London Marathon	233				-
Emergency Covid19 funding from HM Government in partnership with National LotteryCommunityFund	7,700				-
Bank interest	8				-
tax relief - Gift Aid claimed byEE	-				-
	-				-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	19,355				6,257

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
none	-
	-				-
*Sub total*	-				-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
					6,257

supplies for Moses Baskets	6,112				2,640
printing, stationery, etcetera	663				363
promotion incl'gwebsite development	1,515				192
Mother's Day gifts	471				874
miscellaneous and incidental costs	699				642
rent ofpremises	-				-
Volunteers' expenses	-				-
Staff expenses	-				-
Trustees' expenses	-				-
Salaryfor onepart-time coordinator	-				4,000
	-				-
**Sub total **	9,460				8,711

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
shelving/rackingand storage boxes	-
	-
**Sub total **	-				-
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
					8,711

	9,895	- 2,655	-	7,240	- 2,454
	-	-	-	-	-
	5,352	3,585	-	8,937	11,391
	15,247	930	-	16,177	8,937

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

24/01/2022

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Details none Details *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) tax relief (Gift Aid not yet claimed) donations received through 'give.net' (Stewardship) but not yet received Bank account Manchester Bank Account Stockport Details storage racking/shelving (5 year depreciation) Details none Details Signature original signed by Graham P. Leech	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 12,661 930 2,586 - - - 15,247 930 OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 275 - 24 - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) unrestricted 90 - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - GRAHAM P. LEECH Print Name and Martin Austin	Endowment funds to nearest £
		-
		-
		-
		-
		OK
		Endowment funds to nearest £
		-
		-
		-
		Current value (optional)
		-
		-
		Current value (optional)
		18
		-
		When due (optional)


		Date of approval
original signed by Graham P. Leech	and Martin Austin	4th April 2021
	GRAHAM P. LEECH	23rd Jan 2022

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

24/01/2022