Chair’s Report for Swad in Bloom – April 1[st] 2021 to March 31[st] 2022 Another eventful year for Swad in Bloom. While we are still rebuilding following the pandemic, a great deal of progress was made in a number of areas. Our successful Seed Swap, Plant and Craft Stalls in Swadlincote market remained very popular and were the source of over half of our income. Additionally, we signed up to Amazon Smile which raised further funding via our volunteers as did a Wreath Workshop, raffles and the sale of various craft items. Dave the Bee Farmer held a ‘Bee workshop’ which created a lot of interest and raised more funds and we received over £500 in generous donations from the local community. During the year we strengthened our links with South Derbyshire District Council and await completion of an agreement on a ‘cultivation licence’ which will enable us to tackle various green spaces in the town centre that would benefit from some regular care. Our strong relationship with Morrison’s continues and we look forward to two large planting projects taking off on their land in 2022-23. Another strong link was forged with the newly opened Cadley Hill View Care Home and during the year we switched our meeting venue to the home following their generous offer of space in their beautiful new building. They also kindly agreed to ‘host’ our beehive in their grounds and it will be moved from the South Derbyshire Community Voluntary Service (SDCVS) garden in the spring of 2022. The ’Community Tree’ project has now taken off following the great success of Christmas 2021, with Morrisons Swadlincote agreeing to us placing the three metre tree sculpture in their foyer area where it is safe and dry and on full display for all to see. As Chair, I would like to thank all the various organisations and individuals that have contributed to making the project so successful. The crocheted squares from the tree will be repurposed into blankets, some of which will be donated to those in need and some resold to raise funds for future Community Tree projects. During the year we heard that the SDCVS, who had kindly offered us storage space (and a garden area to develop), would be relocating and the building was to be put on the market. As the 2021-22 year ends, we are looking for other local storage options and will arrange to move our stored equipment as soon as possible. As noted above the beehive has found a new home at Cadley Hill View care home. A major task for the year was the recruitment of more volunteers, especially those who are more physically able than some of our existing volunteers. This has been partially successful and will be an ongoing project for 2022-23. The original five Trustees remained in place until early 2022 when a resignation due to relocation left a vacancy which was filled after a ballot by Jane German. As the year ends I have had to stand down temporarily as Chair but Ian Bottrill as Vice-Chair is holding the reins for a short time. Bal Purewal remains as Secretary with Angie Griffin as Treasurer. Ingrid van der Weide, Chair, Swad in Bloom. January 2023 Swad In Bloom annual financial return from 0110412021 to 3110312022 for Charities Commission Opening balance 01104121 169.81 Income Stalls Amazon Smile Wreath Workshops Donations Bee talk and teas Crochet packs and crafts Garden Show entries Raffle Sue Wheat 1440.58 33.90 132.44 535.11 76.36 35.00 3.94 22.00 Total income 2279.33 Expenditure Paint for beehive Plants Beehive, bees and equipment Banners Insurance Community Tree Frame Advertising flyers etc Float retained for stalls Bank charges 32.00 16.38 492.00 35.36 256.00 724.00 102.58 60.00 21.50 Total expenditure 1739.82 Opening balance + income- expenditure- 709.32 Balance at bank on 31103122 709.32