Chairs Report for Swad in Bloom – April 1st 2023 – March 31st 2024
Another eventful year for Swad in Bloom. Our Plant and Craft Stalls in Swadlincote market remained very popular and were the source of over half of our income. The craft club held a successful ‘Wreath Workshop’ that helped generate funds.
South Derbyshire District Council approached Swad In Bloom to plant the newly constructed Pocket Park which will be started later in 2024.
After successfully planting the Morrisons garden it became apparent that a lot more ground work will be needed to remove tree stumps and weeds to make working on the garden a lot safer.
Cadley Hill View Care Home continues to support Swad In Bloom by allowing us to use their building to hold our monthly meetings. 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 been given a new home at Oaklands Care Home and has taken on various guises throughout the year. The three-metre tree sculpture currently has pride of place in the foyer of Oaklands where it continues to receive great comments from all who see it. As Chair, I would like to thank all the various organisations and individuals that have contributed to making the project so successful, especially the members of the Thursday afternoon craft club who tirelessly knit, crocheted, or made items for the tree.
Swad In Bloom has continued to have a presence in the town by taking on several new projects
-
Pocket Park. Swad In Bloom has accepted a request from South Derbyshire District Council to plant up the garden area of the newly completed Pocket Park.
-
Princess Diana Memorial Garden. Swad In Bloom has started to maintain the Princess Diana Memorial garden which was looking neglected. A planting plan has been obtained and planting is hoped to start in the summer of 2024.
-
Morrisons garden has been planted and looks to have matured however the area still requires maintenance to keep the weeds under control.
-
The local district council donated plants and spring bulbs that were used by Swad In Bloom to improve the look of the ‘Time Capsule Garden’ in front of the council offices and produce a sea of colour in the spring of 2024.
Several ‘litter picks’ took place in 2023 with groups from the scout groups and McDonald's assisted Swad In Bloom in collecting large amounts of litter from the town. The scouts took part in their Environmental Badge tasks.
A major task for the year continues to be 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 2023-2024.
Following on from a Swad In Bloom social evening quiz we have been holding monthly quizzes. These quizzes have proved to be very popular and help to raise much-needed funds to assist Swad In Bloom in achieving its objectives.
Assistance came from a much-welcomed donation from the local fire station. The fire station held a plant sale and donated £200 towards tools for Swad In Bloom
The current trustees are:
Luke Cox Chair Peter Harrison Secretary Bal Purwel Trustee Jane GermanTrustee Sue Smith Trustee
The Trustees continue to be supported by the following members: Angie Griffin Treasurer Carol Harrison Joint Secretary
Swad In Bloom Annual Financial Return from 01/04/2023 to 31/03/2024 for the Charities Commission
Opening balance 01/04/23 1251.18
Income
Stalls 1106.26 Amazon Smile 28.99 Wreath Workshops 645.00 Donations 250.00 Quiz Nights 598.95 Sales of goods made/donated 120.00 Open Gardens 628.85 Grand Prize Draws 416.00 Total income 3794.05
Expenditure
Insurance 246.96 Bank charges 90.08 Transport Costs 169.00 Prizes 69.00 2nd Phase Morrisons bed supplies 737.24 Refreshments/buffets 193.30 Tools 377.54
RHS Subscription 90.00 First Aid Kit 57.98 Stall Hire 15.00 Community Tree Costs 139.61 Lotteries Licence 40.00 Grand Prize Draw tickets 75.00 Stationary 27.78 Donation to Sing 4 Health 50.00 Cost of wreath workshop 480.00 Total expenditure 2858.49
Opening balance + income – expenditure = 2186.74
Balance at bank on 31/03/22 2186.74