TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] JULY 2021
Overview
The Sharing Table is a charity registered in England and Wales (1190056) founded in 2020, which exists to give disadvantaged children and their families access to opportunities which more fortunate children and families take for granted. Food and cookery are at the centre of our activities, as we believe that children not having access to food in sufficient quantity, and of sufficient quality, experience the most fundamental disadvantage. Geographically, the charity’s activities are confined to South Wales.
Charitable activities
The charity focussed on three activities in its first year of operation:
i) Christmas Hamper Project
We worked with local schools, Councillors and employees of Swansea Council, the MP and the AS for Gower to identify families within the Gower constituency who were unable to afford a traditional Christmas hamper. We sourced meat and vegetables from local suppliers and recruited volunteers to pack and distribute hampers. With their help, on December22nd 2021, we were proud to deliver 60 hampers. This project will now become an annual fixture for us.
ii) Cooking Club
We worked with a local primary school in an area of high deprivation to build a kitchen in the school. The charity was supported with a grant from Swansea Council to equip the kitchen. COVID caused significant delays to the project, but we were able to start an after-school cooking club in June 2021. We work with families identified by the school to teach the children how to cook simple meals which we eat together. Parents and carers are also invited to come in and help. At the end of each club session, the families are given a bag of food so that they can repeat the recipe at home. (This has the added benefit of getting healthy food into households that need a helping hand). The feedback from the children, the parents/carers and the teachers has been overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to continuing the club and expanding this project to encompass other schools.
iii) Activity Week
The school where we operate the cooking club runs an activity week for its year 6 children. Many of the children involved have had limited
The Sharing Table, The Green, Overton, Gower SA3 1NR. UK registered charity 1190056
opportunities to enjoy activities that others take for granted, even simple activities such as a trip to the beach. We supported this week by arranging a music workshop, a first-aid course and a barbecue.
Fund Raising
The charity has benefited from the kindness of generous individuals, Swansea Council and local businesses such as The Gower Gin Company in raising the cash needed to run our projects. Local food businesses have also kindly provided their produce at cost.
Structure and Governance
The charity is a CIO and its governing document is its constitution. The trustees who served during the year were:
A Copson R Lucas S Brooks
Statement of financial activities for the year ending July 31[st] 2021
| Unrestricted funds | Unrestricted funds | Restricted funds | Restricted funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total 2021 | |||
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Income from: | |||
| Donations | 8,942.11 | 2,850.00 | 11,792.11 |
| Council Grants | 1,763.00 | 1,763.00 | |
| Total Income | 8,942.11 | 4,613.00 | |
| 13,555.11 | |||
| Expenditure on: | |||
| Charitable activities | 2,955.00 | 2,340.81 | |
| 5,295.81 | |||
| Admin/Mktg1 | 719.86 | ||
| 719.86 | |||
| Total Expenditure | 3,674.86 | 2,340.81 | |
| 6,015.67 |
The Sharing Table, The Green, Overton, Gower SA3 1NR. UK registered charity 1190056
Surplus[2] 5,267.25 2,272.19 7,539.44
-
The Trustees are pleased that admin and marketing spend represented less than 12% of expenditure in the year, meaning that over 88% of the charity’s expenditure was directly spent on charitable activities.
-
The end of year bank balance = the surplus for the year (£7,539.44)
The Sharing Table, The Green, Overton, Gower SA3 1NR. UK registered charity 1190056