## **Annual Report** ## **Covering the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024** ## 1. Introduction Wellbeing in the Weald was established to provide inclusive activities and initiatives in our rural community so that people, including those who may be isolated, can make connections and benefit from improved health and wellbeing. We aim to organise new and promote existing wellbeing activities, including community walks, weekly drop ins, volunteering and other social activities that bring people together on a regular basis. We work with local GPs, social prescribers and schools to ensure that our activities and initiatives are relevant for our community and cooperate with other organisations (such as charities that do not currently have activities in our community) to facilitate local delivery of their activities. Our registration as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation was completed on 24 June 2020, under Registered Charity Number 1190083, with the following Objects set out in our Constitution dated 10 June 2020: (1) To preserve and protect the health of people living in Cranbrook and the surrounding areas by providing and assisting in the provision of facilities, support services and practical advice not normally provided by the statutory authorities. (2) To promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing or assisting in the prevention of people living in Cranbrook and the surrounding areas from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society. For the purpose of this clause ‘socially excluded’ means being excluded from society, or parts of society, as a result of one or more of the following factors: unemployment; financial hardship; youth or old age; ill health (physical or mental); substance abuse or dependency including alcohol and drugs; discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, disability, ethnic origin, religion, belief, creed, sexual orientation or gender reassignment; poor educational or skill attainment; relationship and family breakdown; poor housing; crime (either as a victim of crime or as an offender rehabilitating into society).” ## 2. Trustees During this reporting period the following people acted as trustees of Wellbeing in the Weald: |Name|Date appointed*|Date dem| |---|---|---| |Dineli Charlesworth|05/04/2019|-| |Mark Lawrence|05/04/2019|-| Date demitted Registered Charity Number 1190083 Address: Mill House, Mill Lane, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2HX 1 |Deborah Jones|11/06/2019|-| |---|---|---| |Naomi Rosling|02/07/2019|30/4/2024| |Andrew Chandler|06/08/2019|-| |Peter Simpson|24/10/2022|-| |Laura Wade|24/04/2023|-| |Seamus O’Brien|24/04/2023|-| * Where the appointment dates stated above pre-date our registration as a Charity, they are the dates from which trustees started as committee members of Wellbeing in the Weald, when it was an unincorporated association. In accordance with our Constitution, there must always be a minimum of three trustees. Trustees are volunteers, who are appointed by the Board of Trustees with regard to their skills, to support the effective administration of the Charity. ## 3. Activities for the public benefit The trustees have had due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charities Commission. During 2023-2024, we were delighted to continue so many of our activities as our communities still continue to be affected mentally by the long term effects of the Covid lockdowns adversely affecting the collective wellbeing. We also introduced several new activities to specifically target groups who we had identified as being particularly at risk of isolation or exclusion. The following table summarises our key activities to provide a public benefit during this reporting period: ||**Purpose**|**Who is it for**|**What did we achieve**| |---|---|---|---| |**Allotment**
**and**
**Allotment**
**Walks**|To help improve mental
health and wellbeing,
loneliness and isolation;
to encourage friendships
from varied social and
ethnic backgrounds; to
offer gentle activity to
those who need
rehabilitation following
surgery or receiving
treatment. Sharing
knowledge, teaching and
encouraging people to
try new and different
produce by offering fruit,
vegetables and flowers
produced at the
allotment to take home.|Open to
everyone|We held 31 regular sessions and 4
alternative (different day) sessions, with
total 374 attendances (344 regular/ 30
alternatives). Tea/ coffee are provided.
Attendance varies between 3 and 17 on
any Sunday morning, most are regular
attendees. The profile is approximately
80% female and 20% male, with the age
profile of more attendees being aged 50+.
However, there are also a growing
number of younger families/ children
involved; ages range from 3 to 92. Some
of the attendees are single, lonely,
isolated and are carers for others.
During the winter period (December –
mid March, varies depending on weather)
we introduced walks on 7 occasions, with
3-5 attendees, a similar profile to
allotment.| Registered Charity Number 1190083 Address: Mill House, Mill Lane, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2HX 2 ||**Purpose**|**Who is it for**|**What did we achieve**| |---|---|---|---| ||||Volunteers cleared away the fruit cage
which was damaged beyond repair from
winter winds. We had a very wet winter/
spring, which is a challenging start to the
new season. We enjoyed cake and ice
cream made in part, from our own
produce. Any surplus produce was given
to the Wednesday Drop In. The range of
fruit, flowers and vegetables changes
each year, depending on what volunteers
decide to grow. We are very grateful for
support from Hands of Hope, who kindly
agreed to help with seedling germination
in Spring 2024.| |**Book Club**|To improve wellbeing
through online (Zoom)
social interaction.
Benefits are: it boosts
mood, it’s stimulating
and fun, people learn
new things and can make
friends.|Open to
everybody
from 18 yrs
and older.|The book group has an average of six
attendees at remote sessions held each
month, so approximately 72 attendances
over 12 sessions.
Attendees are women, of all ages into
their 90's. They agree it provides them
with a social occasion to look forward to
from the comfort of their own homes. It is
a small , respectful group allowing
everyone a chance to talk. The attendees
all agree how much they enjoy the
discussion we have which often expands
to other aspects of our lives. The session
always runs for an hour - allowing time
for some 'free chat' about current films ,
tv programmes or interesting places we
may have visited.| |**Crafting**
**Sessions**|To support those who
have been isolating for
months, depressed and
lonely, and who would
possibly benefit from
such an activity to
increase their feelings of
wellbeing.|Aimed at
single people,
carers, people
who are lonely
or depressed
and people
who are older
and/or are
living alone.|The craft group runs alongside Drop-in
sessions at the Parish Church, so crafters
could share the catering facilities and any
entertainment provided.
Attendees are all women ranging from
mid 20's to late 70's. On average there
are 7 attendees but on occasion can go up
to 9 people attending. Total attendances
for the year were 315 on 45 occasions.
They come from surrounding villages
including Hawkhurst, Biddenden and
Frittenden showing that we are not just| Registered Charity Number 1190083 Address: Mill House, Mill Lane, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2HX 3 ||**Purpose**|**Who is it for**|**What did we achieve**| |---|---|---|---| ||||serving the community of Cranbrook .
Ladies work on their own projects but
often ask the advice of the others in the
group so there is sharing of skills and
plenty of chat! Occasionally they work on
joint projects e.g. crochet baubles for our
Christmas tree.| |**Dementia**
**Friends**|To educate people
about dementia and
to give them
confidence in their
interactions with
people who are
experiencing cognitive
impairment due to
dementia. This course
is delivered by a
person trained by the
Alzheimer Society.|Anyone|We facilitated the delivery of two
Dementia Friends courses delivered by
staff of the Care Company.
22 participants attended these and
feedback was positive.| |**Men’s**
**Cookery**|To provide
opportunities for
participants to learn
to cook various
healthy meals and for
them to enjoy
cooking.|Men who are
recently
bereaved,
living alone or
have little or
no cookery
skills.|There were 17 sessions with 121
attendances overall, plus on average 4
volunteer supporters per session. Profile
was men 65-80 from Cranbrook,
Sissinghurst, Frittenden and Iden Green.
We were delighted to welcome our first
teenager this year, who is really enjoying
the new opportunity. Lesson menus
included vegetable curry, lasagne,
minestrone soup, pasties, fish and fajitas.
Several of the men found the class helpful
for getting out and mixing more.| |**Pick up**
**the Pieces**|WITW Jigsaw Library to
provide enjoyable and
rewarding occupation
for people who are
isolated, unwell or
recuperating from
illness.|Open to
everybody,
with local
delivery or
collection of
jigsaws.|We hold Approx 130 x 500 piece puzzles,
many of which include 4 separate puzzles.
In addition we hold 30+ Wentworth
wooden puzzles.
The library is continually being added
to/renewed. For example, last week we
received 20 new puzzles to add to the
Library. Any that are surplus/duplicates
are donated to a local charity shop.| Registered Charity Number 1190083 Address: Mill House, Mill Lane, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2HX 4 ||**Purpose**|**Who is it for**|**What did we achieve**| |---|---|---|---| ||||We are reducing the 1,000 piece puzzles,
as they are very large and not being
borrowed.
Over the year, there are a small but
steady number of borrowers. The central
location of the library in Cranbrook ,
flexibility of arrangements to visit and
return puzzles; all assist in ensuring
anyone’s needs can be met.
Information about the Jigsaw Library is
posted in various shops and locations
including GP surgeries.| |**Welcome**
**Wednesday**
**Drop-In**|To provide a warm and
welcoming place where
people are known and
accepted and where they
can experience
friendship and occasional
extra activities to
promote wellbeing.|This is aimed
at single
people,
carers,
recently
widowed,
people with
early stage
dementia
and people
who are
older and/or
are living
alone.|We had 52 sessions over the year (every
Wednesday of the year). There were
1,234 individual attendances. There are
great conversations and often attendees
enjoy playing games together. Once a
month one of our trustees attends to give
guidance on IT devices. This is very much
valued.
New people have said that they feel
welcome and have made friends. We
have noticed that participants welcome
newcomers, not waiting for leaders to do
so. We feel that this is a sign that the
culture is established.
During the year we had a Summer tea
party attended by 56 people in the
museum garden and we had a Christmas
party with music provided by one of our
regulars.
We also had visits from both the Amelia
Centre in TW and our local Cranbrook
Museum. We had a visit from staff at the
Nationwide Bank who taught us about
staying safe online and making our
finances secure.| |**Words for**
**Wellbeing**|To enable people to
explore their experience
using the written word.|Anyone|This slow-open group met monthly from
September 2023. They looked at all kinds
of topics from childhood memories, to
what makes us happy, written about all| Registered Charity Number 1190083 Address: Mill House, Mill Lane, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2HX 5 ||**Purpose**|**Who is it for**|**What did we achieve**| |---|---|---|---| ||||kinds of things from colours we love to
how Spring makes us feel, and enjoyed
readings ranging from Wordsworth to
Winnie the Pooh. The group enjoyed
some lovely chats and shared much
pleasure, support and laughter as they
explored the ups and downs of life
together.| |**Wellbeing**
**Walks**|To provide access to
regular, low impact
physical activity to all
local residents in a
social and safe
environment. Walks
are accessible to
people with
limited mobility or
pre-existing medical
conditions / injuries.
These sessions are
run by the Tunbridge
Wells Walking For
Health Scheme
which is a
franchise of The
Ramblers.|Open to
everybody.
There is a
range of
physical
fitness/ ability
and
motivation to
join the walks.
Multiple
groups to
tailor the
walks to the
type of
attendees we
have in each
group.|During this year we provided three
walking groups in Cranbrook almost every
week and one group in Benenden per
week. An estimated 195 walks with an
average weekly attendance of 31 (total
across all walking groups).
Our demographic is predominantly
female (68F to 15M) between the ages of
50 to 80 (it is estimated that less than 1%
are under 50 years of age). There are a
range of ability levels and due to the fact
we operate multiple groups, we have
been able to offer longer (90 minute)
walks as well as shorter (60 minute) ones.| We would like to thank all of our volunteers, committee members / trustees and our administrators, who have devoted so much of their time and effort to organise, lead and support our activities and to help us in all aspects of operating the Charity. We would also like to thank: - St Dunstan’s Church for allowing us to use Church House and the Parish Church for the Drop-in. - Cranbrook School and their catering staff for allowing us to use their facilities for the Men’s Cookery. Thanks also to the sixth form pupils who have supported the Drop-in. ## 4. Plans for 2024-2025 ## 4.1 Ongoing activities As circumstances and funds permit, we hope to continue to repeat many of the above activities Registered Charity Number 1190083 Address: Mill House, Mill Lane, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2HX 6 and various other prior WITW activities for the community in general such as: - Fruit picking (see also Juice under Fundraising) - Quiz nights (see also under Fundraising) - Attendance at Community Events/ Fetes (see also under Fundraising) ## 4.2 New activities For 2024 - 2025 we have sought to identify who we are not currently reaching, in order to specifically target some of our new activities at harder to reach sections of our community. We have identified these target groups by reaching out to a number of people and organisations, such as the community wardens, GP’s and social prescribers, who have all given their feedback on where they believe the most socially excluded people are. Who are our specific target groups for this year? - Males - teenage/younger men and those aged approximately 40+ - Young parents, including teenagers. - Those living in our community’s more rural or isolated areas. - Those in local communities not yet served by our offer e.g. Staplehurst. - Young people who have been left behind as their peers move on to university/work etc - Young people who lack community after local secondary school closure We also intend to facilitate support in our community for those who may be suffering from financial hardship. ## Planned new activities focussed on our target groups Several of our recently started activities are focused at these target groups and we plan to continue with these. Further new activities will be considered as appropriate, as circumstances and funds permit. We will wherever possible seek grant funding to at least partially cover the costs of any new activities during 2024-2025. Additional fundraising or grants will be required for these activities to be sustained longer term. ## 5. Fundraising ## 5.1 How we have raised funds We would very much like to thank the Maidstone & the Weald Community Fund, Philip & Connie Phillips Foundation, Samphire Trust, Brissenden Fund and Biddenden Tractorfest for the grants and donations received during this period. We did not run any fundraising appeals or campaigns. We would also like to thank the members of our community who, and other local organisations that, have made donations to support our work during this period. ## **Juice sales** This financial year includes the continuing sales from the September/ October 2022 harvest of sweet and dry apple juice, as well as the harvest of pears in 2023. Sales of apple juice finished in June 2023 Registered Charity Number 1190083 Address: Mill House, Mill Lane, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2HX 7 and sadly the orchard was removed, so there was no apple harvest in 2023. We were very appreciative of the opportunity to pick apples in Goudhurst and thank the orchard owner for their support. We were given 48 bottles of apple juice from Mr and Mrs Tucker’s orchard to add to our sales. The harvest of pears produced 2 bins, which juiced into 600 bottles, these we are continuing to sell. The owner Mr Lenox-Conyngham invited us to prune the pear trees for cropping in autumn 2024. Under the guidance of local fruit farmer Mr Levett, volunteers pruned 360 trees over the winter period. Subsequently, Mr Levett has offered us access to an apple orchard in Cranbrook for the autumn of 2024. We could not do this activity without the support of a team of volunteers, local orchard owners and farmers. Together with the sterling work of Tony, who arranges the juicing, bottling and labels all the bottles, as well as supplying local shops. Sadly there were no Farmers Markets in 2023. Many thanks to the local retailers including Cranbrook Farm Shop and Nursery, Wilkes Butchers, Benenden Community shop and the Welcome Store in Cranbrook; all who sell our juice. ## 5.2 How we will continue to raise funds WITW aims to continue its successful fundraising ventures in 2024/2025 including: - An evening fundraising event - Raffles / tombolas - Fetes - Open gardens - Crafts & dog treats - Donations received - Grants received - Fruit picking parties and Juice Sales We also plan to raise funds via: - Online donations via Paypal Donate, Just Giving, TW Lotto, Easy Fundraising, Give as you Live , Neighbourly - Online donations via the website - Local supermarket donation / grant schemes - Craft workshop projects which ask for a suggested donation, or that the crafted item may be donated to WITW to sell to raise funds - Sale of jams and chutneys made for us by our volunteers using locally grown ingredients. - Targeting grants for specific projects - Asking for donations of items such as tools and land for projects. ## 6. Financial Report The Trustees understand that they are responsible for preparing this Financial Report, for ensuring that it provides a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable Registered Charity Number 1190083 Address: Mill House, Mill Lane, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2HX 8 accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The trustees have set a reserves policy to cover 2 months of day to day running costs, in addition to committed costs for each year. The income of Wellbeing in the Weald is not at a level to require independent verification or audit of its financial statements. |**Wellbeing in the Weald**||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**Income and Expenditure Account**|12 months to 31 March 2024|||12 months to 31 March 2023||| ||Unrestricted|Restricted|Total|Unrestricted|Restricted|Total| ||£|£|£|£|£|£| |**General fundraising, grants and**
**donations**||||||| |Donations and Grants(see note 1)|14,410|-|14,410|2,495|-|2,495| |Charitable activities(see note 2)|1,213|428|1,641|3,196|6,833|10,029| |Other income(see note 3)|5,865|-|5,865|6,861|-|6,861| |||||||| |**Total income**|21,488|428|21,916|12,552|6,833|19,385| |||||||| |**Costs**||||||| |Charitable costs(see note 4)|2,554|502|3,056|4,037|3,703|7,740| |Fundraisingcosts(see note 5)|2,147|-|2,147|2,013|-|2,013| |Support Costs(see note 6)|10,133|-|10,133|1,715|10,078|11,793| |||||||| |**Total costs**|14,834|502|15,336|7,765|13,781|21,546| |||||||| |**Net surplus/(deficit) for theperiod**|6,654|(74)|6,580|4,787|(6,948)|(2,161)| |Funds brought forward|18,404|-|18,404|18,253|2,312|20,565| |Funds transferred|(74)|74|-|(4,636)|£4,636|£0| |||||||| |**Funds carried forward**|24,984|-|24,984|18,404|-|18,404| |||||||| |**Wellbeing in The Weald**||||||| |**Balance Sheet**|As at 31 March 2024|||As at 31 March 2023||| ||Unrestricted|Restricted|Total|Unrestricted|Restricted|Total| ||£|£|£|£|£|£| |**Current Assets**||||||| |Cash at Bank|24,856|-|24,856|18,276|-|18,276| |PettyCash|128|-|128|128|-|128| |||||||| ||24,984|-|24,984|18,404|-|18,404| |**Represented by:**||||||| |General Funds|24,984|-|24,984|18,404|-|18,404| |||||||| Registered Charity Number 1190083 Address: Mill House, Mill Lane, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2HX 9 |**Notes**||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||||| |1. Donations and Grants|£|£|£|£|£|£| |Amazon Smile|-|-|-|47|-|47| |EasyFundraising|83|-|83|57|-|57| |Grants|6,500|
-|
6,500|
-|
-|
-| |General Donations|7,827|-|7,827|2,391|-|2,391| ||14,410|-|14,410|2,495|-|2,495| |||||||| |2. Charitable activities|£|£|£|£|£|£| |Allotment|10|-|10|-|
100|100| |Boxing|-|-|-|-|
473|473| |Crafts|-|-|-|281|-|281| |Communitykitchen|67|428|495|-|7,550|7,550| |Dropin|1,121|-|1,121|1,205|-|1,205| |Men’s Cookery|15|-|15|-|
135|135| |Men’s Shed|-|-|-|1,710|-|1,710| |Mindfulness in Schools (KCC Members
Grant)|-|-|-|-|(1,425)|(1,425)| ||1,213|428|1,641|3,196|6,833|10,029| |||||||| |3. Other income|£|£|£|£|£|£| |Fetes/Fairs|1,888|-|1,888|1,435|_-_|1,435| |Jam/Chutney|131|-|131|171|_-_|171| |Juice|1,631|-|1,631|1,360|_-_|1,360| |Quiz Night|2,215|-|2,215|2,934|_-_|2,934| |Other income|-|-|-|961|_-_|961| ||5,865|-|5,865|6,861|-|6,861| |||||||| |4. Charitable costs|£|£|£|£|£|£| |Allotment|509|-|509|_-_|182|182| |Boxing|_-_|-|-|_-_|480|480| |Crafts|56|-|56|58|-|58| |Communitykitchen|-|502|502|_-_|2,677|2,677| |Dropin Costs|1,780|-|1,780|1,496|-|1,496| |Men’s Cooking|209|-|209|_-_|364|364| |Men’s Shed|-|-|-|1,913|-|1,913| |Mindfulness in Schools(see note 2)|-|-|-|570|-|570| ||2,554|502|3,056|4,037|3,703|7,740| |||||||| |5. Fundraisingcosts|£|£|£|£|£|£| |Fetes/Fairs|66|-|66|130|-|130| |Jam/Chutney|-|-|-|60|-|60| |Juice|1,156|-|1,156|902|-|902| |Quiz night|925|-|925|921|-|921| ||2,147|-|2,147|2,013|-|2,013| |||||||| Registered Charity Number 1190083 Address: Mill House, Mill Lane, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2HX 10 |6. Support costs|£|£|£|£|£|£| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Administrators|8,345|-|8,345|6,832|1,510|8,342| |Adverts|406|-|406|489|-|489| |Gmail|130|-|130|119|-|119| |Insurance|305|-|305|287|-|287| |Phone|69|-|69|74|-|74| |Printing|211|-|211|361|-|361| |Safeguarding|50|-|50|462|-|462| |Sundry|129|-|129|966|-|966| |Training/Resources|-|-|-|350|-|350| |Venue hire etc(notproject related)|488|-|488|170|-|170| |Website Costs|-|-|-|173|-|173| |Support costs reallocated|-|-|-|(8,568)|8,568|-| ||10,133|-|10,133|1,715|10,078|11,793| |||||||| |These resources mean that we are satisfied that we will be able to continue our operations for the
foreseeable future.||||||| Approved by the Board of Trustees on 14 October 2024 and signed on its behalf by: **Andrew Chandler - Trustee, Chair** **Peter Simpson - Trustee, Treasurer** Registered Charity Number 1190083 Address: Mill House, Mill Lane, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2HX 11