The Welbeloved Club
The Welbeloved Club (The Club) is a Registered Charity in England & Wales {no. 1190165)
Annual report
st
for the year ended 31 October 2024
Main address
26 Ellenborough Close, Bishops Stortford, CM23 4HS
Trustees
Philip Deeks (Chairl
Gillian Gill (Treasurer)
Katiuscia Pulford
Jean Palfreman
David Royle
Bankers
CAF Bank Limited. 25 Kings Hill Avenué. West Malling, Kent, ME19 4JQ and.
Metro Bank, One Southampton Row, London, WC1B SHA
The Club's structure. governance and management
The Club was established as a charity in August 2017 and registered with the Charity
Commission in January 2020. The Club is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated
Organisation {ClO).
The Club is overseen by its trustees for the benefit of its members. A new trustee
must have the necessary skills, knowledge. and experience and be appointed by a
resolution passed at a Trustees, meeting. The Trustees meet be￿een 4 and 6 times
a year.
Week-on-week the Club is managed by Jo Sydes {nee Gill), who set up the Club.
Around the end of the period a management team was set up to deal with increasing
demands of various aspects of management, including volunteer recruitmenl,
membership enquiries and general administration.
Activities and objectives
The Club arranges a full Sunday lunch once a month for its members - elderly people
who are lonely and l or socially isolated. Ovér a hundred people come to
Sawbridgeworth Memorial Hall. Herts {or are driven there and back as necessary}
where the lunch is cooked, served and cleared away by volunteers. This facilitates
social interaction in a comforting environment.

Summary of the main achievements and perfomiance during the period
The Club is regularly hosting Sunday lunch for 90- 100 members per month.
Through successful processes and management. the club is steadily increasing the
number of members and volunteers. Both re￿1ve good communication and
papenmork from the moment of enquiry through our volunteer management group,
and those on a wailing list are enjoying lunch wilhin 3 months of joining.
We appear to be very well regarded within the local community t(x). Many donors
have helped improve the lives of our members, as we have used additional funds to
purchase gifts throughoul the year, as well as any residual funds being added to the
'outreach' pot.
Over £10,000 was raised through sponsored runners in the Brighton Marathon.
These funds have been allocated to purchasing a van to host our agreed outreach
lunches. The club has now purchased a gold bond with the London Marathon. which
will give the club 4 places in the race for 4 years starting 2026. The fundraising target
per runner will be £1500 so the club can both cover costs and benefit from the
fundraising.
We are now in a position to expand, and are hosting our first outreach 'village' lunGh
in May 2025, in the village of Manuden, Herts. This will be the same model as our
Sunday lunch and will host up to 30 additional members. From feedback we received
we recognised that being older and living alone within a rural setting can be a perfect
recipe for isolation. We hope the opportunity to come along to a welcoming lunch in
the company of other like-minded people will help reduce their loneliness
We successfully launched an additional 'fish and chip, lunch hosted during the Easter
period. This was attended by more than 60 of our members. We have now added
this as a regular Occurren￿ to our annual calendar, which gives the members the
opportunity to join us for lunch over what can be a long weekend. Members enjoy a
'relaxed' version of our normal lunch setting and thoroughly enjoy Ihe opportunity to
join us over Easter.
The club continues lo go from strength lo strength and is constantly working with
members and volunteers to resolve issues, launch new ideas and ensure the best
possible experience for its beneficiaries. Our heartfelt thanks go to all our volunteers
and supporters during the past year. Without you none of this would be possible.

Financial reviow
Lunch receipts reflect the growing numbers and stability of the Club. This year they
are approximately 10 % higher than last year. Food costs 2nd other oxponges we
spend to put on the actual lunch continue to increase also, but we were able to
maintain the lunch price to the members.
General individual donations gro up slightly from 2023. Last yèar the Club was votgd
as 'ch2rity of the yearf for a large corporate resulting in a generous donation. This
was not the cage for 2024 thorefore the Club's ovarg11 donations app&ar lowér. As in
previous years the Club has been very lucky in receiving donations around
Christmas time from some local businesses and residents, which enables us to put
on a fggst for the members free of charge. Other donations at this time meant we
wér& abla to purchase an array of gifts for them too.
A full list of donors for the year can be found on pag8 7.
The c.lub is now recognised by HMRC to re￿1ve Gift Aid and donors are now asked
if they are able to complete the declaration. This year we claimed back £1.267.
The foundations were also laid for an outreaGh progiamtne to Some of the outlying
villages to relieve social isolation and loneliness within the loGal, oldei cotntnunrty.
To help support this idea it was decided the Club would benefit from buying a van to
transport and store items. This required the Club taking on some fundraising
activities, which generated over £10,000. This money will be added to other funds to
be used to acquire the van.
The management team of the Club work hard to engage frequently with the
members outside of the usual lunches. More newsletters, printed fundiaising
updates and greetings cards led to an increase in printing and postage costs this
year.
During the course of the year the Trustees agreed to change our primary bankers to
CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) Bank. They offer us more aliqned seNices than our
previous bankers. Our financial situation remains strong and we will continue lo
explore any opportunities to support our members further. The Club has no debts
and d￿S not nold any funds as custodian trustee.
Signed on behalf ofthe trustees.
1310512025
Signed
Chair Philip Deeks
Dat8

The Welbeloved Club
Annual Accounts
st
for the year ended 31 October 2024
(prepared on a receipts and payments basis)
2023
2024
Receipts
Lunch receipts
Grant
Donations
Fundraising activities
Gift Aid recovered
East Herts Lottery
Bank Interest
Mis￿lIaneOUS receipts
Total receipts
11663
12745
8098
3253
10390
1267
319
238
237
28449
402
151
121
20435
Payments
Cost to put on lunches (incl. hall & bus) 10496
pps
748
Hire Charges
65
Advertising & Marketing
569
Equipment & Maintenance
750
Training
Insurance
Admin expenses
Professional Fees
Volunteer & Trustee Expenses
Subscriptions
Mis￿lIaneOUS
Tolal Payments
11890
1718
413
1311
395
1086
1800
568
291
271
17039
395
852
69
254
397
200
17499
Nel receiptsl{paymentsl
3396
10950
Capital Equipment {Assetl
3202
1409
Net receipts
194
9541
Bank and cash at the start ofthe period 18982
19176
Bank and cash al the end of the period 19176
28748

The Welbeloved Club
Statement of assets and liabilities
st
at 31 October 2024
2023
2024
Cash assets
Current account
Deposit account
Petty cash
Total cash assets
661
18495
20
19176
1213
27451
53
28748
Other assets
The Welbeloved Club owns the assets it requires to host the lunches.
Currently it does not own 8ny other assets.
Liabilities
Nor18 expected outside those already received.
These financial statements are accepied on behalf of the organisation by=
Signed
Treasurer
Dated 1 st Ap.ril 2025

The Welbeloved Club
Notes to the accounts
st
for the year ended 31 October 2024
1. Receipts & payments accounts
Receipts and payments accounts are stalemenls that summarise the movemenl of cash
into and out of the organisation during the financial year. In this contexl "cash" includes
cash equivalents, for example. bank accounts where cash can be readily withdrawn to
pay for debts as they become due.
2. Grants & Donations
Grants
Mone
Total
Donations
Catherine Wheel PubliG House
Harris Tobias
David James
S Sn7ith
Uncle Funk
Fox & Hounds Public House
S Booth
CM23 Conneclion magazine
Bishops Stortford College
CAF Bank Donation
Stockley memorial
Richard Lake
Mary Elson
Other Donations
Total
175
750
150
75
100
150
20
50
50
100
522
150
500
211
3253
Note- Other donations include Just Giving & Paypal giving
Total grants and donations
£3253
3. Trustee remuneration
The Club has no employees. Currently all work for the Club is undertaken on a
voluntary basis for no payment. No payments were made to any trustees during
the period.

## **Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The Welbeloved Club** 

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the The Welbeloved Club (the Charity) for the year ended 31[st] October 2024. 

## **Responsibilities and basis of report** 

As the charity trustees of the Charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act'). 

I report in respect of my examination of the Charity's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. 

## **Independent examiner's statement** 

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or 

2. the accounts do not accord with those records. 

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 

Signed: Name: James Rowe 

Relevant professional qualification or membership of professional bodies (if any): 

- Treasurer, Maternity Action, a UK registered charity, 2007-2015 

- Treasurer, Eastbourne Astronomical Society, a UK registered charity, 2021-2024 

- Treasurer, Fireballs Aotearoa, a section of a New Zealand registered charity, 2022-2025. 

- Trustee and member of the finance committee, Eastbourne Foodbank, a UK registered charity, 2023 to present 

Address: 59 Willingdon Road, Eastbourne, UK, BN21 1TR 

Date: 29[th] August 2025 

Independent examination of charity accounts: Directions and guidance for examiners (CC32) 

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