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2024-09-14-accounts

Charity number: 1191294

SeaFriends

Annual Report and Financial Statements

For the year ending

14 September 2024

Legal and Administrative Details

Report of the Trustees

Legal and Administrative Details

Status

SeaFriends is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).

Governing Document

SeaFriends is regulated by its constitution which was adopted on 9[th] September 2020 a copy is available on request.

Charity Number 1191294

Registered Address 34 Sutton Park Road Seaford East Sussex BN25 1RP

Trustees

Stephanie Baker Chair

Janet Kent

Viv Reynolds

Accounts Examiner Mr A M Richardson, FCCA – J N Accounting Services

Bank Lloyds Bank 104 Terminus Road Eastbourne BN21 3AH

Report of the Trustees – year ending 14 September 2024

The trustees are pleased to present their report and financial statement for the year ended 14 September 2024

The legal and administrative information set out above forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements and the Statement of Recommended Practices FRS 102

Structure, Governance and Management

SeaFriends was registered with the Charity Commission on 15 September 2020, (registered number 1191294) and is governed by a written constitution dated 9 September 2020. Trustees hold voting rights and are recruited from the local community. Trustees elect from themselves a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Staff, volunteers and service users are considered members of SeaFriends. The day-today management and running of SeaFriends is the responsibility of 1 paid member of staff.

Risk assessments are carried out periodically as part of the business planning process and actions taken to mitigate or contain any risks identified. In terms of financial risks, the trustees review the cash flows regularly to ensure sufficient funds are available.

Financial Review

SeaFriends have continued to enjoy almost whole project funding by The National Lottery Community Fund during the reporting period. With the exception of beneficiary transport costs which have been financed from unrestricted funding. This has allowed the staff to concentrate on building the charity and developing its services rather than bid writing and other fundraising efforts.

Income for the period was £1,506 comprising of:

Donations from the public £1,506

Cash Funds of £28,658 at year end.

Reserves at the year end are £15,000

The reserves policy of SeaFriends is that it should retain 3 months expenditure to cover the event of closure of the charity which equates to around £15,000.

Objectives and Activities

SeaFriends was set up in 2019 and incorporated in 2020 in response to high levels of social isolation and loneliness in Seaford. This was in part to having almost nearly double the national average of residents over the age of 65. The national average was 18.5% of population over 65 while Seaford was 33%. Social isolation and loneliness have detrimental effects on both mental and physical health and is experienced by a cross section of society often brought on by life change, E.g., the birth of a child, redundancy, loss of a partner etc. By working within the community a collaboration of local groups identified a lack of befriending services and SeaFriends was formed to fill this need. As SeaFriends was established the Covid pandemic locked down the country and social isolation and loneliness was experienced by a greater percentage of the population than ever before. This had a developmental effect on SeaFriends and as lockdown lifted, we began to offer other services to enhance the original 1-2-1 befriending. The charity now offers weekly social sessions where transport is also provided, Memory Café for those living with memory issues, Social Sewing Group, Dementia Friendly Cinema Screenings, Xmas Meal for those who are alone at this time, a Seaford Community Groups Network and subsidised day trips alongside 1-2-1 befriending (telephone and face to face).

SeaFriends is heavily supported by volunteers who are recruited from the local community and bring with them local knowledge and a wealth of lived and professional experiences. They are all DBS checked and trained in Safeguarding, EDI, Confidentiality, Boundaries and role specific training.

Mission Statement

Enhancing the wellbeing of Seaford residents experiencing social exclusion through loneliness and isolation by providing person centred support and social opportunities, in the home, community and safe space environments.

Creating a culture that supports, empowers and involves the service user to increase confidence and social interaction. An individually led journey back to participating in social activities enabling people to feel valued within the community.

In order to achieve this, we will -

Achievements and Performance

The past year has continued to see SeaFriends grow and expand, it offers other services beyond 1-2-1 befriending.

Weekly coffee mornings – held in a local community centre SeaFriends provides a regular welcoming space to meet with other people either living alone, carers or feeling isolated or lonely. This service is free with transport provided for those who otherwise would not leave their home. Service users enjoy refreshments, board games and chat. There are on average 25 regular users with over half using the provided lifts. These are supplied by a mixture of volunteer drivers and taxis. There are 4 regular volunteers who assist staff on a rota basis with others dropping in to help when they can. The main outcome of this group are the friendships that have grown with service users meeting outside of the group and supporting each other.

Subsidised Day Trips – These were requested by our service users when asked what they wanted SeaFriends to provide. SeaFriends ethos is that services are user led as much as possible. A Staff member underwent Minibus driver training and alongside another staff member and volunteer escorts provided day trips to local attractions. The main outcome of this was that many beneficiaries were able to leave Seaford and interact with the wider environment enhancing overall wellbeing.

Memory Café – A collaboration between St Peters Church and SeaFriends with SeaFriends providing volunteer training, Safeguarding, admin support and weekly facilitation of the group. This is a purposely volunteer lead group to foster long term sustainability. The Memory Café offers a safe place for those living with memory issues and their carers. It focuses on peer support and building friendships. Run as a drop in with an average of 25/30 attendees at each session with the support of a bank of 11 volunteers with both personal and professional experience of dementia. Relaxed services are held in the church quarterly themed on timely celebrations, Christmas, Harvest etc. The Seaford Primary school children sing and perform and local residential homes and day centres are invited to join us. The Café is run as normal for those not wishing to go to the service with everyone invited for refreshments afterwards. SeaFriends is not religiously affiliated but we are happy to work with the church to provide this opportunity for those who wish to take part.

Relaxed Cinema Screenings – Another collaboration between SeaFriends and an established local group, Seaford Community Cinema. Having researched best practice for making cinema accessible to those living with memory issues or other cognitive impairments with neighbouring independent cinemas we set out to provide an inclusive cinema experience. We have now shown 3 films at the relaxed screenings, one per season. These have been well attending with numbers growing each time and positive feedback given.

1-2-1 Befriending – Our core activity continues to run well with both telephone and face to face befriending. We haven’t expanded matches significantly during the period as after lockdown beneficiaries voiced their desire to get out and meet people. Some of the matches have left the service citing that they feel they are now friends and no longer need the support offered by SeaFriends – achieving a key objective, helping people reengage with the community and feel less socially isolated and lonely.

Volunteers – During the reporting period SeaFriends has had one full time employee supported by an average of 35 volunteers doing a variety of roles including, driving, memory café support, coffee morning support and 1-2-1 befriending. All volunteers receive mandatory training in Safeguarding, Boundaries, Confidentiality, EDI and are DBS checked. Additional role specific training is also provided along with regular social events to foster friendships and peer support between volunteers. It is recognised that during Covid many volunteers came to SeaFriends as they were experiencing social isolation and loneliness. Volunteering proved to be an excellent way to meet people and become engaged with the local community.

Trustees’ Responsibilities in Relation to the Financial Statements

Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial period, which gives a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the period and of its financial position at the end of the period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act. 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.

Trustees will be in office for three years and must then retire. A retiring trustee is eligible for re-election.

Trustees

Stephanie Baker Chair

Janet Kent

Viv Reynolds

Charity Name Charity Name Charity Name No (if any) No (if any) No (if any) CC16a
For the period
from		 Period start date
15-Sep-23		 To Period end date
14-Sep-24
Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £
-
1,506
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,506
-
-
-
1,506
32,687
674
29
2,890
1,396
110
4,259
140
720
20
199
726
43,850
-
-
-
43,850
- 42,344
-
71,002
28,658		 Restricted
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Endowment
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total funds
to the nearest £
-
1,506
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,506
-
-
-
1,506
32,687
674
29
2,890
1,396
110
4,259
140
720
20
199
726
43,850
-
-
-
43,850
- 42,344		 Last year
to the nearest £
LotteryFund - 78,698
Donations 1,506 2,706
Amazon - 45
easyfundraising - 18
Insurance Refund - 55
- -
- -
- -
Sub total(Gross income for
AR)		 1,506 81,522
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
-
- -
Sub total - -
Total receipts
A3 Payments
81,522

Salaries and NI		 32,687 46,087
Insurance 674 636
DBS clearance 29 38
Venue costs 2,890 1,917
IT Equipment 1,396 1,146
Communications 110 494
Volunteer costs 4,259 2,303
Accountancycosts 140 125
Office costs 720 1,338
Stationary 20 302
Training 199 32
Other 726 226
**Sub total ** 43,850 54,644
A4 Asset and investment
purchases (see table)
, -
-
**Sub total ** - -
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end
54,644
- 42,344 - - - 42,344 26,878
- - - - -
71,002 - - 71,002 44,124
28,658 - - 28,658 71,002

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

26/08/2025

1

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
B5 Liabilities
B3 Investment assets
B2 Other monetary assets
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
B1 Cash funds		 Details
Details
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Bank account
PrePiad Card
Details
Details
Details
Signature
9ZKVNGTOK(GQKX		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
28,441
-
217
-
-
-
28,658
-
OK
OK
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
liability relates
Amount due
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Print Name
9ZKVNGTOK(GQKX		 Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
OK
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
Date of
approval
9ZKVNGTOK(GQKX 9ZKVNGTOK(GQKX 狤狨狢狪狤狧

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

26/08/2025

2