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2025-09-14-accounts

Charity number: 1191294

SeaFriends

Annual Report and Financial Statements

For the year ending

14 September 2025

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

Vivien 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 2025

The trustees are pleased to present their report and financial statement for the year ended 14 September 2025

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 members are considered members of SeaFriends. The day-to-day 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 £44,149 comprising of: National Lottery grant £41,349 Donations from the public £ 2,800 Expenditure for the period was £44,668 Leaving a surplus of £28,139 for the year. Reserves at the year end were £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. Members enjoy refreshments, board games and chat. There are on average 25 regular guests 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 members meeting outside of the group and supporting each other.

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 5 films at the relaxed screenings, one per season. These have been well attending with numbers growing each time and positive feedback given.

Social Sew – A fortnightly group focusing on crafts, peer support and chat. This session was asked for by member of other groups who had stopped crafting as they found it a lonely hobby and wanted to share their skills and knowledge with other

members of the community. This group proved to be popular but was financially unsustainable for SeaFriends so it moved to a local pub where the cost of refreshments is covered by members. This group continue to meet and has reported back to SeaFriends that’s its numbers have grown.

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 members 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.

Christmas eve Lunch – This was set up in response to the other Christmas Day lunch run in Seaford being fully subscribed. With support from St Peters Church who provided the hall free of charge we fed and entertained 25 local residents who would otherwise have been alone over the Christmas period. Transport to and from the event was offered with volunteer drivers mainly from the local Rotary Clubs. Entertainment from a local ukulele group and a visit from Father Christmas with a present for everyone. A full Christmas dinner and refreshments was enjoyed by all attendees and volunteers. This will now be an annual event.

Seaford Community Group Network – There are many small groups and charities in Seaford. Seafriends set up a bi-monthly network lunch enabling these groups to come together and learn about, and from each other. This has proved very popular and has resulted in sharing of skills, signposting and greater community cohesion in the town.

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 COMMISSION FOR ENGLANO AND WALES Charl1¥ Nam 8MFrf•nd• No111 any) 1191294 Recei ts and ents accounts CC16a For th• p&rlod from To 1Mep Section A Receipts and payments Unrejtrtcted lund• lund• ¢0 Ih•o•ww¢ 4 toth• nMMt£ ts+th• n•ii••t£ WJ Ih•iw••tE t•tr n•ii••t£ R••¢rlthd lund• Totsl fund• A1 Recel Lott• F￿a rknn8uon8 41 41.349 AR) 41.J49 44.149 nv9• 148 A3Po ments Salarfe$ Nl Insuran DBS C￿￿13n￿O Venu& costs IT Eouiprnenl CofflrnunirAIo V0￿￿tEe[CO$ts AtrounlgntycD¥ls offi￿ coslB stabon Trahill Other 23,710 3108£ 727 727 05B 1.581 1,579 140 2QO 337 44.ÉÉ8 199 4337 2Q958 Sub total 21700 A4 A5SOt znd Investment Sub totsi 2Q968 23,700 43,850 Netof rKelpW(p•ymentsJ A5 Transfers belween lunds A6 Ca¥h funds last yvr ond Cash funds thls year end 18,168 17,64b S19 10.490 17,649 28,129 28.6S8 CCXX R181X(VJ)t8 ISSI

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities al the end ol the period C•tWgorlB¥ D8tall8 fund¢ B1 Ca•h fund8 10A90 17.U9 nd• nd D•tsi D8W18 B4 Assèts retslnod for th• chartys own y8• Doto118 88 LIabIl￿￿$ S4ned tyone tr￿le# bethafofaHthE hlo4ps CCXX R24¢wJ)ts ISS)

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Seafriends (CIO) I reporttothetrusteès on Tny exarnination of the acwunts of Seafriends ltheTrus¥ forthe year ended 14 September 2025. ResponsSbSUties and basis ot report A5the chartytrustees of the Trust. you are ￿ponsIbLe10rthe prepar8tion of thé atcounts in accardantr with the requirements of the Charities Art 20111.the Actl. I report in respettof ry examinatyon oftheTrust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Artand in carrying out rny examinati¢n I have followed allthe app14cable directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515lltsl of the ACL ltrMl&pendent examiner's staternent I have cempLeted myexatnination. l ¢x)nfirm that no rnaterial matter5 have come to my attention in connection wth the examination giving me causeto believe th* in any material respett ac£ountiny records were not kept in respect of theTrustas required by section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with those records.. or the accounts do not cornpty with the appbcable requirements contrrning the fom) and contentof accounts set out in the Charities (Accryjnts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirementthatthe accounts give a Irue and fairview whith is not a mattercon5ideied as part of an independentexaminatien. I have no concerns and have CDme a￿osS no otheT matters in connecbon with the examination ta which attention should be drawn in this report to enatsie a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Mr A M Richardson. FCCA 12 Went Hill Park Seaford East Sussex BN25 4QD 30 April 2026