TOGETHER WE CAN DO Registered Charity No. 1192282 2023 ANNUAL REPORT The work of charity, along with the achievements of its members and supporters during the past year are summarized in this report. Since commencing our activities in May 2021, the charity has supported 211 individuals with a disability to take part in sport and physical exercise. We currently have 143 individuals taking part in our sessions, many of whom were physically inactive prior to being beneficial members of the charity. The range and frequency of the sports and social activities we operate has increased during the past year. Five weekly sports sessions at three locations within the Fylde area are now being run and regular social evenings are being held. There has been a total of 5984 attendances of beneficial members at the sports sessions during the past year. Our activities are coordinated and supervised by a small staff team and a group of committed volunteers. During the past year many undertook training and obtained qualifications to support the charity’s activities. The impact of the work of the charity has been recognized by our local community; the “Uniting Lancashire” award was received at the Active Lancashire 2022 event. One of our volunteers (Charlotte Foster) received the “2023 Disability Sports” award from Blackpool Council whilst Howard Robinson, one of our trustees, received “2023 Contribution to Active Communities – Individual Group” award from Fylde Council. Page 1 ## **TABLE OF CONTENTS** _**Objective .......................................................................................................................... 3 Membership ..................................................................................................................... 3 Financial Statement .......................................................................................................... 4 Governance and Management ......................................................................................... 4**_ **Vision ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Management System .................................................................................................................................. 5 Personnel ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Funding ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Venues for Sports & Social Activities .......................................................................................................... 7 Promotion of Opportunities ....................................................................................................................... 7 Recognition of the Charity’s Work .............................................................................................................. 8** _**Delivery of the Sports & Social Sessions............................................................................. 8**_ **Blackpool Sports Centre Activities .............................................................................................................. 9 YMCA St Annes Activities.......................................................................................................................... 10 YMCA Thornton Activities ......................................................................................................................... 11 Social Events ............................................................................................................................................. 11** _**Contact Details ............................................................................................................... 14**_ **Trustees .................................................................................................................................................... 14 Staff .......................................................................................................................................................... 14 Welfare Officer ......................................................................................................................................... 14** Page 2 ## **OBJECTIVE** “Together We Can Do” obtained registration with the Charities Commission on 11[th] November 2020. The charity objectives stated in the Governing document are: 1. The relief of those in need by reasons of their disability in Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre by: (a) the promotion of community participation in the healthy recreation by the provision of assistance and suitable facilities for the participation in sport, and (b) the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupation in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving the condition of life of the said habitants. 2. To advance such charitable purposes as the trustees see fit in supporting charity members for the public benefit, by making grants and awards to enable them to take part in amateur sports events. ## **MEMBERSHIP** Membership is open to anyone who is interested in furthering the charity’s purposes and accepts that they must conduct their activities in a way to further its purposes. Membership consists of beneficial and non-beneficial members. Beneficial members are individuals with a recognized disability who take part in the exercise, sporting, and social activities. Whilst anyone with a recognized disability can benefit from the charity, individuals living in the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre areas are given priority. The charity’s membership on 1[st] November 2021, 2022, and 2023 is shown below. |**Beneficial**
**Members**|**2022/23**|**2021/22**|**2020/21**|**Non-**
**Beneficial**
**Members*1**|**2022/23**|**2021/2**
**2**|**2020/21**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**Enrolled**|**143**|133|68|Trustees|**6**|8|7| |||||Volunteers|**22**|28|23| |||||Staff|**5**|3|3| |**Total**|**143**|133|68|Total|**33**|49|33| *1 These include trustees as well as others who carry out administrative roles in addition to individuals who volunteer at the sports sessions and social events. 36% of the beneficial members live in the Blackpool area, 24% in Fylde, 38% in Wyre and 2% are from other areas. Since its inception, the charity has provided support to 211 beneficial members. Page 3 ## **FINANCIAL STATEMENT** The 2023 accounts are provided in a separate document and have been subject to independent examination by a competent person. The total income and expenditure in the year from 1[st] November 2022 to 31[st] October 2023 is shown in the table below. |**Income**
£87,763.72|**Expenditure**|**Current A/C Balance**| |---|---|---| ||£61,721.92|£67,341*1 *2| - *1. Includes £15,000 allocated as reserves. - *2 YMCA venue hire fees for October 2023 yet to be deducted. Blackpool Council provided free use of the Blackpool Sports Centre - a “gift in kind” valued at £16,500. ## **GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** ## VISION Our vision is that every individual with a disability. - Is able to participate in exercise and sporting activities on a regular basis. - Can strive to achieve sporting excellence through competition. - Are supported so that sporting and related social activities are part of a healthy lifestyle choice. The following individuals have undertaken the role of trustee during the past year. Carina Gribbon, Rachel Lambert, Jenny Morris, Howard Robinson, Rosemary Sycamore and Tony Winter Tony Winter resigned as a trustee in January 2023. Collectively the trustees have a wide range of knowledge, skills and professional expertise which enabled the charity to expand its operations. Trustees meet on a regular basis; ten meetings have been held since the last AGM. To ensure that the charity’s work could be delivered in the longer term, the trustees decided that more individuals should be employed rather than the work being undertaken by volunteers and trustees. The trustees also decided that work to improve the quality and variety of activities offered was required. This resulted in staff and volunteers being offered opportunities to obtain coaching and other qualifications. As a result of these decisions work was initiated to obtain addition funding to pay for the increase in staff numbers and the various training courses. Page 4 Following the receipt of additional funding, two additional part time roles (Project Manager and Registration & Membership Administrator) were established, and individuals were recruited to the posts in March 2023. Following their recruitment, the duties of the existing staff were revised to enable them to be more focused on delivery of the sports and social session. ## MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The trustees have developed and approved a range of policies and procedures to enable the charity to both meet its legal obligations and ensure effective management of its activities. These documents have been reviewed and revised to address issues arising as well as addressing increase scope of the charity’s activities. Risk assessments and instructions have been prepared and reviewed to ensure that our activities are delivered to a consistently high standard and always put the safety and welfare of those we support first. ## PERSONNEL All the trustees have knowledge and experience of providing support to or working with individuals with a disability. Some have been trustees of other charities, whilst others have held senior positions in education, care and central government organizations. In addition to their general duties ’trustees have lead responsibilities on specific topics, such as training of staff, recruitment of volunteers and promotion, so that a consistent approach is adopted. A Welfare Officer is in post and routinely attends the sports and social sessions. The charity employs staff to undertake the following roles. - Project Manager (0.5 FTE) - Session Coordinator (0.5FTE) - Registration & Membership Administrator (0.4FTE) - Sports Coaches (x 2) Hours work dependent upon the sports sessions delivered. An agency is used to manage the payment of wages, tax and National Insurance contributions as well as providing the booking keeping service for the charity. There are currently 22 registered volunteers who support the sports sessions and have been subject to checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Most of the current volunteers have joined after learning about the charity’s activities from friends and family or through attending the sports and social sessions. During the past year the number of registered volunteers has reduced; the recruitment and training of volunteers will be a priority task during the next year. Page 5 Staff and volunteers undertook training and obtained qualifications by during the past 12 months. This included. 1 x UK Coaching - Level 1: Netball 4 x UK Coaching - Level 2: Muti-sports 3 x UK Coaching – Certificate: Teaching Deaf & Disabled Children 8 x First Aid at Work 3 x Safeguarding Adults FUNDING During the past year significant funding has been received which has enabled the charity to employ two additional part time staff members as well as increasing the sports and social activities offered. A grant of £25,000 was received from Scope in January 2022. This has been used to pay a large proportion of staff costs from April 2023 and will be used by March 2024. A grant of £25,000 was received from Blackpool Fylde & Wyre Cerebral Palsy Association in February 2023. This is being used to pay the remaining proportion of staff costs to March 2024 and all staff costs up to September 2024. A £10,000 grant from Sport England was received in March 2022 to pay some of the cost of hiring venues and coaches up to the end March 2023. A grant of £5000 from NHS Fylde and Wyre CCG was received in August 2022. This was used to pay for the hire of venues and coaches up to the end of July 2023. A grant of £3500 for training of staff and volunteers was received from Active Lancashire. A grant of £3000 was received from the Bruce Wake Charitable Trust for the purchase of various sports equipment. A £750 donation from the D J Sidebottom/Glasdon Charitable Programme was received in September 2023. This along with donation made in 2022 is being used to subsidize the cost of holding social events. The trustees have reviewed the funding requirements to support the charity’s activities over the next 1 to 3 years. Several grant applications have been submitted and further applications Page 6 will follow in early 2024. The trustees are also looking into obtaining funding to deliver services from organizations such as the local NHS and Social Services. ## VENUES FOR SPORTS & SOCIAL ACTIVITIES The trustees have had regular communications with staff from Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Councils about our activities. The charity has a hire contract for weekly use of two sports halls at the Blackpool Sports Centre (BSC) each Thursday. Blackpool Council has agreed that these facilities will be provided free of charged for which we are very grateful. The charity has three contracts with YMCA (Fylde Coast) for the hire of facilities at St Annes and Thornton-Cleveleys. These cover the weekly use of a sports hall at Thornton (Mondays) and St Annes (Saturday) and the hire of the 10-pin bowling alley (Monday). The charity uses the function room at the Norbreck Bowling and Tennis club to hold regular social evenings. The trustees are thankful that the club have allowed the charity free use of their facilities. ## PROMOTION OF OPPORTUNITIES The trustees continue to be concerned that the planned Revoe Community Sports Village is restricted to football based activities and is not inclusive by its design. Despite discussions with organizers, it was not possible for our members to participate safely in the “Ride the Lights” event in August 2023. The charity is working with other organizations representing disability groups to highlight to Blackpool Council the lack of opportunities and barriers faced by our members living in the area. The trustees have also had communication with the Fylde and Wyre Councils as well as YMCA Fylde Coast and the NHS highlighting the lack of opportunities for individual with a disability to undertake physical exercise on a regular basis. It is hoped that these organizations will work with the charity to support the delivery and expansion of our activities in the future. Page 7 ## RECOGNITION OF THE CHARITY’S WORK The impact of the charity’s work on the community has been recognized. The charity was presented with the “Uniting Lancashire” award at the Active Lancashire 2022 event. Blackpool Council made the “Disability Sport” award to Charlotte Foster who is one of our volunteers. Fylde Council made an award under the “Contribution to Active Communities – Individual” category to Howard Robinson, one of the charity’s trustees. ## **DELIVERY OF THE SPORTS & SOCIAL SESSIONS** Participation in the sports sessions has grown steadily over the past year. The trustees have attempted to respond to the feedback from the members with additional sessions being run on a trial basis to confirm demand before being made permanent. Five sports sessions each week are now being run at three locations within the area. In order to make the sessions fun, themes such “Halloween”, “Christmas” and “Wimbledon” have been adopted. This has involved members, support workers and the charity’s staff / volunteers dressing in accordance with the theme and prizes being awarded for the best outfits. The graph below shows the participation levels at the various sessions over the past year; 5984 attendances of beneficial members have been recorded. Page 8 **----- Start of picture text -----**
Sports Sessions Attendance 31st Oct 2022 to 30th October
2023
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
BSC Multi-Sports 10 pin bowling Netball St Anne's Multi-Sports Football
NUMBER OF ATTENDENCES
**----- End of picture text -----**
## BLACKPOOL SPORTS CENTRE ACTIVITIES Weekly “multi sports” sessions take place each Thursday between 10 am and 2pm. These have been held on 47 occasions in the past year; the average attendance is 49 members with a total of 2283 attendances. The multi-sport sessions are led by qualified coaches with volunteers helping to run the activities. Various group exercises, dance and team games are played in one of the sports halls whilst the other sports hall is set up to allow a range of less energic games to take place. eg Archery, Boccia, Curling, Darts, Pool, Skittles etc. Volunteers from the Anchorsholme Bowling Academy now provide bowling tuition between 12:30 and 2pm during the sessions. This has proved to be popular with the members and an internal competition was held on 3[rd] August 2022. A competition between our members and individuals who attend Warren Manor has been arranged for early November 2023. During most sessions a group dance activity is held. Our members we therefore very excited to meet Strictly stars Kym Marsh and Graziano Di Prima when they joined our session at the Blackpool Sports Centre in November 2022. Page 9 Brian Rose held a boxing training session in January 2023; several of our members visited his gym which is located in the Blackpool Sports Centre. Coaches from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) provided tuition at some sessions in July. Their specialist knowledge enabled our members to improve their tennis skills as well as helping our staff with techniques for coaching tennis and other racket sports. Several other special events have been held at this session including: Feel Good February Step Challenge – 20 members signed up for this challenge. Rock music, World Book Day, summer festival and Halloween fancy dress themed sessions with prizes of a free session for the best dressed member Trial football sessions were held for 8 weeks in early 2023 which proved that there was a demand at this location. Since 5[th] June 2023 football sessions have been held each Thursday between 2pm and 3 pm. Attendances have steadily increased with 15 to 20 members playing in recent weeks. A “Best Player” award is made by the coaching team at the end of each session. The coaches have been impressed with the progress made by members and arrangements are being made to hold matches with other disabled football teams in the area. ## YMCA ST ANNES ACTIVITIES Weekly “multi sports” sessions, similar to those run at Blackpool Sports Centre, take place each Saturday and initially operated between 11am and 2pm. These have been held on 42 occasions in the past year; the average attendance is 15 members with a total of 609 attendances. Bill Hanigan from the Fairhaven Bowling Academy provides bowling tuition at some of these sessions. A competition involving our members, those from the Blackpool Boccia Club and as individuals supported by One Fylde had been arranged to take place at Fairhaven Bowling Club. Unfortunately, owing to adverse weather conditions in July and August 2023, the competition was unable to take place as scheduled. A bowling competition in 2024 is proposed. Specific funding was used to support this session up to July 2023 as attendance fees are insufficient to fully cover the costs of running them. To make this session viable the activities now take place between 10:30 and 12:30hrs (saving £68 per week). A leaflet drop to Health Centres and major shops in the area was conducted in September 2023 with the aim of increasing attendance. This has had some success with four new members joining these sessions. Whilst the average attendances are still insufficient to fully cover the session costs they will continue until the end of 2023 as they provide opportunities for members in the St Annes / Lytham area to participate. The trustees are having discussions with Fylde Council and the YMCA Fylde Coast about the costs of these sessions and are also investigating alternative ways of funding them. Page 10 ## YMCA THORNTON ACTIVITIES Weekly netball sessions take place each Monday between 12:00 and 13:00hrs. These have been held on 43 occasions in the past year; the average attendance is 19 members with a total of 801 attendances. The coach and volunteers have been impressed with the progress made by members and are seeking opportunities to hold matches with other disabled netball teams. Weekly 10 pin bowling take place each Monday in two sessions, 12:30 to 13:45hrs and 13:45 to 15:00hrs. These have been held on 43 occasions in the past year; the average attendance is 46 members with a total of 1968 attendances. In September and October 2023 six teams comprising of six members took part in a competition. Over a five-week period each team played each other; the total number of pinpoints scored was used to determine the team’s position. As the competition proved to be popular similar events will take place during 2024. ## SOCIAL EVENTS The Christmas Party and AGM was held at The Carousel Hotel, Blackpool on 17[th] December 2022. This was attended by a total of 119 beneficial members, their support staff as well as trustees, volunteers and staff. Biweekly social evenings at the Norbreck Tennis and Bowling club, are held alternative Wednesdays between 6:30 and 9 pm. These have involved karaoke, sing-a-longs to popular musicals such as Dirty Dancing as well as bingo, card games and quizzes. There has been a total of 527 attendances by beneficial members plus their support staff at these social sessions. Page 11 ## **Boxing with Brian Rose** ## **Bowling with Anchorsholme Bowling Academy at Blackpool Sports Centre** Page 12 ## **Tennis Skills with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)** ## **A surprise visit of Strictly stars to Blackpool Sports Centre** Page 13 ## **CONTACT DETAILS** Registered Office: 40 Normoss Road, Blackpool, FY3 0AL Telephone: 07859 916181 Email: info@togetherwecando.org Website: togetherwecando.org ## TRUSTEES Carina Gribbon (Chair) Howard Robinson (Secretary) Jenny Morris Rachel Lambert Rosemary Sycamore ## STAFF Joanne Martin (Project Manager) Karen Kirkbride (Session Coordinator) JoJo Bramhall (to Sep 23) Lyndsey Rigby (from Nov 23) (Registration & Membership Administrator) Michael Thwaites (Sports Coach) Joanne Thwaites (Sports Coach) WELFARE OFFICER Anne Marie Wilkson (up to August 2023) Rosemary Sycamore (August 2023 onwards) Page 14 The Trustees would like to thank the following organizations for their support. **Fylde and Wyre CCG** Further information is available from our web site www.togetherwecando.org and Facebook page. You can also speak to us by visiting one of our sessions or send a message via email (info@togetherwecando.org) or text (07859 916181). Registered Charity No.1192282 ## Summary of Income & Expenditure ## 1[st] November 2022 to 31[st] October 2023 |Income
**Operational Activities**
Sport Session Fees
£29,224.90
Venue Hire
Social Events - Christmas Party
£2394.00
Venue Hire & Food
Social Events Income
£148.00
Special Events Expenses
Memberships
£778.00
**Fundraising & Grants**
Grants
£54,800.00
Gross wages
Staff & Volunteer Training + misc expenses
Purchase of Equipment
Donations
£1,188.82
Sponsored Walk
£883.00
Donation for C Foster (World Games) +misc gifts
Raffles etc
£842.00
Lottery Licences & misc expenses
Sales of Polo Shirts etc
£568.00
Purchase for Polo Shirts etc
**Administration**
Printing, Stationery & Advertising
Telephone and Computer charges
Maintenance
Insurances & related expenses
Bank Charges
Bookkeeping and Payroll Fees
**Total Income**
**£90,826.72**
**Total Expenditure**
**Surplus carried forward**
**£26,041.80**|Expenditure
£12,693.50
£3063.00
£655.01
£37,935.72
£1,835.00
£2,907.16
£600.00
£43.54
£585.00
£1,791.86
£158.62
£35.06
£516.70
£433.82
£1,505.52
**£64,784.92**| |---|---| CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Sectlon A Independent Examlner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of TOGETHER WE CAN DO On accounts for the year ended 318Y OCTOBER 2023 Charty no {If any) 1192282 Sel out on pages I r@port lo the trustees on my examlnalSon of Ihe accounts of the above charity {"tha Trust.) for the year 8nd8d 3111112023 Respon8lbllltl85 and basls of report As the charty's trustees, you 8re responsitje for the preparation of th8 accounts in accordanc& with th8 r8quirem8nts of the Charlties Act 2011 I th@ Acl'}. I report In respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under seclK)n 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my eXaminat￿n, I have followed all the applica￿e Oirections given by the Charity Commission ur)der section 14515){bl of the ACL Independent gxamlnefs statement I have complet￿} my examination. I conflmi that no ma18r￿1 matt8r8 have come to my attention in conn8ctK)n with the examination {olher than that disclosed below '} which gNes me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. the accounting records were nol kept in accc￿ance with section 130 of the Charib'es Acl. or the accounts did Tr)t accord with the a¢¢¢)Jnting fecords., or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concoming the fomi and content of accounts set oul In the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a Irug and falr. vlew which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examinatson. I have no concems and have come across no other mallers in connectlon with the examinats'on lo which attention should be drawn in thls reFX)rt in ord8r to enabSe a proper understanding of the 8¢¢ounls tr) be reached. Please delete the words in the brackets rffhey do not apply. Slgned: Date: 202S Name: IER Oct 2018 Relevant professional quaJifi¢ation(s) or body (If any): Addrnss: oN-LÉ-FILJ>É Section B Disclosure Only complete If the examiner np.ed8 lo highlight material mallers of concern (seg CC32, Independent examination of Gharily aGGounls'. di18¢t￿n8 and guldanc8 for 8xamln8rsl. Glve h9re brI￿détaIlS of any Items that the examiner wi$hes to dlscloso. IER Oct 2018