Advocates and Angels
(CIO) Registered 21 Jul 2021
Charity Number: 1195239
Trustee Annual Report And Financial Statements
For the Year Ended 01 March 2023
Advocates and Angels
Current Trustees:
-
Mrs Bethan Germon
-
Miss Janine Massey
Charity Number:
1195239
Administrative Address:
Unit 1 270 Cockett Road Cockett Swansea SA2 0FN
Telephone Number: 0330 043 9794
Page 2
Advocates and Angels
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 01 MARCH 2023
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 4 |
| Receipt and Payments Account | 9 |
| Statement of Balances | 10 |
Page 3
Advocates and Angels
TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 01 MARCH 2023
Charity Number: 1195239
Current Trustees:
-
Mrs Bethan Germon
-
Ms Janine Massey
Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees:
The initial trustees were appointed at the inauguration of the Angels and Advocates (CIO)
Administrative Address:
Unit 1 270 Cockett Road Cockett Swansea SA2 0FN
Governing Document:
The founding document of the Charity is the Constitution.
Charitable Purpose:
The object of the CIO is: for the public benefit, to relieve the needs of sick or disabled children and by extension their families and carers and any other individual involved in the provision of caregiving without remuneration, including those suffering from bereavement by the death of a person they care for, in particular but not exclusively by the provision of appropriate information, resources, advice and support.
Our main objectives are
-
Provide dignity during emergency hospital admissions
-
Building a community to introduce families to others in the same or similar situation
-
Provide resources to organise and navigate the complex care and support at home
-
Show the bereaved that their child is not forgotten
We welcome those in the SEND community to become a beneficiary, we are not exclusive and do not turn anyone away. We explain what we can offer and the individuals can decide if our support groups are for them. Some families self-refer, and others are referred by friends and families. The beneficiaries have a conversation with me to see how we can help and we go from there. The hospitals we provide the ‘Chrysalis Care Packages’ to have high dependency children ward which in turn identifies that they are families/individuals that we can help.
We aim to support families at all stages so that we are there every step of the way. Advocates and Angels began as the symbolic life of a butterfly to illustrate the different stages that families are at and the different levels and types of support that they need.
Page 4
Advocates and Angels
-
Chrysalis – Diagnosis, Pregnancy
-
Caterpillar - Disability, SEN, PICU and Tube Feeding
-
Butterfly - Child loss and Bereavement
Our beneficiaries are the families we support, this includes, parents, carers, advocates, children and siblings. They are at the forefront of what we do and why we do it. Our purpose is to support them step by step and help them to navigate the world of disabilities and palliative care, long term hospital admissions and child loss.
Our purpose is to make sure that nobody goes through this alone and we can provide guidance and support to empower the beneficiaries to be the best advocates for their children that they can be whilst feeling a sense of belonging in a community of like minded people.
We apply the Charity Ethical Principles in everything we do. We constantly ask for feedback from our beneficiaries and this has enabled us to develop the support and resources that we offer.
All of the Advocates and Angels trustees have had regard to and have read and understood the guidance issued by the charity commission on public benefit.
Activities and Achievements:
We have had a busy year, making lots of connections and delivering the projects we aimed to do. We received our First National Lottery Grant at the end of last financial year, so this year was busy delivering on this. We are still utilising the office space and welcome a number of beneficiaries to use the space.
Following is a list of deliverables and details of how it went
1. Chrysalis Care Packages ©
During a hospital admission it is easy to forget the essentials and when on a high dependency ward during an emergency admission it is not as simple as popping to the shop to get things.
The packages offer an essential collection of items that provide dignity in a time of distress.
They can include, flannel, sanitary products, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, shower gel, hair bands and soap.
During key dates throughout the year i.e Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas, we will provide a few additional items to help make this time in hospital a little lighter.
Between March 2022 and March 2023, we were able to provide these packs to every children's ward in Wales, serving 24 wards. In total 1,600 packs went out serving 3,200 families. Each pack now provides hygiene essentials for 2 parents/advocates.
2. Support Groups
The three groups offer open conversation for the communities to talk and discuss concerns, hot topics, and provide peer support. There are now dedicated groups for each stage a family is at, whether this is pregnancy, birth, diagnosis, hospital admissions or bereavement. Having a dedicated group ensures that we can provide targeted peer to peer support and remove any necessary trauma.
Page 5
Advocates and Angels
3. Advocates and Angels Medical Binder
One place to keep all the relevant information required for hospital admissions, medical appointments and daily care tasks at home. They are downloadable and printable inserts available. After a successful launch last year, we have been able to send out a further 120 to families living in the UK. Thanks to the donations provided we have been able to get these printed and posted out for free to the families who have requested them.
4. Bereavement acknowledgement and Support
Packs include a card, personalised bear and butterfly to remind loved ones that their child is not forgotten and the hope that families have a feeling of being heard and recognised. We continue to send these out after the launch last year and we have had incredibly positive feedback.
We have held 4 Bereavement craft evenings where bereaved parents, grandparents, family members or advocates attended. This was well attended with a maximum of 6 attendees at a time was suggested, due to space and trying to keep an intimate feeling. Refreshments were provided and craft materials. Several suggestions were made, and these were taken on board and executed. Feedback was positive and these will continue.
5. Tube Feeding Resources
We created a tube feeding resource to track tube feeding, with the idea that it would take the pressure off families in remembering and making something colourful and nicer to look at than a plain computerised table. We were able to use funds from fundraising excersises to buy tube tape from Tubie Cheeks, to include free tapes into every resource. We were able to send out 250 of these all over the UK free of charge for families to use.
Feedback was positive and we were able to take some comments on board to make the next lot to go out, even better.
6. Christmas Sibling Gifts
December 2022, we were able to send out 15 Christmas gifts to siblings whose brother/siter has complex medical needs, whether they had shown true support and love for their brother or sister or if they were having a really tough time, we were able to send them out to wish them a Merry Christmas. We were able to use leftover funds from donations that came from a Bucket collection in Tesco Forestwatch.
By doing this we are able to deliver and carry out Advocate and Angels purpose. Putting this into practice for the public benefit and continuously developing and improving what we do.
7. Child of Courage Award
This year we launched our Child of Courage Award; this is awarded via nominations on social media. A certificate and a knitted caterpillar are sent out to the child who is nominated each month. This is to provide recognition and a smile to an individual who may be in hospital, just had surgery or going through a particularly challenging time. We have had lots of positive feedback from this and will continue to do this next year.
Page 6
Advocates and Angels
8. Collaborations, donations, and strong working relationships.
Everything we do it a team effort and we have work with some fabulous businesses, independent companies and individuals within these 12 months including;
| Tubie Cheeks | Inkind |
| Tekeez | RockFire |
| Welsh Brew | National Lottery |
| Tesco | Whizzknits |
| SJP | Channel 4 |
We have also worked with 6 Swansea Based Schools to hold the Butterfly Cup, a Rounders competition in Legacy of Lydia Germon. We were able to raise £400, thanks to the children at these schools, playing rounders and holding fun days during the summer term in 2022.
Our Volunteers are extra special to us, they provide time and expertise to help fundraise, pack care packages and offer administration support. This year we have awarded Fundraiser of the Year and Volunteer of the Year as a way of saying thank you. This is something that will continue next year.
Page 7
Advocates and Angels
Trustee Remuneration and Expenses:
During the year under review no remuneration was paid to the Trustees as all Trustees are Volunteers.
Reserves:
The Accounts set out in Page 7 and 8 show the financial position as at 02 March 2023 and the receipts and payments of the accounting period. The trustees anticipate a continuation of income along the same lines in future and will continue to administer both the income and expenditure of the Charity in accordance with established practice.
Trustees have decided that the £2,000 will be held back this financial year to support the payment of rent in the following financial year to secure 4 months of office space. No other funds will be held in reserve for any other reason.
As a charity we feel there is an extremely low risk of the charity facing any financial problems as we work on the basis of securing funds before spending anything.
Page 8
Advocates and Angels
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 01 MARCH 2023
| 2022-2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts | £ | |||
| Grant Funding | 2500.00 | |||
| Grant Funding (Restricted) | 1750.00 | |||
| Donations | 1097.22 | |||
| FundraisingActivities | 3112.13 | |||
| One Lottery | 904.86 | |||
| Total Receipts | 9364.21 | |||
| PAYMENTS | ||||
| Rent | 6000.00 | |||
| Electricity | 550 | |||
| Internet & Telephone | 981.60 | |||
| Office Equipment | 128.45 | |||
| Volunteer Expenses | 243.21 | |||
| Website Hosting | 1200.00 | |||
| Project deliverycosts | 986.00 | |||
| Project delivery costs (Restricted) | 5947.35 | |||
| Total Payments | 16036.61 | |||
| Surplus/(Deficit) For Year | - 6672.40 |
Page 9
Advocates and Angels
STATEMENT OF BALANCES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 01 MARCH 2023
| 2022-2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank and Cash Balance | £ | |||
| Opening Bank Balance | 10598.00 | |||
| Surplus/(Deficit) for Year | - 6672.40 | |||
| Closing Bank Balances | 3925.60 | |||
| Reserves | ||||
| General Funds | 2175.60 | |||
| Restricted Fund | 1750.00 | |||
| C/F Balance | 3925.60 |
Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:
| Signature: | Signature: | Signature: |
|---|---|---|
| Print Name: | Print Name: | |
| Role:Chairperson | Role: Treasurer | |
| Date of Approval: |
Page 10