## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From** 22[nd] July 2021 **Period start date To** 30[th] September 2022 **Period end date Charity name:** Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees
## **Charity registration number:** 1195256
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|Charitable objects: To provide relief to refugees
and their dependants and asylum seekers and
their dependants, in particular but not exclusively
those coming to the Cheltenham area by the
provision of support services so as to advance
them in life and assist them with the adaptation
within a new community.
Our aims as a charity: To foster compassion and
cooperation between different communities in
Cheltenham, helping local people understand the
global refugee crisis and what people experience
on their resettlement journey.
To work with GARAS (Gloucestershire Action for
Refugees and Asylum Seekers), local authorities,
and other partners including organisations and
businesses, to help refugee communities truly
grow and flourish.|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or services
identified in the accounts.|Para 1.17 and 1.1
BBC V 9|As above, with the objects of:
• Preserving and protecting their physical and
mental health;
• Advancing their education and training and to
advance the education of the public in general
about the issues relating to refugees and those
seeking asylum;
• Relieving them from financial hardship and
unemployment; and
• Assisting in the provision of facilities for
recreation or other leisure time occupation with
the object of improving the conditions of life of
those persons who have need of such facilities
by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or
disablement, financial hardship or social and
economic circumstances
The Charity carries out these objects by:
Running a weekly 'Hub' meeting open to all
where refugees and asylum seekers and their
dependents can come to meet others, meet
residents, receive warmth, conversation and
practical guidance, such as bike provision and
repairs, signposting of the local area, as well as|
|||entertainment and introduction to other local
peers.
Running a monthly Welcome Cafe so that
refugees, asylum seekers and their dependents
can come together to receive relief, socialise,
share food and meet members of the local
community. This aims to improve wellbeing and
relieve hardship.
Carrying out other activities and enhancements
as advised and to provide help and support for
emotional and physical wellbeing, such as
football training, english language classes,
support with the UK driving test and other
practical support, such as digital infrastructure.
The Charity also aims to raise awareness of the
situation of refugees and asylum seekers locally
and runs events and activities such as book
clubs, film screenings and quiz nights to engage
local people.
By focusing on these core areas we achieve our
strategic purpose to carry out public benefit as
defined by the Charity Commission.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|The objects of the Trust are to provide relief to
refugees and their dependants and asylum
seekers and their dependants, and to advance
them in life and assist them with the adaptation
within a new community. The constitution
contains the following statement: “Nothing in this
constitution shall authorise an application of the
property of the CIO for the purposes which are
not charitable in accordance with section 7 of the
Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act
2005 and section 2 of the Charities Act (Northern
Ireland) 2008.”
The trustees confirm that they have referred to
the guidance contained in the Charity
Commission’s general guidance on public benefit
when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives
and in planning future activities.|
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant making|Para 1.38||
|Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38||
||Para 1.38|Our Charity is entirely run and our work entirely
delivered by volunteers. We have over 122 active
volunteers from across Cheltenham and are|
|Contribution made by
volunteers||managed by five trustees on an entirely voluntary
basis.|
|---|---|---|
|Other|||
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|**Support (inc. Hub and Community Café)**
This was a year when we finally emerged from
the restrictions of Covid and could fully focus on
face-to face activities again. We were able to re-
start our weekly drop-in; “**_The Hub_**” with its
mixture of refreshments, chat, games, practical
support (e.g. bike repairs) and lots of laughter.
Visibly and anecdotally we know this improves
the wellbeing of attendees, provides relief from
pressures and strains and gives some practical
relief (e.g. bike repairs). We see a large number
of repeat visits, relationships being formed and
Hub numbers remain consistent.
The monthly**_Welcome Café_**has also been re-
established and the**_Welcome_** **_Picnic_**in the
summer returned for the fifth year with approx. 50
people travelling to attend, to play, relax and
socialise. We saw people enjoy themselves and
feel welcome in the town. For a second year in a
row, we worked with the**_Ernest_** **_Cook_** **_Trust_**for
summer activities for teenagers.
The opening of 3 hotels to accommodate newly
arrived asylum seekers (one of which is a few
miles from the town centre) meant an increased
need for**_bikes_**and we have a small group of
volunteers sourcing and renovating bikes and
regular maintenance sessions as part of the
weekly Hub. Practical assistance enables
refugees and asylum seekers to have greater
control and agency in their situation and helps to
improve wellbeing.
Activities now include regular**_football_**training
(and the occasional match), and visits to watch
Cheltenham Town (courtesy of free tickets
supplied by the club, via our Charity). This
teamwork and physical activity helps to improve
physical and mental wellbeing.
We have worked with Cheltenham Volunteer
Teachers (CVT) to develop English
**_conversation_** **_classes_**initially for adults from the
resettled families, but increasingly for Ukrainian
guests and for people seeking asylum. These
skills help to improve communication, and thus
opportunities and integration.
**Digital**
We continue to provide asylum seekers with IT|
_**equipment**_ , _**wi**_ - _**fi**_ and _**phone top**_ - _**ups**_ to enable people to keep in touch with friends, family and lawyers as well as study, helping to improve their circumstances emotionally as well as practically. **Events** A highlight of the year, in terms of public awareness, was the visit of Little Amal to Cheltenham in _**Refugee Week**_ . Little Amal is the 12-foot puppet of a 10 year old Syrian refugee child who has become a global symbol of human rights, especially those of refugees. Her journeys are ‘festivals of art and hope’ and have taken place around the world. We helped organise her visit with the Everyman, Cheltenham Festivals and Cheltenham Borough Council and we raised awareness of the visit in the town, leading to a spectacular turnout in the town centre to welcome Little Amal and draw attention to the refugee crisis. We have taken other opportunities to get our cause known and to raise awareness and empathy in the town – through _**quiz nights**_ , taking-over the stewarding of the Pittville _**ParkRun**_ and a mindfulness event during _**Refugee Week**_ . The success of this can, perhaps, be demonstrated in the number of volunteers we have and times this year we have been picked as the chosen charity for local companies and events, and for whose support we have been very grateful.
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||||
|---|---|---|
|Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41||
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41|One of our objectives was to hold reserves to
support our core purpose. Since July 2021 with
significant fundraised income and interest in our
cause we are now in a position to set up
reserves.
As income has increased we recognise the need
to be more ambitious with our spending, and are
planning for this in the coming year as we
develop.|
|Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41||
|Other|||
## **Financial Review**
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|Financial position is secure - currently no
reserves, no deficit, limited financial uncertainty
ahead.
In this reporting period the Charity has continued
to grow from strength to strength, attracting
donations and goodwill from local people and
businesses as the war in Ukraine, public opinion
and global attention on the situation has grown,
alongside more temporary holding centres for
asylum seekers locally. We have therefore had
more donations than we have been able to
spend, and as we grow as a small charity we
intend to redress the balance through an
increase in our activities and financial outlay on
support infrastructure (e.g. bikes, digital relief) in
the future. As a volunteer-run charity we face
some capacity issues scaling up our activities,
but have a development plan to address this,
including an increase in volunteer commitments
and raised awareness in the town, to enable
more support to deliver our charitable objects in
partnership.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees is preparing a
Reserves Policy to be adopted in 2023 to enable
us to continue to undertake our core charitable
objects should the fundraising climate change.|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|0|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees is preparing a
Reserves Policy to be adopted in 2023 in line
with its charity development.|
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|No funds in deficit|
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|No uncertainties about the charity’s ability to
continue.|
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: The charity’s principal sources of funds (including Para 1.47 any fundraising)
||||
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47||
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46||
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46||
Other
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|CWR has a constitution|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|Apart from the first charity trustees, every
appointed trustee must be appointed for a term of
three years by a resolution passed
at a properly convened meeting of the charity
trustees.|
## **Additional information (optional)**
## You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||||
|---|---|---|
|Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction and
training of trustees|Para 1.51||
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51||
|Relationship with any related
parties|Para 1.51||
|Other|||
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses|CWR|
|Registered charity number|1195256|
|Charity’s principal address|CWR c/o Maggie Powell
4 Shaftesbury Hall,
St Georges Place,
Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire,
GL50 3PX|
|||
||**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates**
**acted if**
**not for**
**whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or**
**body) entitled to**
**appoint trustee (if any)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|1|Sophie Kate Bourne
(nee Wardell)|Chair of Trustees|||
|2|Paul Richard Baker||||
|3|Simon Christopher
Witcombe||||
|4|Nathalie Genes|Chair of CWR’s core
groupof volunteers|||
|5|Margaret Ann Powell|Secretary of CWR’s
core group of
volunteers|||
|6|||||
|7|||||
|8|||||
|9|||||
|10|||||
|11|||||
|12|||||
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|15|||||
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|20|||||
## – Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved
**Director name**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
**Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year**
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
Description of the assets N/A held in this capacity
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
**Additional information (optional) Type of Name Address adviser**
**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
## **Other optional information**
Declarations
The trusteas declare that they have approved the trustses. report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees
Signaturels)
F.ull namo1$}
Position (eg
Secretary, Chair. etc>
ca-, *£7 <4 /r C
£thJ
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Date
z¢
|Charity No
1195256
Period start date
Jul-21
**To**
Period end date
Sep-22
(date of charity registration)
**Starting Balance:**
**£8,107.01**
**Closing Balance:**
**£19,274.22**
**Income**
**Expenditure**
**Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees**
**Report for the Financial Year 2021-22**|Charity No
1195256
Period start date
Jul-21
**To**
Period end date
Sep-22
(date of charity registration)
**Starting Balance:**
**£8,107.01**
**Closing Balance:**
**£19,274.22**
**Income**
**Expenditure**
**Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees**
**Report for the Financial Year 2021-22**|
|---|---|
|**Source**
**Description**
**Actual**
**Item**
**Description**
**Actual**||
|**Donations**
**£8,323**
**£5,131**
**Support (inc. Hub & Community cafe)**||
|Private donations
£1,850
£648
Expenses for the Hub||
|Donations via website
£2,834
£357
Expenses for Community Cafe||
|Awesome women's group funded by Everyman
£240 >>>
Expenses for Awesome Womens Group
£210||
|Corporate donations|£2,898
Eid Party
£0|
||Summer Picnic
£259|
||£40
Asylum Seekers accommodation|
||Essentials
Clothing and food
£460|
|Football team start up fund|£500 >>>
Football team
equipment & pitch hire
£864|
||Ernest Cook Trust
woodland workshops
£640|
||Bikes
including a repair kit
£1,168|
||Transport
£484|
|**Grants and Trusts**|**£1,865** >>>
**Digital**
**£3,690**|
|Digital Poverty fundraiser|£1,865
Wi-Fi
£335|
|Barnwood Trust|£0
Phone top ups
£350|
||Laptops
£3,006|
|**Fundraising at Events**|**£11,293**
date
**Events**
**£807**|
|Give as you live
10k|£1,619 <<<
£575
£0
Further Together|
|Literature festival|£184 <<<
Literature festival
£116|
|Christmas Carol Event|£110 <<<
£0
Christmas Carol Event|
|Refugee Week|+ the walk with Amal
£441 <<<
Refugee Week
£119|
||Montpellier Fiesta
stall costs & activities|
|Stand up for Ukraine event|£5,092
Street stall
licence
£30|
|Leckhampton open gardens
£1,527|_Expenditure at Events continued_
_Actual_
Promotion
Printing
£38|
|---|---|
|Cotswold Beer Festival
£625|Volunteer social
£0|
|United Reform Church
£565
Izzy Dean
brownie sales
£302
Highbury Congregation
£252|Volunteer t-shirts
£504|
||**Conversation classes**
**£31**|
||Stationary
£31|
||**Admin costs**
**£540**|
||Zoom Subscription/venue
£173|
||£0
Meeting refreshments|
||£235
Website|
||£131
Public Liability Insurance|
||DBS checks
£0|
||**Subtotal**
**£10,198**|
||Bank charges
£115|
|**Total**
**£21,481**|**Total**
**£10,314**|