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2022-04-01-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 30/09/2021 Period start date To 01/04/2023 Period end date

Charity name: Life Seekers Aid

Charity registration number: 1195995

Objectives and Activities

SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document		 Para 1.17 The objects of the CIO are for the public beneft:
(a) To advance the educa<on and training of
those applying for and granted refugee status
and their dependants in need thereof so as to
advance them in life and assist them to adapt
within a new community.
(b) To relieve fnancial hardship amongst those
applying for and granted refugee status and
their dependants living (temporarily or
permanently) in the United Kingdom.’
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
1.19		 Life Seekers Aid (LSA) organises and runs
education and training sessions for those
applying for, and those recently granted,
refugee status in the UK. These sessions
aim to demystify the asylum process, and
help asylum seekers and refugees adjust to
life within their new community in the UK.
Where appropriate, we refer beneficiaries to
organisations and experts qualified to
provide specialist legal and medical
assistance.
With new funding we have received, we
plan to expand these training sessions into
full, multilingual workshops, facilitated by
trained volunteers - all themselves
refugees, and accompanied by leaflets
explaining and summarising everything
covered in the course. These sessions will
provide beneficiaries with a clear basic
understanding of how the British asylum
process works, and their rights and
responsibilities whilst navigating it.
We also partner with other charities to help
to organise and distribute donations of
clothing, food and other essential supplies
Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit		 Para 1.18 ~~to asylum seekers at drop in sessions in~~
Our trustees have given careful
consideration to the Charity Commission’s
guidance on public benefit, and have kept
this in mind when establishing LSA’s
objectives and making any decisions on
behalf of LSA.
Everything LSA does is done for the public
benefit. Our work aims directly to improve
the lives of a public class (asylum seekers
and refugees in Britain) by offering them
advice and support navigating the asylum
process, and helping to look after their
material needs where possible.
Our work also aims indirectly to strengthen
community ties in the UK at large by helping
asylum seekers and refugees to become
settled and productive members of British
society.

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
Contribution made by
volunteers		 Para 1.38 Life Seekers Aid works with volunteers from
refugee and migrant backgrounds, who
facilitate the work we do by helping us
organise and distribute material aid
donations and providing interpretation
services. All of these volunteers have had to
go through the asylum process themselves
and so are well placed to support others in
this position. At the moment, we offer some
limited training to these volunteers; we hope
to expand this training as funding allows
over the next year.
We also work with volunteers from the local
community who help us ensure that
beneficiaries are registered with local GPs
and school-age beneficiaries are registered
at local schools. This is an important part of
the process by which we help asylum
seekers and refugees settle within their new
local communities.
We are incredibly grateful to our volunteers
for all the time they have spent supporting
our work. Without their contribution, LSA
could not continue to operate.
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 Every week for the past year, our volunteers
have met around 50 newly arrived asylum
seekers in total, and assessed their needs.
The large majority of these asylum seekers
have little in the way of clothing, toiletries
and basic essentials. Life Seekers
volunteers find out what each person
needs, and then try to match them up with
supplies donated to the East London
Mosque.
While assessing their needs, we also speak
to them about the asylum process as a
whole, and invite them to attend the training
sessions that we offer. Currently, there is
very little support or guidance offered by the
government to asylum seekers, and
navigating the asylum process can be
incredibly complicated, scary and
immiserating.
Because our refugee volunteers speak a
wide variety of languages between them,
and have all been through the asylum
process themselves, they are incredibly well
placed to offer this support in a kind and
open manner. If those we speak to have
any specific legal or medical issues or
concerns, we connect them with specialists
~~who are qualified to help them with these~~

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
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 After Life Seekers Aid first opened our bank
account in early 2022, we received a single
unrestricted private donation of £15.
In late 2022, Life Seekers Aid began
applying for funding from corporate
partnerships and public grants.
We were awarded £3,000 from the Lush
Charity Pot in November 2022. This is a
restricted fund which has been awarded to
us to finance a series of multilingual
workshops on the asylum process that we
will run for our beneficiaries. This money will
be used to cover the running costs of the
course, allowing us to train and equip our
refugee case workers to lead it, to print
materials related to the course’s content,
and to design and print flyers to advertise it.
We have begun implementing our plan to
set up the workshops, and have so far spent
£401.89. Over the next year, we aim to
complete this plan and offer the course to as
many of our beneficiaries as funds will allow.
Life Seekers Aid is actively seeking more
funding to allow us to extend the reach of
projects like this, and to support the work we
do supporting asylum seekers and refugees.
Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held		 Para 1.22 At the end of this financial period, Life
Seekers Aid has almost no reserve of
unrestricted funds (£15.00).
We are conscious that this could present
some problems in the future, as it means we
do not have the capacity to pay for small
expenses and operating costs that we may
incur as a charity.
We will actively seek to secure some
unrestricted funding over the next year.
Amount of reserves held Para 1.22 £15.00
Reasons for holding zero
reserves		 Para 1.22 Life Seekers Aid holds almost no reserve of
unrestricted funds because we have not yet
received any unrestricted funding.
Details of fund materially in
deficit		 Para 1.24
Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern		 Para 1.23

Additional information (optional)

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)
Para 1.47
Life Seekers Aid’s principal source of
funding at present is from our corporate
partnership with the Lush Charity Pot fund.
Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted
Para 1.46
At present, Life Seekers Aid does not invest
funds that our allocated to us. We may
review this as the charity grows.
A description of the principal
risks facing the charity
Para 1.46
Other

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s

 N/A
~~t~~
~~t~~
Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)		 Para 1.25 Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
foundation constitution
How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)		 Para 1.25 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 LSA seeks to appoint trustees with
appropriate knowledge and experience that
will help with the effective administration of
the charity. Our governing document states
the following.
(1) Apart from the first charity trustees,
every trustee must be appointed for a
term of three years by a resolution
passed at a properly convened meeting
of the charity trustees.
(2) In selecting individuals for appointment
as charity trustees, the charity trustees
must have regard to the skills, knowledge
and experience needed for the effective
administration of the CIO.

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 Life Seekers Aid

LSA
1195995
Life Seekers Aid, 40 Loudoun Square, Cardiff CF10 5UZ,
Wales
Other name the charity uses LSA
Registered charity number 1195995
Charity’s principal address Life Seekers Aid, 40 Loudoun Square, Cardiff CF10 5UZ,
Wales

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name Office (if any) Dates acted if not for
whole year		 Name of person (or body)
entitled to appoint trustee
(if any)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20		 Vicky Moller Chair
Alexander
Thomas
Bagenal		 Treasurer
Dr Francis
William Arnold

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets 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)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of Name Address adviser

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Kenan Albeirakdar

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

Other optional information

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Alexander Thomas Bagenal Position (eg Treasurer Secretary, Chair, etc) Date 04.04.23

CC16a
Last year
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 0
- 0
- 0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 0
- 0
-
-
-
-
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
OK
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
Date of approval
05/04/2023
Life Seekers Aid No(if any) CC16a
Receipts andpayments accounts
For the period
from		 30/09/2021 To 01/04/2023
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted funds Endowment
funds		 Total funds Last year
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Private donations 15 - - 15 -
Lush Charity Pot donation - 0 3,000 - 3,000 -
- 0 - - - -
- 0 - - - -
- 0 - - - -
- 0 - - - -
- 0 - - - -
- 0 - - - -
Sub total_(Gross income for AR) _
15		 3,000 - 3,015 -
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- 0 - 0 - 0 -
- 0 - 0 - 0 - - 0
Sub total
- 0		 - 0 - 0 - - 0
**Total receipts **
15		 3,000 - 0 3,015 - 0
A3 Payments
Misc. expenses for asylum seekers
workshops		 - 0 100 - 100 -
Design of leaflets for asylum seekers
workshops		 - 0 302 - 302 -
- 0 - - - -
- 0 - - - -
- 0 - - - -
- 0 - - - -
- 0 - - - -
- 0 - - - -
- 0 - - - -
**Sub total **
- 0		 402 - 402 -
A4 Asset and investment
purchases,(see table)
- 0 - 0 - 0 -
- 0 - 0 - 0 -
**Sub total **
- 0		 - 0 - 0 - - 0
**Totalpayments **
- 0		 402 - 0 402 - 0
**Net of receipts/(payments) **
15		 2,598 - 2,613 -
A5 Transfers between funds - 0 - - - -
A6 Cash funds lastyear end - 0 - - - -
**Cash funds thisyear end **
15		 2,598 - 2,613 -
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories Details Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted funds Endowment
funds
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
B1 Cash funds Unrestricted funds from private donations 15 - -
Lush Charity Pot restricted funding allocated for
asylum workshops		 - 2,598 -
- - -
Total cash funds 15 2,598 -
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))		 OK OK
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted funds Endowment
funds
Details to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
B2 Other monetary assets - - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
Details Fund to which asset
belongs		 Cost (optional) Current value
(optional)
B3 Investment assets - -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Details Fund to which asset
belongs		 Cost (optional) Current value
(optional)
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use		 - -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Details Fund to which
liability relates		 Amount due
(optional)		 When due
(optional)
B5 Liabilities -
-
-
-
-
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf
of all the trustees		 Signature Print Name Date of approval
Alexander Thomas Bagenal 05/04/2023