2024-11-30-accounts

BURLEY IN WHARFEDALE MEN'S SHED TRUSTEES REPORT

30TH NOVEMBER 2024

ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS:

Burley Men's Shed is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), Reg no 1197583. It has a stable constitution, is registered with the National Men's Shed Association, supported by Community First Yorkshire.

TRUSTEES:	Role:	OTHER ROLES:	Performed by:
Duncan Ault:	Treasurer	Social Secretary	Trustees as a collectve
Robin Dearing	Chair	Membership Secretary	Chair & Treasurer:
Steven Jolly:	Trustee	Systems Admin/Privacy	Chair:
Jack Robertshaw:	Trustee	Safeguarding Contact	Secretary:
Duncan Starkey:	Secretary	Buddy:	Considered, but not implemented

BANK ACCOUNT:

Virgin Money, Waver Green, Pudsey, Leeds, LS28 7BG

TIMELINE:

Sept 2021 & 2022 - The group started, and took on the status of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). BMS applied for planning consent for a purpose built Shed with full Workshop facilities behind the Library in Grange Park. Sadly, planning permission was refused, due the location being in an area designated as a Green Space in the Burley Neighbourhood Plan. Other sites were considered but they all came under the same designation. Land/property has proved impossible to find due to fierce competition from property developers.

2023 - BMS ‘consulted with the community’ through an open-invite event where around 40 people attended. Many helpful ideas & suggestions were gathered and analysed about what the Shed should provide for the section of people drawn to the idea. It was clear our ties to Grange Park Surgery, together with men (mainly over 60) and interested in the concept, that BMS would focus on being what is known as an ‘Open Format Shed’ - in our case centred on Wellbeing, to try and combat things as isolation and loneliness, and become a place where men can socialise, make friends, share and learn knowledge, and have some fun and banter on the way! We set out with themed meetings and certain Trips out.

2024 :

• BMS continues to meet on the 1[st] and 3[rd] Wednesday morning each month apart from August, and provides tea, coffee, biscuits and Butties via an ‘honesty system’, with themed meetings, and occasional repeats if popular.

• Trustees have collectively worked hard to identify, agree, research, publish and arrange the calendar of meetings and trips for periods of 3 months ahead, which has also been helpful in promoting the Shed. The website has also been maintained as evidence of what we are trying to do, and this also aids with funding.

• Regular Meetings have seen average attendance grow from 15-20 in 2023 to around 16-28 in 2024. Over the year we were: taken down memory lane with Clive (3 times!), walked through the Heritage Way, mystified by Unusual Objects, transported to Uganda and went fishing in the North Atlantic. We also: walked thru the Vicar’s life story and also that of a Leeds rugby league legend, learned about Euro funding, plants & biodiversity, beekeeping, Crimestoppers, and a highlight was the very popular mobile police museum.

• Trips & Visits have been maintained on a Monthly basis, with no repeats up to this point. Trips have interested a core group of 10 - 16 members who have: played snooker & pool, taken group tours of:

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ON BEHALF of the TRUSTEES of BURLEY in WHARFEDALE MEN’s SHED

December 2024

Headingly Stadium, Thackray Medical Museum, Embsay Railway Sheds, York Cold War Bunker, Bingley Five Rise Locks, Bradford Industrial Museum, and Cliffe Castle. This has often been made pleasant and all the more sociable by lunching together at some very nice cafes!

• In conjunction with Wharfedale Men’s Shed (WMS) in Otley we did also successfully plan and deliver a very well received Men’s Health Awareness event informing about the early signs of cancer for men over 60, which was presented by Macmillan and a serving local GP from Ilkley. The two Sheds intend to run possibly three other similar events over 2025 for Mental Health & Wellbeing, Heart & Stroke, and Respiratory.

o FEEDBACK from the EVENT :

• As an Event - 100% Satisfied. Personally relevant – 78%. Venue, Day/Time, Time on Subjects, Question Time, Takeaway materials – About Right. Information put across – Very relevant. Suggested improvements: Audience should be seated nearer the front. Microphone for presenters and those who ask questions. Hearing Loop.

• We have raised the annual ‘suggested donation’ for membership from £20 (held for the last two years) to £25 from December 2024 onwards. The charge at meetings remains unchanged at £1 for refreshments, and £4 to include a butty.

• This year and for the first time we have run two meetings where it was necessary to ‘ask for a donation on the door’. This was to cover the costs/respect the wishes of the presenters.

• We are acknowledged by Grange Park Surgery and known in the wider WACA network, as an important community group, being as we are focused on the Mental Health & Wellbeing for men”. We are grateful to the GP’s and the Social Prescriber, the latter providing active support and guidance to the Trustees, and for informing patients about Burley Men’s Shed.

___________

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ON BEHALF of the TRUSTEES of BURLEY in WHARFEDALE MEN’s SHED

December 2024

BURLEY IN WHARFEDALE MEN'S SHED CHAIRMANS REPORT

30TH NOVEMBER 2024

NEW MEMEBRS & FAREWELLS:

• (+) The 15 New members who joined us over 2024

• (-) Sue Moorchild, who is retiring this year.

• (+) We look forward to meeting the new Social Prescriber

ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Our current format has helped attract new members throughout the year, and a handful of others who visited but didn’t return

• Delivering the Men’s Health Awareness event for the Early Signs of Cancer

• Networking with WMS for the future benefit of members/contacts/residents to potentially have a place, rented to BMS, to enjoy workshops activities

• Maintaining a planned schedule of varied meetings and trips, usually 3-months ahead

• More recently tweaking the format of meetings to try and provide more time for general socialising

• Securing funding for the Projector, Equipment for a Stall (Summer Festival?), help with meeting base costs

EXTERNAL FUNDERS & SUPPORTERS:

• Parish Council, BWCT, COOP, Shipley Community Chest, Community First Yorkshire

TEAM EFFORTS:

• The current Trustees have met every 2 months using a revised agenda, and as a collective have facilitated, planned, arranged and led our Meetings and Trips activities

• Peter Jenkins, as Doorman and Butty Go-getter (sacrificing the time he is able to spend in our meetings)

• Clive, for keeping his eye out for potential places to visit, and his two presentations

• The seven other members of the local community who presented to us

• Alan, responsible for two of our best attended meetings for Crimestoppers and the Mobile Police Museum

• Those who helped out at the Health Awareness Event at Salem Church Hall

• Janet and Louise for telling us about their respective travels

• Continuing to work closely with the Social Prescriber and GPs at Grange Park Surgery. This has been recognised, with BMS & WMS having been invited to be involved with a Men’s Health Event to take place in the Community area of the surgery’s new extension in Spring 25.

THE FUTURE:

MEMBERSHIP SURVEY:

• 70% (19 out of 28 invited) chose to respond – See last page!

EXAMPLE OF WHAT BMS IS REALLY ALL ABOUT:

• “Personally, the Shed has helped me in many ways. The initial step was difficult, but being helped to the meeting was a small but vital step in joining the group. Everyone was so welcoming”

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DONATIONS:

• We need to consider the benefits of changing our system to smooth-out over the year, certain appropriate cut-off dates and inviting proportionate payments at a point in the calendar that someone first joins.

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ON BEHALF of the TRUSTEES of BURLEY in WHARFEDALE MEN’s SHED

December 2024

TRAINING for TRUSTEES (and Shed Leaders):

• Suicide awareness, Alcohol/Substance dependency, First Aid (inc Defibrillator), Buddy role, Dementia awareness.

HELPING THE SHED ORGANISATIONALLY:

• There are certain roles incumbent on a Trustees such as Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary, however there are also certain discreet roles that BMS would benefit greatly from if they were in part shared amongst members, for example: Social Secretary, Membership Secretary, Systems Admin/Website/Privacy, Safeguarding Contact, Funding Researcher, Buddy (a prerequisite if we wish to offer the surgery a capacity for referrals ?)

RECOGNISING THE DIVERSE SKILLS AND BACKGROUNDS OF MEMBERS:

• As a collective BMS is in a fortunate position to have and be attracting a group of people with very diverse backgrounds, knowledge, skills and lifetime experiences! The bonds within the group will grow if we consider ways in which that can be brought to bear in our meetings and activities.

REGULAR MEETINGS, TRIPS & VISITS:

• We need to be planning well ahead with organising the Themes for regular meetings and our Trips, and already have a large list of ideas and suggestions, and we also need to keep a listening ear for new ideas and suggestions and note these as they arise.

• To maintain a varied and interesting program for our Regular Meetings we need to consider our appetite for ‘Paid For’ providers vs the benefits

• Is our communication as effective as it can be? For example, some confusion arose at the recent Mobile Police Museum event, whereby some attending may not have been aware of the £5 ‘Door Fee’. We have always sent out an email a few days before each meeting that shows all the details about it, as well as other meetings on the schedule. This goes to the email address that we have on file, and is hand-posted to four members who do not use email.

• We should consider types of activities that encourage or require interaction rather than remaining too settled in our predominant theatre-style / single-presenter format

• To maintain a varied and interesting program of Trips & Visits we need to consider what members are happy with in terms of travelling time/distance, and the cost-ceiling for transport and entrance fees. We should also decide whether we want other social activities or outings, perhaps in the evenings or over weekends.

• We need to understand the preferred frequency and timing of the Trips & Visits, and the seasonal weather

• Trips are currently priced to assume an average of 12 people will share the cost of transport, which is now approaching £80 per trip (when we are out from 10am-4pm), and would be more if we go further afield due to mileage rates. Members need to be aware of the financial impact If they need to cancel at short notice, where the Shed is left to subsidise the gap. We could lower the average number to say 10 to try and find a happy medium, however the Cliffe Castle trip had 12 initially on the list but 4 cancelled.

• We rely on Ilkley Community Transport for the mini-bus, and since September we have been limited to choosing (well in advance) either a Tuesday or Thursday, and this may continue if ICT’s new services prove to be sustainable. There is also heavy demand from other groups, especially from Ilkley, U3a being an example. Do we have any other options? Does having just Tue/Thu available affect members’ availability?

FUNDING APPLICATIONS:

• We need to research funding source(s) to help us subsidise both Activity Provider costs for our regular meetings and our Trips & Visits, especially the transport costs

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ON BEHALF of the TRUSTEES of BURLEY in WHARFEDALE MEN’s SHED

December 2024

HEALTH AWARENESS EVENTS:

• In conjunction with WMS, we intend to run possibly three other similar health awareness events over 2025 for Mental Health & Wellbeing, Heart & Stroke, and Lung/Respiratory disease. Event feedback also raised interest in Diabetes, Fitness, Sleep problems, Suicide awareness, Alcohol dependency, and Memory loss/Dementia (for which we can discuss this with the Burley Dementia Friends group)

SHED VENUE:

• The Bowls Pavilion does have a natural capacity - what would we want to do if our desire to reach out to more people finds that ceiling?

• Would it be helpful to discuss with the Bowls Club ways of funding a hearing aid loop?

MEN’s SHED WORKSHOP AT GROVE HILL, OTLEY:

• We continue to strengthen the mutually beneficial relationship with Wharfedale Men’s Shed (Otley). They have now been granted planning permission to build a new Wharfedale Community Hub, which will include comprehensive and varied workshop facilities, to be located at the site within Grove Park, Otley. It is envisaged that BMS, on behalf of its members and the wider community, will be able to block out time in the workshop to meet local demand.

• There will also be women in the community who will be interested in the workshop, and its other associated creative/practical activities, being that it is set within a community hub.

REACHING OUT TO MORE PEOPLE:

• We intend to carry on with the very successful Shed arrangement in Burley, but recognise that we do need to understand how we can reach out to more people, and a wider survey of the community, and community/group leaders may be worth considering.

• We need to consider whether we want to have a “Buddy” role to help us reach out to people who have greater needs than we can currently accept from the surgery

• BMS & WMS will have input to and presence at a proposed Men’s Health Event once the new surgery extension is fully open, perhaps in Spring 25.

VOLUNTEERING in the COMMUNITY:

• We need to encourage volunteering across the community for those able and willing to help with village activities.

• We need to keep reaching out to find opportunities to network with and learn from, other community groups or individuals who may be able to help us by recommending the Shed to others

ANNUAL ROTATION of TRUSTEES, and MEMBER PARTICIPATION IN HELPING TO RUN THE SHED

• We need to continue with the maximum of 5 Trustees of the Shed, as per our constitution

• We need to invite member participation in the business of the Trustee meetings

• We continue to observe the AGM/Constitutional process whereby each year one Trustee must stand-down in rotation of longest time served. This provides an opportunity for members to express interest in either becoming a Trustee or joining the ‘team’ process, to help the Shed to move forwards, which could be in a specific local role.

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ON BEHALF of the TRUSTEES of BURLEY in WHARFEDALE MEN’s SHED

December 2024

BURLEY IN WHARFEDALE MENS SHED ANNUAL ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 30TH NOVEMBER 2024 2024 2023 BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD INCOME Subscription Members 2023124 Subscription members in Advance 2024125 Visits Refreshments inc Xmas Donation Sundry Grants CooplB.P.C. Shipley C.C.ILocala TOTAL INCOME EXPENSES Room Hire Pre Planning Application Fee and Map Nqens Health event {net) Visit expenses Refreshments inc Xmas Stationery Insurance Donations Subscription Projector TOTAL EXPENSES SURPLUS FOR YEAR 01112123 7058.96 5776.30 665.00 150.00 1041.00 100.25 75.11 250.00 500.00 2781.36 531.11 0.00 113.20 0.00 2.86 500.00 1500.00 2647.17 485.00 0.00 50.08 1091.01 0.00 82.99 96.00 250.00 30.00 369.99 2455.07 326.29 380.00 225.00 0.00 289.59 102.20 271.72 96.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1364.51 1282.66 GENERAL FUNDS SPECIFIC FUND TOTAL FUNDS 2385.25 5000.00 7385.25 2058.96 5000.00 7058.96 ** YEAR END 3011112024 dependent on WMS letter of intent being agreed with funders NB: Community Foundatlon Leeds Grant needs to be declded by 31112124 Locala Fund should not need repaying Coop and Shipley Community Chest semi specific There were 33 paid up members of the Shed in 2023124 Transport Budget for Trips should be based on maximum12 per visit We have a debit card Subs for New Year £25 x 30 =£750 Rent for New Year £25 x 22= £550 ON BEHALF of the TRUSTEES of BURLEYin WHARFEDALE MEN'S SHED December 2024 Poge-5