2023-10-31-accounts - Rbkares

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Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ Charity Name RBKares members of On accounts for the 1 November 2022 – 31 October 2023 Charity no 1197621 accounting period (if any) Set out on pages 2 to 8 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/10/2023.

Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Date: 9 August 2024 Signed: Name: Michelle Roberts Relevant professional Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales qualification(s) or body Member 1589891 (if any): Address: 10 Courtlands Road Surbiton KT5 8PL

October 2018

IER

RBKARES (Charitable lncorporated Organisa�on)

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

CHARITY NUMBER 1197621 (Charitable lncorporated Organisa�on) DATE OF REGISTRATION 21 January 2022 START OF FINANCIAL PERIOD 1 November 2022 END OF FINANCIAL PERIOD 31 October 2023

TRUSTEES Pippa Coe (appointed 15th February 2022) Miranda Gibson (appointed 17th June 2024) Tess Green Beatrix Kenyon (chair) Samantha Lord (resigned 13th February 2024) Jane Watson (treasurer)

CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS 46 Norbiton Avenue Kingston upon Thames KT1 3QR

PRIMARY BANKERS NatWest Bankline 73 High Street Walton-on-Thames Surrey KT12 1DW

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Michelle Roberts

ANNUAL REPORT

The board of trustees has pleasure in presen�ng RBKares trustees’ report and financial statement for the year ended 31 October 2023. RBKares remains a fully volunteer-run charity that creates social change, tackles inequality and makes the community a kinder, beEer place to live. We were delighted to con�nue to support the Kingston community by building stronger rela�onships with local services to support more residents as we iden�fy their needs and make a difference.

Summary of Purpose

RBKares connects kindness and generosity in the Kingston community with vulnerable people and key-workers. We focus on providing support to NHS staff, care homes and other vulnerable groups such as refugees and the homeless. We use the community's sewing and craIing skills to make items to support people in our community, run sewing workshops and wellbeing days empowering people to help themselves.

Our mission is to address local need in the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames and make a las�ng impact in our community by bringing Kingston residents and services together to support community members in need. We want to make a difference on a personal level, by plugging support gaps or by complemen�ng local services to support community members.

Summary of the Main Ac�vi�es

Wellbeing Days:

The RBKares Wellbeing days con�nue to be a popular monthly event suppor�ng the guests of the Cambridge Road Estate foodbank by bringing 12-15 local services to support their mental, physical, financial and digital health. These include Mind in Kingston, the Samaritans, Royal borough of Kingston (RBK) Benefits support, RBK skills and employment/We Are Digital, RBK Get Ac�ve, RBK Adult Educa�on, Superhighways, Footcare, NHS vaccina�on team, Health checks, Kick-it smoking cessa�on, Kingston Churches Ac�on on Homelessness (KCAH), SPEAR, Dr Bike from Kingston Cycling Campaign and Full Cycle Community Bike Project. The guests are low income, refugees, substance abusers or rough sleepers and by having these services on site, they can readily access the help they really need. Over 26 months, we've gained the trust of aEendees and created an atmosphere where they feel comfortable asking for help. This collabora�on is a real asset to our community and con�nues to develop. The services and chari�es that aEend find it a good way to engage with people who are normally hard to reach.

During this period we held a dental assessment which gave us the data we needed to apply for grants. The Brothers Trust paid for 3 dental sessions with Dentaid during this �me. We held a one off Specsavers clinic in May 2023 where 21 guests were seen and fiEed with glasses the following week. We became HeyGirl Partners to provide free access to different types of reusable and disposable period products. We teamed up with Franco Manca to give over 200 free pizzas to food bank guests. At Christmas we decorated and ran Santa’s GroEo for the families aEending the foodbank.

Refugee sewing workshop:

RBKares con�nues to run weekly sewing workshops with refugees from over 15 different countries at the Refugee Ac�on Kingston community hub at St. John’s Church each Wednesday. Over 20 months RBKares volunteers has gained their trust crea�ng a friendly, collabora�ve group where English is not such a barrier – these workshops have been transforma�onal in terms of camaraderie, confidence, skills and integra�on into the community. With 12 sewing machines, overlockers, donated fabric and a team of volunteers, a lot of fun is had while the refugees make clothing, do altera�ons, sew decora�ve items and build strong friendships. We con�nue to support refugees in the borough and those in temporary accommoda�on with advice and items to make them more comfortable.

Suppor�ng Kingston Hospital:

RBKares con�nues to support staff at Kingston Hospital with a variety of projects to boost morale amongst staff or to provide staff with items to help them support their pa�ents.

During this year we con�nued delivering baked goods from the community to the hospital every week boos�ng this at �mes of increased strain and involving some local schools. We delivered Christmas presents to give to the pa�ents who were in hospital over Christmas. To help Kingston Hospital celebrate the 75[th] anniversary of the NHS, many large cakes were made to help different departments celebrate. The volunteers con�nue to sew and embroider bespoke scrubs for the chaplaincy. We make and fill bags with treats for ‘Cancer Nurse Day’ and Maternity bereavement. Volunteers kniEed nurses to help Matrons start conversa�ons, and when stress levels were high and morale low, they made Dammit Dolls to help with frustra�ons. RBKares volunteers kniEed hundreds of chicks and rabbits to put on easter eggs which the play therapists distributed through the hospital. The volunteers kniEed angel pockets for people who lost babies before 24 weeks gesta�on. A team of 20 RBKares volunteers raised £2,235 on the Kingston Hospital Night to Remember walk, raising much needed funds for their bereavement services. The volunteers then made 120 bags which were filled with arts and craI items and worry worms for the paediatric team. On World Mental Health day we gave hundreds of ‘pocket hugs’ to be distributed in the hospital and at Tolworth

Hospital. We supported the Child and Adolescent Mental Health unit with an�-anxiety bags which were filled with sta�onery, fidget toys and worms.

Warmer in Winter project:

With much of the community struggling with the cost of living and high energy prices we decided to sew bags and fill them with items to help keep clients warm. Our incredible volunteers kniEed or crocheted blankets, scarves and hats, and bought thermal socks and gloves, hot water boEles, thermal travel mugs, torches, cuppa soup, drinks sachets, giIs, informa�on leaflets and cards from a school children. 280 of these bags were distributed to vulnerable or elderly Kingston residents through local services and chari�es we work with like SPEAR, Voices of Hope, Foodbanks, Refugee Ac�on Kingston, Alfriston Outreach, Churches, schools and Kingston Young Carers Project.

Care Homes:

Our third Christmas care home project proved very popular with Kingston residents. Care homes let us know the hobbies or likes of their residents who have no family to buy giIs for them, and through pos�ng on social media, community members are matched to care home residents. These are distributed with thousands of cards from local schools.

Fidget mat group:

This group, founded through a loneliness and isola�on grant in January 2021, con�nues to meet alternate weeks. The ladies in this group are the main source of kniEed, crocheted and sewn items for all these projects and are a force to be reckoned with. They are very crea�ve and produce an incredible amount of handcraIed goods. Many enjoyed the thank you party we held at Alfriston, celebra�ng our first year of becoming a registered charity.

The trustees would like to express their utmost thanks to the wonderful contribu�on made by all the volunteers over the year. They have given their �me and skills, from sewing, kniSng, and croche�ng to designing and teaching, sourcing and transpor�ng, and to suppor�ng the vulnerable people in our community through various events. Without this valuable contribu�on of �me, energy and exper�se, we would not have been able to achieve what we have. They have helped create social change, tackle inequality and make our community a kinder, beEer place to live.

During this accoun�ng year our Chair was awarded a BEM, our warmer in winter bag packing day was a finalist in the Mitzvah Day Awards and RBKares came runner up and was highly commended in the Best Charity/Social Enterprise at the Kingston Business Borough Awards.

RBKares is looking forward to collabora�ng with more services and charity partners to support Kingston residents in need.

Objec�ves for the year ahead

Our main objec�ves for the year ahead include:

Making our services accessible to more people, especially those considered “hard to reach” and ensuring that the environment at our Wellbeing days is always welcoming to all
Recrui�ng more volunteers, par�cularly for the Wellbeing days and to assist with central admin func�ons
Developing a 3- and 5-year business plan to enable us to demonstrate our sustainability to funding bodies
Developing a succession plan

I would like to thank the companies and groups that have helped us which, with the help of trustees and volunteers, have made all these projects possible.

Beatrix Kenyon

Chair

Receipts and Payments Account

Income Donations - restricted - Care Homes Donations - restricted - coffee machine Donations - restricted - Fidget mats Donations - restricted - Hospital fleeces Donations - restricted - Kindness kits Donations - restricted - Refugee Sewing Donations - restricted - scrubs Donations - restricted - wellbeing Donations - restricted - Winter Warmer Donations - unrestricted TOTAL DONATIONS Interest income TOTAL RECEIPTS Expenditure Expenses - restricted - Care Homes Expenses - restricted - coffee machines Expenses - restricted - Fidget mats Expenses - restricted - Hospital fleeces Expenses - restricted - Kindness kits Expenses - restricted - Refugee Sewing Expenses - restricted - scrubs Expenses - restricted - wellbeing Expenses - restricted - Winter Warmer Expenses - unrestricted TOTAL CHARITABLE EXPENSES Admin costs TOTAL PAYMENTS Surplus for the accounting period	12 months ended 31 Oct 2023 583 100 - - - 3,000 - 9,000 9,924 10,186 32,792 0 32,793 186 151 61 - 921 2,337 260 8,531 5,520 - 17,968 1,059 19,027 13,766	9 months ended 31 Oct 2022 - 260 2,187 - 2,900 1,000 - 11,550 1,505 1,389 20,791 0 20,792 1,493 80 360 - 1,711 205 121 9,029 117 104 13,219 697 13,916 6,876

Statement of Assets and Liabilities Current assets Debtors Cash Current liabilities Creditors NET ASSETS Reserves Restricted Unrestricted TOTAL RESERVES	31 Oct 2023 22 25,349 2 25,369 11,862 13,507 25,369	31 Oct 2022 - 11,605 2 11,603 5,329 6,274 11,603

These accounts were approved by the Trustees on 19 July 2024.