## **2024 JOYBANK Trustees' Annual Report** 

**For the period 1 January 2024 – 1 January 2025 Charity Number: 1997830 Charity Name: The JOYBANK 33 Edgehill Road, S7 1SP** 

**joybank.enquiries@gmail.com** 

## **1. Reference and AdministraUve Details** 

Jessa’s JOYBANK is a volunteer-led Toy Bank based in Sheffield. We became a registered Charitable Incorporated OrganisaEon (CIO) in February 2022, following our beginnings as a home-based iniEaEve during the Covid-19 pandemic. 


## **2. Structure, Governance and Management** 

The JOYBANK is governed by a board of trustees all of whom reflect the diversity of our city and give their Eme voluntarily, receiving no remuneraEon or benefits. They meet to review progress, assess risks, and oversee strategic development. All decisions are made in accordance with our consEtuEon. Day-to-day operaEons are supported by a small team of volunteers 

In 2024, we further developed our operaEons by converEng our  basement storage space at a local church into a fully funcEoning DonaEon and DistribuEon Centre. We were also able to employ a part-Eme project worker to manage it.. 

## **3. Charitable Aims and ObjecUves** 

Our charity’s purposes are: 

- To relieve the impact of poverty on children by providing toys and play resources to families experiencing social and economic hardship. 

- To promote the importance of play in children’s development, learning, and well-being. 

- To reduce waste by keeping unwanted toys out of landfill and educaEng families about sustainability and reuse. 

## **4. AcUviUes** 

We deliver on our charitable aims through the recycling and redistribuEon of quality pre-loved toys to families facing hardship. In 2024: 

- We collected, cleaned, and re-packaged hundreds of donated toys into carefully curated **JOYBAGS** , which were distributed **free of charge** via referrals from teachers, social workers, midwives, food banks, children’s centres, community groups, and other chariEes. 

- We prioriEsed providing **new toys** for children on birthdays and holidays, preserving family dignity and creaEng joyful celebraEons. 

- We supported children in difficult situaEons, including: 

   - Children in temporary accommodaEon 

   - Families fleeing domesEc violence 

   - Refugee and asylum-seeking families 

   - Children with complex needs 

   - Young  and single parents 

   - Those living in chronic poverty 



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Our ethos is simple: we only provide toys that would delight  our own children. We aim not only to relieve financial pressure on families, but to promote dignity, well-being, and play-based learning. 

- We offered outreach support, ideas for creative play and choosing age/need appropriates toys 


- We collected and distributed culturally and neuro- diverse appropriate toys 

- For families with an abundance of unwanted toys we provided a sustainable alternaEve to landfill, contribuEng to the circular economy while directly addressing toy poverty in our city. This also encouraged even young children to learn about kindness and helping others. 

## **5. Public Benefit** 

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in SecEon 17 of the ChariEes Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. 

The JOYBANK alleviates play deprivaEon and poverty by ensuring every child, regardless of background, has access to toys that support healthy development and learning. We regularly consult with our partners and referral agencies to assess need, improve delivery, and ensure that our work remains relevant and impac[ul. 

## 6 **. The Need** 

In Sheffield and across the North, **over 1 in 3 children** now live in poverty — significantly above the naEonal average. Many of these children have no books or toys at home. Meanwhile, 1 in 4 families throw away good quality toys that end up in landfill. Research shows: 


- 1 in 4 children leave primary school without meeEng the expected reading standard 

- • These children are six Emes more likely to drop out of educaEon 

- • Play is not opEonal, it is essenEal for all aspects of development & learning 

## 7 **. Our Story** 

The JOYBANK began as a response from a group of local mothers concerned about increasing youth violence and the lack of safe, sEmulaEng play opportuniEes at home. During lockdown, we distributed art & craa packs city-wide — and soon realised the depth of unmet need. 

We adverEsed for unwanted toys and were overwhelmed by the response. Requests came flooding in. It became clear that many families were living in 'toy poverty' — unable to afford basic play resources for their children. 

In 2022, we became a registered charity. Since then, we have transiEoned from a hand-to-mouth iniEaEve to a growing, sustainable community service with a referral-based distribuEon model, a physical space, and a city-wide partnership network. 

. 

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## **8. Legacy and InspiraUon** 

Jessa’s JOYBANK is dedicated to the memory of Jessica, the daughter of our founder, who died following a double lung transplant. Jessica lived with joy, dancing through life’s challenges even while using oxygen and a wheelchair. This project is her legacy — a tribute to joy, resilience, and love. 


## **9. Partnerships and Referrals** 

We worked in partnership with: 

- Other chariEes & community organisaEons 

- Schools and nurseries 

- Health visitors and midwives 

   - Food banks 

- 

   - Women’s refuges 

- 

      - Asylum and refugee support groups 

   - 

- Social services 

Referrals were triaged and tailored to ensure every family receives toys suitable to their child’s age, interests, and needs. 


## **10. Empowering Frontline Work** 

Health visitors, family support workers, schools and early years pracEEoners frequently told us that JOYBANK made their work easier and more meaningful. Our ability to provide high-quality, relevant resources – with dignity and care – made a tangible difference in family homes. 

“ _Toys really helped to support interac2on with family members and the li7le one, who immediately encouraged parents to play with him. On subsequent visits, toys were seen again and were obviously well used and enjoyed.”_ 

## **11. Tackling Toy Poverty Sustainably** 


While many households throw away high-quality toys, others have none. Our model addresses both sides of this injusEce, ensuring that no child goes without 

Over 90% of our toys are preloved — high-quality donaEons saved from landfill and re-homed with purpose. JOYBANK promotes a circular economy of play: reducing waste, increasing joy, and inspiring community involvement in sustainability and generosity. 

## **12. Inclusive and Dignity-Based** 

We treat toys not as charity, but as a right — essenEal tools for development, bonding, confidence and creaEvity. Every child deserves the right of play. Every parent deserves the dignity of providing play resources for their children. 

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## **13. Financial Review** 

This year we managed our funding carefully, with most of our budget going directly into core acEviEes. We are grateful for grant support and local fundraising, and conEnue to explore sustainable income strategies. 

In the financial year 2024 JOYBANK raised £24,500 from donaEons, grants, and small-scale sales. Our core expenditure included operaEonal costs including storage, cleaning supplies, and outreach. All financial acEvity  complies with our obligaEons as a registered CIO. 

## **14. Looking Ahead** 

In 2025 we aim to: 

- Develop a city-wide awareness campaign about toy poverty and play deprivaEon 

- • Expand our DonaEon & DistribuEon Centre space and hours 

- • Train new volunteers and collaborate with more referral partners 

- • Establish further satellite toy libraries and toy banks in other parts of Sheffield and region 

- • Build our core funding base to ensure long-term stability 

- Secure larger premises for sorEng, storage and outreach. 

- • Expand our targeted support for children with addiEonal needs. 

- • Deepen our partnerships with schools and healthcare providers. 

- • Develop our volunteer base and community fundraising efforts. 

We also want to share our iniEaEve more widely as a **replicable approach** to tackling toy poverty, play deprivaEon  and sustainability challenges elsewhere in the UK. 

## **Highlights 2024 :Bringing Joy through Toys: Tackling Toy Poverty: Playing for a Change** 

This year, Jessa’s JoyBank conEnued to deliver a tangible impact across Sheffield, and region, providing free, high-quality toys to children and families in need, promoEng creaEve play, reducing toy poverty, and advancing environmental sustainability by rescuing and redistribuEng hundreds of donated toys. 

We supported over 500 families, strengthened  Ees with local schools, hosted inclusive play days, and welcomed dozens of new volunteers. JOYBANK’s reach grew through social media and word-of-mouth, and the quality of our donaEons remained strong throughout. 

In 2024, JOYBANK’s impact stretched far beyond simply handing out toys. We empowered families, supported frontline workers, liaed the burden on parents facing crisis, and sparked joy, curiosity and connecEon for children of all backgrounds. Our vibrant toy bank is more than just a room filled with toys – it’s a welcoming and  inclusive community space  Every item is carefully chosen for its creaEve & educaEonal value and ability to bring joy. 

“ _My kids have complex needs. Un2l I found the Joybank, I didn_ ’ _t know what toys to get them. They love going there and always find something they enjoy.”_ 

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ParEcipaEon in  community events, school fairs & fesEvals expanded our ability to meet our neighbours and **p** romote inclusive, quality play. 


We   established toy libraries and toy staEons for other community organisaEons which enabled us to reach more children and families _S_ upport from generous business donors  meant we could  give  new  toys for birthdays  and special events. Regular Big Book Giveaways 



supported school literacy programmes by providing  free books to many children who’d never owned one 

As always, Christmas was busy, packing and distribuEng  JOYBAGS . This year we also sent toys to a rural school in Nigeria via our new friends at Utopia Theatre. 




## **Voices from Frontline Workers & DistribuUon** 

## **Partners** 

Health visitors, family support workers, schools and early years pracEEoners frequently told us that JOYBANK made their work easier and more meaningful. Our ability to provide high-quality, relevant resources  made a tangible difference in family homes. 


“ _Pure joy from child and parent when I gave them the toys to keep. As a worker, the JOYBANK is such an important service. You select toys with the family in mind and ensure they are great quality and age appropriate. There is no other service like this.”_ 

“ _Toys really helped to support interac2on with family members and the li7le one, who immediately encouraged parents to play with him. On subsequent visits, toys were seen again and were obviously well used and enjoyed.”_ 

“ _The family now have quality toys to enjoy and spend 2me together. It was vital to be able to giN these toys to support learning and development at home and encourage bonding and a7achment between father and son.”_ 

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“ _The costumes for World Book Day had a big impact. No child had to come to school without an ouQit. Parents were grateful their children could feel included, not ashamed.”_ 

“ _Many of our children have never owned a book. We_ ’ _re trying to promote a love of reading—so we were thrilled.”_ 

“ _The children were over the moon... An increase in quality toys will certainly help the family environment.”_ 


## **The Numbers Behind the Joy** 

- **1000 + children** supported across the year 

- 3 **,000 + toys rehomed** , diverted from landfill and given new life 

- **35 schools, local organisaUons & statutory services supported** 

- **12 events** in neighbourhoods across Sheffield 

## **THANK YOU!    The JOYBANK  not exist without the kindness and generosity of all the supporters, volunteers, donors and partners who share our vision and values. Together we make a difference.** 

## **Declaration** 

The trustees declare that they have approved this report. Signed on behalf of the trustees by: Daryl Agnew , Chair of Trustees Date: 16.07.2025 

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||**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**No(if any)**|**No(if any)**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**The Joybank**|||||**1197830**|||
||**Receipts andpayments accounts**||||||||
||**For the period**<br>**from**||Period start date||**To**||Period end date||
||||1.1.2024||||1.1.2025||
||||||||||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||||||
||**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**||**Restricted funds**||**Endowment**<br>**funds**||**Total funds**||
||**to the nearest      £**||**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**||
|**A1 Receipts**|||||||||
|shop sales|**17,427**||**-**||**-**||**17,427**||
|TKMaxx Donation|**500**||**-**||**-**||**500**||
|Nether Edge Community Fund|**600**||**-**||**-**||**600**||
|Stripe|**963**||||**-**||**963**||
|Gripple|**500**||||**-**||**500**||
|Gripple|**126**||**-**||**-**||**126**||
|Gripple|**39**||**-**||**-**||**39**||
|Gripple|**19**||**-**||**-**||**19**||
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR) _|<br>**20,174**||**-**||**-**||**20,174**||
||||||||||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**<br>**(see table).**|||||||||
||**- 0**||**- 0**||**- 0**||**-**||
||**- 0**||**- 0**||**- 0**||**-**||
|**_Sub total_**|<br>**- 0**||**- 0**||**- 0**||**-**||
||||||||||
|**_Total receipts_ **|<br>**20,174**||**- 0**||**- 0**||**20,174**||
||||||||||
|**A3 Payments**|||||||||
|Shop rental|**7,425**||**-**||**-**||**7,425**||
|Storage costs - Highfield Church|**4,480**||**-**||**-**||**4,480**||
|Insurance & Utilities|**77**||**-**||**-**||**77**||
|Wages|**7,923**||**-**||**-**||**7,923**||
|Toy purchase InKind|**1,522**||**-**||**-**||**1,522**||
|Stationery/packaging|**36**||**-**||**-**||**36**||
|Printing/marketing|**327**||**-**||**-**||**327**||
|Premises maintenance & fittings|||**-**||**-**||**-**||
|Miscellaneous|||**-**||**-**||**-**||
|**_Sub total_ **|<br>**21,790**||**-**||**-**||**21,790**||
||||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment**<br>**purchases,(see table)**|||||||||
||**- 0**||**- 0**||**- 0**||**-**||
||**- 0**||**- 0**||**- 0**||**-**||
|**_Sub total_ **|<br>**- 0**||**- 0**||**- 0**||**-**||
||||||||||
|**_Totalpayments_ **|<br>**21,790**||**- 0**||**- 0**||**21,790**||
||||||||||
|**_Net of receipts/(payments)_ **|**-**<br>**1,617**||**-**||**-**||**-**<br>**1,617**||
|**A5 Transfers between funds**|**- 0**||**-**||**-**||**-**||
|**A6 Cash funds lastyear end**|**- 0**||**-**||**-**||**-**||
|**_Cash funds thisyear end_ **|**-**<br>**1,617**||**-**||**-**||**-**<br>**1,617**||
||||||||||
||||||||||
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|||||||||
|**Categories**|**Details**||||**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**||**Restricted funds**||
||||||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**||
|**B1 Cash funds**|||||**7,278**||**-**||
||||||**-**||**-**||



CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 

21/07/2025 

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||||||**-**||**-**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**_Total cash funds_**||||**7,278**||**-**||
||(agree balances with receipts and payments<br>account(s))||||Agreement Error||||
||||||**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**||**Restricted funds**||
||**Details**||||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**||
|**B2 Other monetary assets**|||||**-**||**-**||
||||||**-**||**-**||
||||||**-**||**-**||
||||||**-**||**-**||
||||||**-**||**-**||
||||||**-**||**-**||
||||||||||
||**Details**||||**Fund to which asset**<br>**belongs**||**Cost (optional)**||
|**B3 Investment assets**|||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||||
||**Details**||||**Fund to which asset**<br>**belongs**||**Cost (optional)**||
|**B4 Assets retained for the**<br>**charity’s own use**|||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||||
||**Details**||||**Fund to which**<br>**liability relates**||**Amount due**<br>**(optional)**||
|**B5 Liabilities**|||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||**-**||
||||||||||
|Signed by one or two trustees on behalf<br>of all the trustees|Signature||||Print Name||||
||||||Fiona Cooper||||
||||||Daryl Agnew||||



CCXX R2 accounts (SS) 

21/07/2025 

2 



**CC16a Last year to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - 0 - 0 - 0 - - - - - - - - - - - 0 - 0 - - - - Endowment funds to nearest £ - -** 

CCXX R3 accounts (SS) 

21/07/2025 

3 



**-** OK **Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - When due (optional)** 


Date of approval 5.11.2024 5.11.2024 

CCXX R4 accounts (SS) 

21/07/2025 

4