## **Howden-le-Wear Village Friends Annual Report and Review April 2026**
## Trustees and Volunteers
As always. we are grateful to our team of trustees and volunteers who continue to provide a quality experience for the three groups within our registered charity (Village Friends, Connect Group and Men’s Supper Club).
Over time, both trustees and volunteers have developed specific roles within our teams. As a result, charity leadership and delivery of activities are coordinated and effective. For example, Pam’s leadership of food catering is second to none and Diane’s IT skills have greatly enhanced entertainment. In addition, we are very grateful to our Village Friends members who step up with tasks such as clearing away and washing up. It makes our lives so much easier! A special thank you goes to Sandra Davies who is always happy to fill a gap if one of our leaders is absent. Thanks also go to those who regularly provide transport for those who need this form of assistance. Additional help with this service would be very much appreciated.
## Funding
Trustees have examined our 2025 accounts which were prepared by Jackie (financial manager) and independently verified by Tracey Woods, a retired School Business Manager. Our income was boosted last year by the remainder of two grants (AAP and Believe Housing) as well as by an impressive fundraising effort from Ian Kirkbride. We also received four generous, private donations from members of our Village Friends group. All of this helped us to deliver high quality events and provision for all three groups. In addition, funds raised from raffles and donations at Village Friends “specials” have ensured that we have moved into 2026 with a healthy bank balance.
We would also like to thank the growing number of members who donate raffle prizes to Village Friends. These contributions are proving to be a real boon in terms of supplementing our expenses. Consequently, although we currently don’t have financial support from external sources, we are confident that we can continue to provide and subsidise an excellent programme in 2026.
## Policy Review
Our annual review of the following policies and procedures was undertaken last month: Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults; Equality and Diversity Policy; Data Protection/ Social Media Policy; Risk Assessments (for drop ins, “specials” and outings). In addition, a Financial Reserves Policy was discussed, agreed and adopted.
(Next review of policies and procedures is scheduled for March 2027.)
## Group Membership
The number on our Village Friends register is 54. However, this includes members who are no longer able to attend mainly for health reasons. When this is the case, our leaders maintain contact through phone calls and home visits. We are aware that some Village Friends group members also provide a network of support for those who are temporarily or permanently housebound. This is a valuable resource since a friendly visit, phone call or text can bring cheer to someone’s day.
Regular attendees at drop ins and “specials “ numbers 42 , which means that we are at Village Hall capacity. Membership of our Connect Group currently numbers 29. Men’ Supper Club numbers now stand at 25, following the welcoming of recent additions to this group.
## Events and Activities
We hope that Village Friends members have enjoyed the full and varied programme of activities throughout 2025 and early 2026. These have included a wide range of specials with themed food and home-grown entertainment (many of which have included audience participation!) Our trustees will present a more detailed report on events and activities during the review meeting. This will be followed by an opportunity for written feedback from Village Friends members.
In addition, the Connect Group has delivered a wide ranging and ambitious programme of activities for members. Programmes run on a three-monthly cycle and the team of organisers works hard to ensure that there is something for everyone. For example, a Connect Group monthly lunch club (at the Village Hall) has been introduced this Spring. This has been particularly welcomed by those members who are unable to take part in extended outings and events. The Men’s Supper Club is also based at the Village Hall and the atmosphere is always buzzy with good food, conversation, quizzes and games. We genuinely feel that we have provided a venue and setting which fills a gap for men in the village.
As a final point, we think we can be proud of all that we offer especially in our aim to foster a caring ethos of friendship and support. We are confident that this will continue in the coming year and beyond.
Howden-le-Wear Village Friends
Accounts September 2024 to 31st December 2025
|Income
Raffles
Donations
Christmas Fair
Trip and Activity Tickets
Connect Group
Mens Group
Believe Housing Grant
Book/ Cake Sales
Bingo Night
Expenditure
Rent of Room
Speakers
Refreshments/Groceries
Trips
Gifts
Christmas Event Prep
Kitchen Equipment
Stationery, Resources and IT Equipment
Bank Charges
Blankets
Sundries
Public Liability Insurance
Travel Expenses
Printing of Book
Exercise Class
Theatre tickets
Total expenditure
Profit / Loss (income – expenditure)
Balance brought forward
Balance at end of year
Represented by:
Bank Balance
Signed
Jackie Gent
Village Friends Financial Manager
Tracey Woods
Independent Reviewer|3359.56
4321.52
1002.20
3148.75
1557.30
405.00
6893.00
1298.00
383.00|
|---|---|
||22368.33|
||2595.00
210.00
6006.72
3341.75
16.99
300.00
265.30
1704.94
111.98
31.44
89.60
368.00
1995.00
1363.92
532.00|
||18932.64|
|||
||3435.69|
|||
||13303.47|
|||
||16739.16|
||16664.09
75.07|
|**SEP24**
**OCT24**
**NOV24**
**INCOME**
Rafes
187.00
264.10
206.00
Donatons
220.62
236.98
Christmas Fair
1002.20
Trip and Actvity Tickets
470.00
Connect Group
138.00
298.00
Mens Group
Believe Housing Grant
2946.50
Book/ Cake Sales
970.00
Bingo Night
**TOTAL INCOME**
**3354.12**
**639.08**
**2946.20**
**EXPENDITURE**
Rent of Room
75.00
180.00
220.00
Speakers
Refreshments/Groceries
401.31
414.83
170.10
Trips
600.00
Gifs
Christmas Event Prep
Kitchen Equipment
Statonery, Resources and IT Equipment
154.76
413.02
Bank Charges
18.00
3.48
Blankets
Sundries
13.46
Public Liability Insurance
Travel Expenses
46.60
Printng of Book
1995.00
Exercise Class
Theatre tckets
**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**
**554.37**
**749.59**
**3401.60**
**MONTH TOTAL**
**2799.75**
**-110.51**
**-455.40**
**RUNNING TOTAL**
**BAL 31.08.24**|**SEP24**
**OCT24**
**NOV24**
**INCOME**
Rafes
187.00
264.10
206.00
Donatons
220.62
236.98
Christmas Fair
1002.20
Trip and Actvity Tickets
470.00
Connect Group
138.00
298.00
Mens Group
Believe Housing Grant
2946.50
Book/ Cake Sales
970.00
Bingo Night
**TOTAL INCOME**
**3354.12**
**639.08**
**2946.20**
**EXPENDITURE**
Rent of Room
75.00
180.00
220.00
Speakers
Refreshments/Groceries
401.31
414.83
170.10
Trips
600.00
Gifs
Christmas Event Prep
Kitchen Equipment
Statonery, Resources and IT Equipment
154.76
413.02
Bank Charges
18.00
3.48
Blankets
Sundries
13.46
Public Liability Insurance
Travel Expenses
46.60
Printng of Book
1995.00
Exercise Class
Theatre tckets
**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**
**554.37**
**749.59**
**3401.60**
**MONTH TOTAL**
**2799.75**
**-110.51**
**-455.40**
**RUNNING TOTAL**
**BAL 31.08.24**|**SEP24**
**OCT24**
**NOV24**
187.00
264.10
206.00
220.62
236.98
1002.20
470.00
138.00
298.00
2946.50
970.00|
|---|---|---|
|||**3354.12**
**639.08**
**2946.20**|
|||75.00
180.00
220.00
401.31
414.83
170.10
600.00
154.76
413.02
18.00
3.48
13.46
46.60
1995.00|
|||**554.37**
**749.59**
**3401.60**|
|||**2799.75**
**-110.51**
**-455.40**|
||**13303.47**
**16103.22**
**15992.71**
**15537.31**||
**DEC24 JAN25 FEB25 MAR25 APR25 MAY25 JUN25 JUL25 AUG25**
|51.00|142.80|163.12|201.13|282.38|168.00|186.00|270.79|295.05|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|73.00|220.00|180.00|209.00|20.00|101.20|209.00||305.00|
|||||693.00|42.75|518.00|532.00||
|165.00|75.50|94.90|161.00|101.90|58.60|149.00|145.00|64.50|
|53.00||70.00|||72.00||65.00||
|||2946.50||||||1000.00|
|143.00|48.00||45.00|35.00|||6.00|12.00|
||||||||240.00|143.00|
|**485.00 **|**486.30**|**### **|**616.13**|**### **|**442.55**|**###**|**###**|**###**|
|120.00|140.00|180.00|180.00|160.00|160.00|280.00|260.00|180.00|
|234.05|281.60|451.92|318.58|192.32|360.89|502.75|290.28|397.60|
|||||407.75|354.00||650.00||
|||16.99|||||||
|300.00|||||||||
||||28.76||||67.09|155.96|
|41.49|93.98|44.73|136.68|36.46||98.45|133.20|66.24|
|18.50|6.00|6.00|6.00|6.00|6.00|6.00|6.00|6.00|
||||||17.98||||
|||||||89.60|||
||||160.00||71.70||16.80|72.90|
|675.00|||||640.00|48.92|||
||||||||532.00||
|**1389.04 **|**521.58 **|**699.64 **|**830.02 **|**802.53**|**###**|**###**|**### **|**878.70**|
|**-904.04 **|**-35.28**|**###**|**### **|**329.75**|**###**|**36.28**|**### **|**940.85**|
**### ### ### ### ### ### ### ###**
**14633.27**
## **SEP25 OCT25 NOV25 DEC25**
|347.00|231.09|184.50|179.60|
|---|---|---|---|
|1430.62|265.00|460.00|391.10|
|122.00||771.00||
||||105.90|
||75.00||70.00|
|10.00||29.00||
|**### **|**571.09**|**### **|**746.60**|
|140.00|100.00|100.00|120.00|
|---|---|---|---|
|210.00||||
|495.86|274.45|590.68|629.50|
|480.00||850.00||
|13.49||||
|132.35|123.46|123.12|107.00|
|6.00|6.00|6.00|6.00|
**### 503.91 ### 862.50 431.92 67.18 ### ### ### ### ### ###**
Harbour, York ******** ********
I’ve enjoyed every moment in the group and would like to thank you for all your hard work. You have great imaginati on and the baking skills are unsurpass ed. I know myself and everyone around me appreciat e everythin g you do. All I can say is you’re doing it right. Thank you ******** ******** Continue the way you are, I don’t think you can improve on what you’re doing. We all really appreciat e all your hard work and long may it continue. ******** ********
*
It’s always a