DEWSBURY & DISTRICT THIRD AGE
ANNUAL REPORT 2023/24
We have had a successful year with 33 classes (only 4 down from pre Covid numbers) and the classes continue to be a wonderful way to make new friends and to share doing something we enjoy with others.
Unfortunately, our membership is still well below pre Covid numbers with 479 members, including trustees and tutors. We continue to welcome new members. We had no new classes and two classes will not be restarting in the Autumn. Christine Cashman started as a member and volunteer thirty years ago and in March she decided to retire as tutor of the Tuesday patchwork class. She has been a trustee, secretary and for many years tutor of two patchwork classes. She has also organised social events, lunches and holidays. She still intends to continue as a member. Stephanie Roe will not be offering her “Making Teddy Bears and Other Animals” class next term. She will be continuing as Treasurer and Vice Chairman. We thank them and all our other volunteers for their enthusiasm and dedication.
We need people to come forward and volunteer to lead new classes. We are looking for people who live locally, are available during the day and have a knowledge, skill or enthusiasm which they would like to share with other over 50s. It is a very satisfying role and a wonderful way to make new friends. Volunteers are supported by a link trustee. We also have space for a few more trustees, especially someone who may have expertise in publicity.
In March, we had our first annual exhibition since 2020 at Oakwell Hall This was very well supported by our members and demonstrated well the variety of what we have on offer.
While many classes confine themselves to just one session a week, some classes are moving out and working in or for the community. Our “Play the Guitar and Sing” and “Play the Ukulele” classes have both been out entertaining people in the community. The “Scottish Country Dancing” class has led the dancing at a Burns Night celebration and all three classes performed at our annual exhibition. Our “Singing for Pleasure” choir entertained friends in December and gave a concert for a community group in March. A number of the “Yorkshire Dialect” class members once again took part in the Mrs Sunderland competition in the dialect section and two members were awarded the first and second places. Another member came second in the “Own Composition” section. In October, three members attended a meeting of Huddersfield Macular Society to read dialect pieces to members who have eyesight problems. After dialect pieces were heard being read aloud at our exhibition, the class has been invited to attend other events at Oakwell Hall, including Yorkshire Day.
Members of one of our patchwork classes have been making lap quilts for care home residents and children’s quilts for the children’s hospice and the baby bank, also full-sized quilts for Kirkwood Hospice. Members have donated the material and their time. The other patchwork class has made a group quilt in memory of a member who died of cancer last year. The quilt was presented to the church which the lady had attended and it will be used to raise funds. Our “Sewing for Fun” class makes visits to craft fayres.
Financial Report
The Group had to increase class fees last October in order to meet increasing room hire costs. This proved to be the right move. A small number of our classes have not broken even due to low numbers, however as long as the Group breaks even over the year, which it has, these classes should be able to continue. We finished the year with a surplus of £4,203.54 but this did not take into account the outstanding invoices which need to come off this figure. The overall result will therefore be nearer £2,546.04.
We had to withdraw £5,000 from our savings account to prevent us from going overdrawn. We have already been able to replace £3,000 of the savings to take advantage of the high interest rates. This means we are in a much healthier financial position compared to last year and have the resources to be able to survive another Covid situation or similar emergency, should this occur again, but hopefully NOT!
We are grateful to Mr Kevin McConnell for again agreeing to examine our accounts independently in order to help keep us compliant with Charity regulations.
DEWSBURY & DISTRICT THIRD AGE Summary of Income and Expenditure for the year 1st April 2023 -31st March 2024
| INCOME | 2022 - 2023 | 2023 - 2024 | EXPENDITURE | 2022 - 2023 | 2023 - 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class Fees | £21,046.50 | £27,204.50 | (1) | Room Hire | £ 24,720.90 | £ 22,738.48 | (5) | ||
| MembershipFees | £2,107.50 | £2,165.00 | (2) | Marketing/ Website / Exhibitions & Fairs | £0.00 | £630.09 | (6) | ||
| Prospectus Printing | £199.00 | £279.00 | (7) | ||||||
| Insurance | £397.82 | £424.20 | (8) | ||||||
| Tutor's Expenses | £1,668.91 | £1,166.58 | (9) | ||||||
| Telephone Postage |
£0.00 £0.00 |
£0.00 £37.50 |
(10) | ||||||
| SundryIncome: | Photocopying | £145.11 | £203.96 | (11) | |||||
| Interest on Bank Account | £58.17 | £252.03 | (3) | Administration(AGM,Committee) | £165.46 | £80.56 | (12) | ||
| Gift Aid Reimbursement | £270.39 | £284.60 | (4) | Purchase of Capital Equipment | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Other | £2.00 | PAT Testing | £0.00 | £37.00 | (13) | ||||
| SundryExpenses: | £122.05 | £87.22 | (14) | ||||||
| Retirement Gifts &Quiz | £150.00 | £20.00 | (15) | ||||||
| £23,482.56 | £29,908.13 | NCVO Subscription | £0.00 | £0.00 | (16) | ||||
| First Aid Training | £0.00 | £0.00 | (17) | ||||||
| £27,569.25 | £25,704.59 | ||||||||
| Interest on Building Society | £280.97 | £476.42 | Surplus /Loss on the Year | -£4,086.69 | £4,203.54 | ||||
| Checked as a true record: _________ | CASH AND BANK BALANCE | 3/31/2023 | 3/31/2024 | ||||||
| Cash to Bank | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||||||
| Unpresented cheques | -£24.30 | ||||||||
| Name: _______ | Current Account(Virgin Money) | £1,381.21 | £8,532.55 | ||||||
| Yorkshire BuildingSociety | £17,056.07 | £14,813.46 | |||||||
| Date: ___ / ___ / ____ | £18,437.28 | £23,321.71 |
Calculations for Sundry Expenses Breakdown
| Ret Gifts & Quiz | AGM/ Committee | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| J. Whitehead | £30.00 | Receipt Books | |
| F. Pickard | £30.00 | AGM Refreshments | £26.55 |
| Quiz D. Clayton | £10.00 | Zoom Subscription | £47.96 |
| V. Boden | £30.00 | Insurance | £424.40 |
| C. Moss | £30.00 | Misc | |
| Quiz S. King | £10.00 | Quiz/Retirement Gifts | £20.00 |
| A. Jeffrey | £10.00 | Deposit for Keys Birstall CC | £15.00 |
| Xmas Cards |
| AGM/Comm Insurance Ret Gifts AGM/Comm |
£150.00 £533.91 Sundry Outstanding Invoices Dewsbury Town Hall March £ 152.50 Dewsbury Table Tennis League £ 540.00 £150.00 Ravensthorpe URC £ 600.00 £ 165.46 St. Andrew's Mirfield £ 510.00 £ 315.46 £1,802.50 |
|---|---|
£0.00
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