Kairos Enterprises
Trustees Annual Report Year Ended 31[st] March 2024
The past year has seen an ever-increasing busyness at the Ark, with many new volunteers joining us, which has allowed us to expand the amount and range of activities that have been undertaken. The coffee shop continues to get busier and has now got a very good reputation in the local community, with many new customers remarking on the very special place that the Ark is. Due to the coffee shop opening up the site to a whole new group of visitors, we are getting many cases of new customers taking time to view our site and enquire about the work that is going on within our organisation. Many are then offering to volunteer or to ask us to provide help and support to a family member who would benefit from the services we provide. As a Board and staff team, we must constantly remind ourselves of the Mission of the Ark – “To demonstrate the love of God to our community, following the example of Jesus”- to ensure that everything that we do on site contributes to that mission.
On the staff front, we had a new addition to our staff team when Victor Bennett joined us 2 days per week as a volunteer support worker and his experience and enthusiasm has been a tremendous asset to the Workshop and the development of our volunteers. Otherwise, our team of fantastic and dedicated staff continue to deliver on the Ark mission, demonstrating love and care for everyone on site. TJ and his team also continue to provide a service and atmosphere in our coffee shop that is second to none.
Unfortunately, during the year Jill Hamilton resigned as a Board member, as the family were moving to Lurgan. We would put on record our sincere thanks to Jill for her input during her tenure.
On the financial front, the past year has seen a very significant increase in turnover, both on the income side and, unfortunately, on the outgoings. Anyone looking around the site will see that there has been significant work carried out, including Workshop renovation, new garden sheds, development of the growing areas, new toilet block and improvements to the shop and coffee shop areas. There have also been changes to tax and national security rules that have been a further burden on the financials. The 2023/2024 accounts show us with a net deficit of £25k, which is a major area for discussion during our Board meetings, establishing plans to address this shortfall going forward. This only goes to emphasise the value of the phenomenal work that is carried out each week by our fantastic team of volunteers. We truly could not carry on what we do without you all. It is because of you that people regularly state “there is something very special about this place”. Whilst it is great to see the repairs and developments on site, it is far more rewarding to observe the repairs and developments within people’s lives.
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfil the law of Christ”
Galatians Ch6 V2
Board of Directors/Trustees Kairos Enterprises