ross Co The purposes of the charity remains 'to provide facilities for recreation and leisure, to improve the image of the communty. closer communityco-operation and to promde children's actiwties. The group al80 provides a foodbankto assist the neediest famibes and indiwduals within the local Maghera area,. The followng were elected as trustees forthe group on 23 December 2024: Ruth Watterson Ichairpwson) Jon James Boyd Claire Sweeney tfreasurerl Paula Convery (Secretary) Kirsty McFall Jane Mulian Ross Nicholl Brian Davey Personalyouth Development Programme- The organisation is now in its final month of our Intemational Fund for Ireland Personalyouth Development Progyamme. due to end in December 2024. 24 young people were recruited: 16 are male. 7 are female and 1 identifies as non-binary 8 of Protestant faith. 10 of Catholic faith and 6 are otherl no regiOuS beliefs 3 of the participants. whojoined the programme inAugust aresyrian refugees. Throughouttheir time on the programme they received the support to achieve their UK residents status. The young people involved in the programme have experienced rnany individual issues the young people have experienced. inciudinglowseltesteem. poor mental health. sectarianism and dlfficultles with communication. The programme is tailored tothe participants. to best fittheir needs. From the beginning of the programme. the participants have developed their personal capabilities. including increased skiits. qualifications and conf idence. Heather listed the many qualifications the young people have Utertaken, as well as non-8ccredited workshops and programmes, these have included; Manual HandngAwareness. Level 2 Food Safety, Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work. OCN Level 2 Good Relations. Mental Health FirstAid, Fire Safety Awareness. OCN Level 1 Managing risk. Level 1 Grassroots. OCN Level 1 Cultural Diversity. Level 1 Fire Safety. mental health workshops. drwingtheory support. cookery. caringforthe centre's allotments. physical 8Ctivty, one to one mentoring and teambuiLding activitiesl trips. The programme has been extremely successful. with 10 young people entering employment. 1 gaining an apprenticeship and 5going onto furthereducation.The other 8youngpeople leftthe programme due toa variety of reasons including. mowngfrom thearea, mental health issues, matemityand takingon caring duties. The group has been successful in securing funding to njn another 2 year Personalyouth Development Programme thanks to International Fund torlreiand Funding. Thisprogr8mme is dueto commence in January 2025. Children/youngpeople classes- Current programmes and classes the organisation offers. as well as the approximate number of attendees are as follows:
Pre-school118 months- 4 years): demarKI for our pre-school ¢iass In¢ased significantly. therefore an additional daywas added to the programm& The class Nns everyTuesday, WednesdayandThursday9:30am-11:30am. with 18chiidren attendingea¢h day. Art14years-11 years): art class runs everywednesdayfrom 3:30pm-5pm and is attended by 18 children. Baknng14 years- 11 years): baking class runs everyTuesdayfrom 3:30pm-5pm and is attended by 18 children. D8nce14 years-11 years): dance class Nns everyTuesday from 6:30pm-7:30pm and is attended by 24 ¢hildren. Three out of school schemes for those aged 4 years- 11 years were also run duringthe year: 3" T, July 2023- 63 young people engaged T.. 11" August 2023- 54 young people engaged 14° 1 V, August 2023- 43 young peopLe engaged In addition. the group once again offer1 varied youth prograrnmes: Juniorgroup110years-13yearsl- OurjuniorgYp. with up to 29 children in attendance. consisting of mainly chiLdren f rom KIngWilarnlll Crescent and Upperlands, has continued to meet each week. The group have made good progress. and have built strong relationships with staff and volunteers. Theyare ableto openlytalkabout any issuestheyarefacing. In addition to this, we have built up good relationships wÉth the parents of the young people. which is helping us to build stronger intercommunity relationships. The group have been taking part in sports programmes, b8knng. art and teambuiLdingtrips. Most recently, the group have attended a good relations visitto Derryl Londonderry. involwng visitingthe Free Derrymuseum and Apprentice Boys Museum. aswell as ten pin bowling. theyoung peoplethoroughlyenjoyed this as it was a completely newexperienceforthem all. The group have been takingpart in awidevariety of activities. including sport, bgkin& art. good relations training and team building activities. Senior group114years- 18 yearsl- Up to 28 yOLJng people have attended ourseniorgroup. coming from Maghera and the surrounding ruralareas. Thegroup havetaken part in many actiwties including meditation and relaxation, mental health workshops. cookery. caringfor the centre's allotments and taking part in a study group. The group have also completed lots of new qualifications which will be of great benefit to help them find newjobs. The qualifications completed have included OCN Youth Leadership, OCN Customer SeNice Skslis. Food Safety in Catering and Emergency FirstAid in Work. AU our children and youngpeople's programmes arefunded through BBC Children in Need and BSG Family tNst. Brian said it was evident these f unders are essential in heipingthe organisation provide the opportLtnities it does. BSG Famlly Trust- The organisation's firstfundingfrom BSG FamilyTrustended in March 2024. whichfunded 2 X25 hour staff members, who are responsible forthe njnningof Maghera Foodbank. as weiiasworkingwithin the pre-school respite services. The fundinghas allowed us to continue toworkwith thejuniorand senior group who had previouslyattended our EducationAuthorityprogr8mme, wherethese young people continueto partake in weeklyactwitiesto increase confidence, improve emotionalwell being. aswell as community relations. In addition, through thefundingtourx 6week blocks of adult cookeryclasses were run successfully. providingopportunities for localadultsto cometogetherto sce1aSe, aswellas learn a range of cookingtechniques. Following our successful programme which ended in March 2024, we apped for fundingto continue our activities. in which we were successful. Through this funding the organisation is able to continue to run ourfriendship group. St8ff have seen first- hand the impact rising household biLLs are having on locaL indwiduals. and therefore the importance of providing a wami, safe space to socialise in. The group is open to all. but is particularlybeneficial for those who ve in a hard to heat home. are isolated orworried about energy biiis. Activities on offer within
the programme include cookery demonstrations. arts arKI crafts. educationaltaiks (fire safety. medical etc). gardening and excursions. The newfurKJlngaiiocation will coverthe costs of 3 X 25 hour positions. in addition to programme costs. BBC Children in Need- Up to October 2023, the organisation receivad funding of £9970fyear for tutorand programme costs, but successfully applied for BBC Children in Need's large grant, commen¢ing in November 2023. The funding covers a 25 hour perweek ytyjth worker, to manage all children and young people's classes, as well as assist within the running of the classes. The fund covers tutor and material costs for our classes, includin& baking, art, dan, boxercise and study 0Up5. as well a 3 weeks of summer scheme actiwties each year. which will be open to those aged 4ye8rs. This newfunding has allowed us to increase our capacityand benefit more Localchildren. Foodbank- 1154 food parcels have been distrlbuted between 4Jril 20Z3 and March 2024- a 5&6% increase Compared to ApriL 2022- March 2023. The group continues to offer food parcets which contain non-perishable items. as well as tre5h food and toiletries. ensurtng famiiresl individuals have 4-5 days, rth of nutritionally balanced meals. as well as toiletries to meet their basic needs. In addition to food parcels. households can be directly supported with coal, oil stamps and vouchers to purchase fresh meat. During schoot holidays. Includlngsummer. halfterm and Christmas. we provided extra 5UPPOrt to families who have been StNggngwlth their increased fcK)d bills due to their children being at home full time. bypromding'packed lunches. forthe children. Between November 2023 and March 2024 64 households vtho use Maghera Foodbankwere additionally supported with £200 electricity creditl heating oil. through Bryson Energy Emergency Relief Initiative. The Bryson Energy Erneenty Relief Initiative is a comprehenstve proarn aimed at provtding reliefto those struggling with their energy bills. The initiative includes a range of measures designed to help people manage theirenergycosts. inciudinggrants, energy effi¢ien¢y measures, and supportforvulnerable households. These grants were targeted at Iow-income households who are particuiarlyvulnerable to enew poverty. By promdingfinancial assistance to these houSehoS. the initiative aims to allewate some of the financial burden associated with ener bitt4 allowing people to better manage their energy Costs and staywarm duringthe winter rnonths. We provtde wrap around seNt¢es, as we understand hunger is rnore than foThl. but a lack of income. among other issues. Ourwrap arourKI serwces ensure are providing addttionalsupport alongside emergen¢y fo¢xI. to help clients address the underiwng issues behind their crisis. We have built strong relationships with m8ny referraL agencies, including; Mid Uistersupport Hub Community Planning IPSNII. STEPAdvice Services. Woman's Aid, NIHE and Alva Hasson Counseuing. During this period. the foodbank has been extremely busy, wlth an increased number of workingfamlites usingthe seNce. as they find it more and more drffi¢uit to stretch theirincome. Organisations that use The Llnkbulldlng- The centre is currentlyused by a wde range of organisations on 8 V4peklybasis. these include: Alv8 Hasson Counseiiing. ZEST. South Derry Down5 Syndrome Group Na8hera Baby Loss Group and self-help groups. In addition to this. several othergroups use the faCItieS when required, including Lrfeline and Northlands Addiction Centre. The organisations use the facilities free of charge. as wefeelthese services are essential and shld be accessibleto all. The trustees revlewed alLOanISation policS and procedures. The group continues to operate underthe temis of its constitution.
The ¢harity remalns In a healthyfinancial position and is appreaatrve of aiifunding received. Signed: Ruth Watterson (Chairperson) Date: 27