## **TRUSTEE REPORT FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1[ST] April 2022 to 31[st] March 2023** 

Causeway Down’s Syndrome Support Group 

Registered Address is 178c Loughan Road, Fish Loughan, Coleraine, BT52 1UD 

NIC No 101226 

Trustees are: Mrs Mary Hunter, Mrs Jill Gurney, Mrs Karen Allen, Mrs Gwen Doak, Mrs Sally Martin, Mrs Deirdre Logan, Mrs Ame Arnscheidt and Mrs Connie Kearney. 

Our meetings are held every two months at the Elite Connected Offices, 17 Queen Street, Ballymoney, Co Antrim, on the second Tuesday of every other month excluding July and August.  We, the trustees have had regard to the charity commissions public benefit for this financial year. 

Our focus for this financial year was to secure additional funding and to fundraise as a community. Post covid we struggled to do both and our desire to continue to support our families was a huge motivating factor. We also made the decision as a collective committee to start asking our families to contribute towards services provided. This was a difficult decision to make but would secure our ability to continue as a support group. Parents now contribute approximately 25% of the cost of speech therapy and all-stars singing sessions. This alone has created an income of over £1300. 

Highlights of the year include our Allstars choir singing in Rathmore Golf Club on the 30[th] March for the charity Reach. They also performed in St Patricks Church in Coleraine in December 2022 at the CC&G Police community carol service.  One of our teenagers Claudia, had her acting career blossom with a performance in an Irish feature film playing the role of a teenager in Dublin. Her first paid job! Our children and young adults also had a wonderful session with ‘Dance to Enhance’ group from the triangle area. We hope to work more with this group in the future.  Look out for a promo video hitting social media in the future. 

The highlight of the year was the Christmas Party held on the first Sunday in December in the Royal Court in Portush. A wonderful celebration of what makes our group unique and special. 

## **Fundraising Activities:** 

We received two donations of over £1000 from family members of the group. 

St Patricks PS in Rasharkin raised £212 on World DS day. One of our teenagers Tiffany and her friends from Sunday school organised a coffee morning and raised £520.  The staff from Causeway A&E raised £220 from Christmas donations. The Crowe family had a family party game and raised £130. We also received a  £100 donation from ‘Here Architects’ in Ballymoney in lieu of gifts for clients. 

Tribe Fit Caching in Ballymoney owned by Stephen McAlone – big brother of Kayla organised a 12 workouts of Christmas fundraiser and raised a staggering £5318. 

Conor Presbyterian raised £1050 from their car wash and coffee morning. 



Broughshane Primary School raised £251 from a trade and commerce project and decided to donate money towards our charity. One of our entrepreneur Mums Lauren organised a tropic raffle and raised over £1000. Our biggest income was a grant secured from the National lottery for £10,000 for our speak easy workshops which will continue to ensure our weekly speech therapy is secured for our children and young adults this year. 

This income has allowed us to continue to preserve, protect and improve the health, education and wellbeing of individuals with Downs Syndrome in the Causeway Area, by way of music therapy sessions, speech and language sessions, multi skills classes (physical exercise and games) as well as supporting each other through the highs and lows of schooling, toileting, health promotion or the ability to signpost to existing services. 

We are governed by our constitution dated 11[th] March 2008 – no amendments have been made during this period.  Our financial position is as follows with a balance of £14,254 in our current account and a further £ 6,683 in our savings account. 

Signed:  Frances-Ann Archibald. Treasurer 06/01/2024