Damask Community Outreach
Report of the Trustees
for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their
report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023. The trustees have
adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice
applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard
applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective l January 2015).
OBJECTIVES AND ACTtvrrIES
Objectives and aims
Damask Community Outreach fonned in July 2011 to work primarily in the community of East Lisbum.
The mission statement of Darnask Community Outreach is Dedicated to providing safe, inclusive and
challenging opportunities that ar¢ changing lives and building futures in our community. The key purpose
and services provided by Damask were established in response to an audit carried out in the community. The
public benefit delivered by Dam&8k provides support for older people, parents and carers and young people
through a range of activities and programmes, together with advice services and support to those
experiencing health problems, loneliness, unemployment, age related problems, povety and financial
difficulties.
Damask Community Outreach is a Christian faith-based organisation, working in partnership with Seymour
Street Methodist Church, but is open to all and committed to equality of opportunity for all people,
regardless of religious belief, political opinion, race. age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, disability
or dependency. Damask is committed to building partnerships in the community, with statutory agencies and
with other relevant groups and organisations to ensure that it can offer a wide range of services that match
the needs of the community and help with the personal development of individuals.
Ensuring the work delivers the aims of the company
The aims. objectives and activities are reviewed throughout the year at Damask Board Management meetings
held monthly, looking at what has been achieved and the outcornes of the work. The effect of each key
programme and service and the benefits they have brought to the cornmunity and the groups are reviewed
systematically. This process helps ensure that aims, objectives, programmes and services remain focused on
the stated purposes. The Board refers to the guidance contained in the Charity Comrnission's general
guidance on public benefit when reviewing its aims and objectives, and in planning its programmes and
services.
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Damask Community Outreach
Report of the Trustees
for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
ORJECTtVES AND ACTIVTTIES
Overview of activities
The Advice Service Continued to operate throughout the year, and when our Adviser took maternity leave at
the end of December we were able to appoint a new temporary Adviser. Maya Lazarenko, to cover her
period of leave. Coun5elling support has continued to be provided by Ricky Keag.
The youth programme in collaboration with Youth Initiatives, and partly funded by Children in Need,
continued to run in that way until the end of December 2022. However it was becoming more difficult to
combine the nature of the work YI wished to carry out with direction that Damask, with Seymour Street
Methodist Church, wanted to see and so the Memorandum of Understanding was brought to close mutually.
Damask is grateful to YI for the valuable work that Ryan Lilley and other leaders have led over the last five
years or so. From January 2023 Damask appointed Rebecca Wills to lead the continuing Damask youth
programme and to work with The Seymour Street Youth Pastor. Ashleigh O'sullivan, in planning and
running this programme.
The Damask Wellbeing Programme which w&$ initiated during the time of COVID has developed into a
continuing Tuesday Moming programme with a well-attended pilates class, followed by a social time with
tea and coffee. During the year a small group also enjoyed indoor bowls and walks, craft group5 and other
activities were organised from time to time.
The Toddler group continued its weekly meeting and with the decline in COVID restrictions the requirement
for advance booking w&8 dropped. The monthly Tea Dances which were fomierly run have not resumed.
Fund raising through regular Car Boot Sales carried on throughout the year. Although they could not be held
every month they still made an important contribution to Damask's funds. Damask with help frorn S¢ymour
Street Methodist Church continues to gather food donations for the Lisburn Food Bank. We do not currently
have any 'Befri¢nding' taking place.
Volunteers
Volunteers Continue to provide a vital backbone to our activities The Damask Board, which is rnade up of
voluntary members continued to provide management and administration via online meetings, and the time
spent on administration remained high due to additional funding applications and the need to keep attering
and re-developing our activities. In most months we have held a car boot sale which depends on voluntary
support, as does the Toddlers. The Wellbeing group has voluntary leadership as does the Advice Service,
and the youth programme depends on young Voluntee￿ who have come up through the group.
The below table showing year on year volunteering hours with Damask Community Outreach:
2022123
2021122
2020121
Youth Projects
Advice Service
Befriending Service
Wellbeing Group
Toddlers Group
Covid Food Box Deliveries
Management & Admin
Car Boot Sale
Food Bank Collection
1,800
320
2,000
200
1,020
400
30
120
480
120
360
300
1.400
50
50
936
304
50
1,400
300
50
Total
4,010
4,430
3,250
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Damask Community Outreach
Report of the Trustees
for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
ORJECTIVES AM) ACTIVITIES
Paid Staff and Session Workers
At the end of March 2023 Damask had two contracted staff, Maya Lazarenko, Temporary Adviser working
20 hours per week and Febbie Francis, Adviser (on maternity leave). Rebecca Wills. the sessional youth
worker, works 6 hours per week on the Fusion Project (After-school Club). Session workers are employed
where necessary to deliver specific programmes such as Pilates, the Wellbeing programme, craft activities,
and youth outreach.
Grant applications and donations
The Damask programme over 2022123 has been supported by a range of funding bodies and we are grateful
to these bodies for their ￿ants. These include Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, The Education
Authority, Children in Need, Lisbum artd Castlereagh Policing and Community Safety Partnership and
Youth Initiatives. In February 2023 we were awarded a grant from the Victoria Homes Trust which will be
used to support the Fusion Project (after school club) tn 2023124, continuing from Children in Need. We
have received donations from Seymour Street Methodist Church as well as private individuals. The
Wellbeing programme is fully funded through weekly donations from those attending and the toddlers group
is funded through a small weekly subscriptions by those attending.
Objectives for 2022123
The rnain objectives for 2022123 were to develop the Advice Service particularly with regard to supporting
victims of domestic violence as we received PCSP funding for this aspect of the work and to build on the
successful Wellbeing Programme. We aimed to secure new funding to provide continuing support to the
after-school club at the conclusions of the Children in Need funding.
In additional the Damask Board aimed to maintain the 2022123 balance sheet in credit as had been achieved
in the previous three years.
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Damask Community Outreach
Report of the Trustees
for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Programmes and Activities
The Damask Response to the needs of Community during 22123
Advice Service
Febbie Francis was able to deal with the calls coming in to the advice service effectively and the new
arrangement of having Friday morning sessions in the Lisbum Food Bank worked well. However some
health issues meant there were periods when the service could not operate. Once we became aware that a
period of maternity leave would be required we again had no success finding a qualified Adviser. However
Maya Lazarenko, a refugee from Ukraine, applied and w&s offered the post from January 2023 following a
period of online training and work experience in November and December 2022. This appointment opened
the door for Damask to offer support to Ukrainian refugees in the Lisburn area in additional to our usual
local clientele, which we felt was a very much in line with the aims of Damask Community Outreach.
We continued to receive PCSP funding to enable us to support clients who are victims of Domestic
Violence. Due to our change of staff and periods of closure, we were not able to develop the domestic
violence aspects of the work as hoped. However we intend to remain focussed on this issue which is still
widespread in the community. We did, however, refer a number of clients with domestic violence issue to
Ricky Keag for counselling.
Youth Programme
The main programme during 2022123 was the Children in Need 'Go' project with up to 50 young teens
attending after school on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. This was under the management of Ryan Lillcy
from YI, but led by Rebecca Wills. Early in 2022 it became apparent that the detached youth work with
older teens at weekends was no longer finding groups of young people on the streets in Lisbum and the focus
with older teens moved to working within Forthill College providing infornial counselling during lunch and
break times.
An evening group for older girls w&8 established but a boys group did not attract support.
Frotn January Damask took over management of the youth programme from YI with Rebecca Wills
continuing as Leader of the after-school programme, now called Fusion, and Rebecca Ringland ran the group
for older girls. The Fusion programme is now becoming more integrated with the work of Seymour Street
Methodist Church and has the assistanc¢ of Ashleigh O'sullivan, the Youth Pastor.
With the support of the PCSP grant several week5 of summer Holiday Clubs were run.
Toddlers Group
With the decline in Concern over COVID the Toddlers group was able to operate without a requirement for
pre-registration. There is a team of about six voluntary leaders and the group is largely self-funding through
a small weekty Subscription.
Community Wellbeing Projects
Walks for Wellbeing:_ From Easter 2022 to the summer. fortnightly Walks for Wellbeing were organised.
but there were dccl ining numbers. This programme did not restart after the summer.
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Damask Community Outreach
Report of the Trustees
for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
Community Wellbeing :"
The popular Pilates class had sessions running from April to June 22, September to December 22 and
January to March 23 with a regular attendance of 14 to 20. Weekly donations from those attending more
than covered the costs of running this programme and the coffee time afterwards. While the Pilates group
was predominately women, a small group of men enjoyed the short mat bowls in the main hall. The overall
programme has become a well-supported and valued addition to the Damask activities bringing together a
wide mix of people from the local community and church and has the potential to be further developed with
a wider range of day-time activities.
Damask Board and other aspeets of Damask
The Damask Board continued to meet approximately monthly, mostly but not entirely online via Zoom
throughout 2022123.
The Car Boot sales continued to be an important fundraising, and community activity of Damask generally
raising £700 to £800 per sale, including £125 to £150 from refreshments. In the absence of an altemative the
stage in the main hall is the main area where donated items are stored. Most donations arc coming from
Church members and their support in this way is appreciated. After each sale a significant amount of unsold
material is disposed of at the dump.
Damask has continued to support the Lisburn Food Bank by gathering food donations from Church
members and others and passing them on.
Future Plans
With the Youth Programme now being managed directly by Damask our aim, particularly with the younger
teens, is to have a more regular Christian input into the programme and to develop opportunities for church
young people to be involved as members or youth leaders. However we do want to maintain the link with
Forthill College and identify and support for older young people who Mi￿1t other wise drop out of education
and also to continue the evening group of older girls.
As we expect opportunities for grant funding to become more difficult in Northern Ireland we will need to
look at new potential sources of funding particularly for the AdVIc￿cOunSel11ng work. While Maya
Lazarenko will finish when Febbie Francis returns to work the possibility of Damask working with Maya to
provide additional support to the local refugee population could be a new area of work for Damask Af
appropriate funding could be found.
Appreciation
The Damask Board wish to place on record our deep appreciation and thanks to all our Volunteers who give
of their time so freely, to the staff providing the Damask Advice and Counselling, the Community activities
and leading the youth programme and to those who give donations regularly and generously to support the
work of Damask Community Outreach.
At this stage Damask would also like to thank Ryan Lilley who was employed by Youth Initiatives to lead
the Damask youth prograrnme over the last fourlfive years. Over much of this time there was a strong
element of detached youth outreach in Lisbum and YIIDamask were providing a stabilising influence at a
time when the PSNI were finding it difficult to keep tabs on the ￿0upS of young people in Lisburn. Ryan
provided well organised and prepared leadership and maintained the required applications, paperwork and
reports to satisfy our funder5. Damask also appreciates the commitment from the CEO artd Board of YI to
support this work with Damask with staff and finance.
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Damask Community Outreach
Report of the Trustee5
for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Fftnaneial Review and Reserves Policy
In partnership with our principal funders as detailed in the notes to the financial statements we delivered an
agreed programme. The amount directly expended on charitable activities in the 12 months to 31 March
2023 amounted to £42,152 (£42,935 31 March 2022)
We maintained tight control over our fu]ances and are seeking to establtsh a reserves policy, which will
aintain the financial stability of the charity.
We will continue to keep our PrincipaI Funders fully infomied through briefing and PrOg￿sS reports to
agreed timetables.
Finances
The Statement of Financial Activities reflects a general reserve increase of £5,917, from £28,444 at 31
March 2022 to £34,361 at 31 March 2023.
The Restricted Funds carried forward at 31 March 2023 increased by £3,081 from £1,190 at 31 March 2022
to £4,271 at 31 March 2023.
Risk Management
The Board continue to review the major risks to which the charity is exposed and they endeavour to maintain
control procedures and systems to mitigate those risks.
Responsibilities of the Board of Directors
Company Law requires the Board to prepare financial statements for each financial year that give a true and
fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the balance sheet date and of its incoming
resources and applications of resources, including income and expenditure, for the financial year.
preparing those financial statements the Board follows best practice and selects suitable accounting policies,
makes judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent and prepares financial statements on the
going concern basis, unless it is not appropriate to &8sume that the company will continue on that basts.
The Board of Directors is responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with
reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to
ensure that the fmancial statements comply with all legal obligations. The Board of Directors is also
responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and therefore for taking re&sonable step5
for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND IVIANAGEIVIENT
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company,
limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
Damask Community Outreach is a charitable company limited by guarantee. incorporated on 22 July 2011
and registered &$ a Charity by the Charity Commission Northern Ireland NIC102073 on 6 March 2015. It is
recognised by HMRC as a charity for tax purposes. The company was established under a Memorandum of
Association, which established the objects and powers of Damask as a charitable company, and is governed
under its Articles of Association.
The Articles of Association were amended by a Special R¢solution of the Company at a Special General
Meeting held on 21 October 2013.
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Damask Community Outreach
Report of the Trustees
for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
STRUCTURE, GOVERIYANCE AND MANAGEMEiYr
Recruitment and appointment of new trustees
The Directors of the company are also known as charity trustees and under the Company's Articles are
known as the Board. Members of the Board are elected by the decision of the Directors, or by an ordinary
resolution. All members of the Board of Directors give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from
the charity. At present there are ten Board members who have served during this past year who are listed on
page 8. The Board seeks to ensure that there is an appropriate mix of skills within the trustee body and that it
adequately reflects the nature and diversity of the work of the company.
Organisational structure
The Damask Community Outreach Board of Directors. who met every 6 to 8 weeks during the year, is
responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the Charity.
A ￿h¢me of delegation through an established management structure is in place. During the period of this
report the Advice Service was managed by Jim Irwin. the Youth Programme by Dr Lindsay Easson, the
Befriending Service by Harold Baird and the Toddlers, and Tea Dance by Shirley Carrington. Each of these
Board Members reported to the Board on these areas at each Board meetittg.
Induction and training of neiv trustees
Trustees are encouraged to familiarise themselves w&th the obligations of membership of the Board of
Directors. They are also encouraged to be aware of charity legislation, to attend training relevant to their
position and be aware of the current financial position, resourcing, future plans, objectives, policies and
procedures of the company.
Risk management
The Board continue to review the major risks to which the charity is exposed and they endeavour to maintain
control procedures and systems to mitigate those risks.
REFERENCE AIYD ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Registered Company number
N1608313 (Northem Ireland)
Registered Charity number
102073
Registered office
16 Adlon Crescent
Lisburn
Co. Antrim
BT28 2EG
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Damask Community Outreach
Report of the Trustees
for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
Trustees
Dr David Lindsay Easson Retired
Rev David Lee Turtle Minister
Miss Jennifer Michelle Baird Certified Chartered Accountant
Mr John Harold Baird Chartered Management Accountant
Mrs Shirley Anne Carrington Director
Mr James Edward Irwin Retired
Mr William Donald Kinghan Engineer
Ms Anne Teresa Maxwell Retired Librarian
Mr William Eric Rainey Retired
Mrs Janet Adri¢nne Stewart
Independent Examiner
John Mccleary FCA
Mccleary & Company Ltd
Chartered Accountants
Garvey Studios
14 Longstone Street
Lisburn
Co. Antrim
BT28 ITP
Bankers
Danske Bank
PO Box 183
Donegall Square West
Belfast
BTI 6JS
Solieitors
Carson McDowell
Murray House
4 Murray St.
Bclfast
BTI 6DN
Chairperson
Dr David Lindsay Ea5son - appointed 31 January 2019
Approved by order of the board of trustees on 27 June 2023 and signed on its behalf by:
Dr David Lindsay Easson - Trustee
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