## **Breezemount Community Association Charity No: 102860 Trustees Report – Year ending 31 March 2024** ## **Group Purpose** Breezemount Community Association provides a service for all the residents within the Breezemount area of Bangor in North Down, for example, advice services, projects promoting health and well-being and informal educational classes for residents. We also carry out community initiatives for the benefit of the area and access any relevant funding to endorse the work of the Association. ## **Group Public Benefits** The public will benefit from programmes, projects and activities which we will provide within our local community, with priority on the following purposes: **Purpose 1 –** to relieve poverty, sickness and the aged, and promote the benefit of the inhabitants of the Breezemount Estate and district of Conlig. The direct benefits which flow from this purpose include reducing social isolation, improvement of the quality of life for those in need, reduced levels of stress and anxiety and increased mental health among those in need. **Purpose 2 –** to provide community facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and other leisure time, education and improving the conditions of life for inhabitants. The direct benefits which flow from this purpose include improvement of the quality of life for residents, increased visitors to the area, reduction of anti-social behaviour, an increase in safe areas for the local community and reduced levels of stress and anxiety among the local community, therefore a more settled area. **Purpose 3 –** to provide social services, education, environmental, recreational activities and practical assistance for elderly and disabled people within the area of benefit. The direct benefits which flow from this purpose include the creation of new or enhanced skills, increased selfconfidence, and increased access to training opportunities, increased uptake of training or educational opportunities and a reduction in isolation. These programmes provide social connection, improved health and well-being and access to the vital support, skills and knowledge residents need for a better quality of life. We are a small group of volunteers so work collaboratively with statutory and voluntary agencies to provide essential advice and support, including advice clinics on budgeting, debt, benefits, safety, housing, and signposting residents to specialist support when needed. Fees are not charged for our services, and none of our committee members will obtain any private benefit. There is no harm flowing from our purposes. The beneficiaries are the residents within Breezemount and its surrounding areas in Bangor. ## **Trustee board** Sharon Davison Chairperson Claire Crozier Secretary Shelley Danks Treasurer Colin Vance Jayne Niblock Iris McGrath ## **Financial Year 1[st] April 2023 – 31[st] March 2024** Please see the financial report and independent examinations of accounts for full details. Our Community Association has assets worth roughly £1,000 to include tablets and furniture. ## **Activities** Breezemount is a working-class area with great people and potential, however long-standing challenges such as unemployment, educational underachievement, mental health issues and physical health issues, have only increased due to the pandemic and cost of living crisis and this has created isolation and hopefulness amongst many. Through the use of the Community House, local Community Centre and surrounding green areas, we run activities across the generations to provide social connection, improve health and well-being, support people living with poverty, address inequalities and instil community spirit. Our weekly DICE youth club in partnership with North Down Community Network (NDCN) continued this year; offering a safe, fun and welcoming space to young people in the area. This has been a great opportunity for young people to build friendships and take part in activities and training to increase their social skills, confidence and self-belief. As well as regular weekly club, educational trips and projects, some of our DICE young people help out as young leaders at summer scheme and our community events, and we were proud of them for being such great role models to the younger children. Our Breezemount seniors’ group continued to meet every Thursday in the Community House, providing an important opportunity to build friendships over a cuppa and warm meal, and gain access to activities and advice to improve their health and well-being. Its members continue to give back to the community; supporting us to deliver our community events and summer scheme and helping out wider society by crocheting and knitting clothing and accessories for premature babies (donating to local hospitals and charities). We are thankful for all they do for the community. Our volunteers ran another successful 2-week summer scheme, thanks to our dedicated volunteers and funding from Halifax Foundation NI. 43 children took part in valuable workshops (sport, arts and crafts, music) and educational trips, encouraging personal development and teamwork. The need for the scheme continues to be high with registration oversubscribed every year, but we as a small group of volunteers are mindful that we need to keep the numbers manageable, so we can keep safeguard children to our best ability and keep within budgets. We delivered a range of community events this year, including a large-scale 11[th] July fun day. All of our events continue to be very well attended, showing the continued need for family friendly events, which bring residents together for light relief and escapism. We worked closely with statutory and voluntary agencies to ensure residents were supported to get what they were entitled to. We did this through the direct signposting of residents to specialist support (e.g., financial support, housing, safety), as well as raising the common priorities and needs of community at multi-agency meetings, e.g., Housing Community Network, Estate Inspections and the Community Practitioners Forum, facilitated by NDCN and working in partnership with the 4 other voluntary Community Associations in Bangor. We are thankful to our funders and NDCN for their continued advice and support. A massive thank you of course to our committee and volunteers, who give so much. **Approved by the Trustees on 18[th] July 2024 and signed on their behalf by** **Sharon Davison, Chairperson**