**Everton Centre parents and carers group** ## **Trustees Report** ## **for the year ended 30 September 2024** The Trustees present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2024. The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the constitution, and 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 1 January 2015). ## **Structure, governance and management** The group is an unincorporated charity. ## **Trustees** The trustees who served during the year were as follows: C Hamill, S Jones, B Jeffers, C Green, C Radcliffe, B Madden, B McCaughey, C Baxter, A MacQuillan, J Denvir, A Carr, A Hughes, C Welsh. ## **Objectives and activities** The objects for which the group is established are: - To provide a range of activities for clients of the Everton Day Centre. - To promote access to benefits through information and opportunities for networking. ## **Achievements and performance** I want to start by acknowledging the new trustees on our board this last year. Eleanor Alexander, Jo and Julie Clarke. Lisa Hamilton and Martine Madden. They have brought youth and energy with them and given us a renewed sense of purpose, particularly after the issues and difficulties experienced by us during the pandemic. That energy and renewed sense of purpose is evident in the fact that we are going to have a Fall Ball on Friday. My hope is that everybody has a good time and if we get a bob or two out of it, so much the better. This year, three of our trustees have stepped down for family reasons and I want to publicly recognise the contributions made by Anne McQuillan over very many years along with Audrey Hughes and Chris Welsh who had joined us more recently and to thank them sincerely for their work. I want to acknowledge the generosity, over many years of the Dockers’ Club. In pre-Covid days, they used to host a much-enjoyed pre-Christmas dance for members of Everton. It has not proved possible to restore this, due to lingering concerns about issues of close proximity. But the Dockers very kindly sent us a cheque for £335 out of the blue last November. There has been one issue this year which we discussed on different occasions – the too-frequent interruptions to the bus service to Everton. I don’t have to tell all here of the importance of this service; there are families who depend entirely on it to bring their loved ones to Everton. I wrote on behalf of the parents& carers to the Trust; the reply indicated a helplessness in the face of diminished 1 ## **Everton Centre parents and carers group** resources. I want to take this further and lodge a complaint. So I intend to log any incidents of buses’ unavailability over the next few months. I would ask all here today to do the same so that we will have the evidence needed to back up a complaint. During the year we raised the issue of difficulties in contacting Everton in the mornings and I’m happy to report that my personal experience indicates a great improvement. Danske Bank have given us grants on two occasions over the last six years, spent mainly on improvements to the sensory room and to the Clevertouch screen system. They indicated to us this year that they have a new scheme whereby their staff will be encouraged to give voluntary and practical help. There are a number of procedural issues to be ironed out but we are hopeful that this help can be extended to Everton. I want to finish by thanking all our trustees, new and old who give up part of their precious time to improving the Everton experience for our members and I further want to ask Anna to pass on our thanks to all Everton staff , the men and women who have continued and consolidated the process of restoring normality to Everton and re-establishing the caring, inclusive atmosphere we had come to cherish in pre-Covid times. ## **Financial review** During the year the group maintained sound financial reserves. This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended PracticeAccounting and Reporting by Charities. This report was approved by the Board on 4[th] November 2024 and signed on its behalf by C. Hamill, Chairman 2