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2023-03-31-annual-report

Greater Linenhall Area Community Association Trustees Annual Report 1[st] April 2022 to 31[st] March 2023

NIC 103609

Greater Linenhall Area Community Association

52 Mourne View Park Newry Co. Down BT35 6BZ

Charity Details

Charity Name: Greater Linenhall Area Community Association

Charity Number: Registered Charity in Northern Ireland – NIC 103609

Purpose: The (Greater Linenhall Area Community) Association is established to promote the benefit of the inhabitants of the Greater Linenhall Area; that is, the inhabitants of Mourne View Park, Mourne View Close, Erskine Street, Plunkett Street, Plunkett Mews, Davis Street, Emmet Street, Emmet Place, Murphy Crescent, Cochran Road, Barrack Street, Barrack Close, Chequer Court and Canal Street – numbers 79 to 113 and to include Richmond Court; (hereinafter called the “area of benefit”); without distinction of age, gender, sexuality, nationality, ethnic origin, political or religious opinion, by associating the statutory authorities, voluntary organisations and the inhabitants in a common effort to relieve poverty, advance education and to provide or assist in providing facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation or other leisure-time occupation, with the object of improving the conditions of life of the said inhabitants and in particular: to maintain and manage a Community House in the area of benefit for activities promoted by the Association.

Charity Trustees as of March 31[st] 2023

Mrs Kathleen Lowry (Chairperson) Diana Marie O’Hanlon (Treasurer) Orlagh Morgan (Secretary) Denise Fearon Shirley O’Hanlon Rhoda Fitzpatrick Lisa Mc Ardle Christopher O’Hanlon Mark Somerville Margaret Casey Ross Mc Clymont Liam Mc Kevitt Tommy Mc Cabe Catherine Mc Evoy Aine Magill (Resigned at AGM) Nona Sullivan (Resigned at AGM) Laura Quinn (Resigned at AGM) Note: No other Charity Trustees in the Year to 31[st] March 2023

Accountant/Independent Examiner

Marian Shields 4 Archdale, Millvale Road, Bessbrook, Newry, BT35 7NN

Insurance Broker & Underwriter:

Marsh Insurance Ltd (Ecclesiastical Brokers) Bedford House, 16-22 Bedford Street, Belfast

Bank

Danske Bank, 58 Hill Street, Newry, Co. Down.

Charity No: NIC103609

Chairpersons Report

Good evening, I’d like to welcome you all here for our Annual General Meeting for the year 1[st] April 2022 to the 31[st] March 2023. Thanks to everyone for turning up here and supporting us. This has certainly been another challenging year, with many households facing daily struggles due to the cost-of-living crisis. We have tried our best to provide as much support as we could over this year and have continued to work to help people in many different ways.

I’d like to thank the Confederation of Community Groups (CCG) for all their help and support over the past year, in particular Raymond Jackson and Cathy Mc Mahon. Thanks to the CCG we have been able to apply for crisis and hardship funding to provide vital support to households with food vouchers and/or gas and electricity top ups. There has also been support with oil deliveries and we know how much all of this support has been appreciated because we have received positive feedback from many residents.

It has also been a hard time for our volunteers, who are managing their own busy lives and have been hearing some difficult stories about the struggles being faced within the community. We hope that the coming months will see government back functioning and some proper long term strategies to address issues within communities.

As you will see from the details within this Report, our charity has been very busy providing a range of amazing opportunities for children, young people and their families; this year we have also tried to include some activities for older people and we hope to build on this moving forward.

We continued to fulfil all governance requirements:

We have also continued working in partnership with other local community groups, the wider community & voluntary sector, and statutory agencies.

Charity No: NIC103609

Trustees represent our Community Association on the Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership Board, Neighbourhood Renewal Health sub-group, Education sub-group and Community/Physical sub-group, Northern Ireland Housing Executives’ Housing Community Forum, Supporting Communities NI quarterly Inter-Agency meetings and the Confederation of Community Groups Management Committee.

We have found that working in partnership provides us with support and mentoring as well as providing us with the opportunities to ensure that any emerging needs in the Greater Linenhall Area are addressed in a timely fashion at the appropriate level. I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge our sincere appreciation for the confidence all our ‘partners’ have placed in us; without your continued support it would be impossible to continue the work we are doing.

I’d like to thank all our funders & supporters over the past financial year, the Confederation of Community Groups, Department for Communities (Neighbourhood Renewal Funding via Newry, Mourne & Down District Council – including the NR Outdoor Education Fund – with special thanks to Sean Mc Kevitt); Newry, Mourne & Down District Council’s Financial Assistance grants; our local Councillors and elected representatives; Southern Health & Social Care Trust health sub group, especially for the slow cooker programme and associated food vouchers; BBC Children in Need; NI Housing Executive and Orlagh Mc Cann at Supporting Communities NI; Newry & Mourne Extended Schools via the Education Authority; Newry & Mourne Enterprise Agency @ WIN; and Helena’s Local Shop for always being there for the whole community, all of your support has been invaluable and will be absolutely essential for the future.

I’d also like to say many thanks to Norbrook Ltd for their kind donations of Christmas Hampers and weekly meals, they have been gratefully received by our older and more vulnerable residents.

We are also grateful to Marian Shields who has once again been the Independent Examiner for our accounts, thank you very much for your help and support.

Finally, I want to thank our community, our families, friends, and neighbours because without your continued support we could not succeed. The last few years have no doubt been difficult and the current cost of living crisis is making life more difficult for so many residents. I hope that some more of you will consider coming on board as volunteers to help us to provide even more opportunities for the local community.

Kathleen Lowry Chairperson

Charity No: NIC103609

Financial Review

Financial Performance

Financial performance was slightly down when compared to the previous year but has remained largely been in line with Trustees expectations. The notable exception has been the £2,500 received via the Confederation of Community Groups for cost-of-living response, allowing us to continue providing immediate and vital support to address the emerging needs of our most vulnerable residents. Trustees were also pleased to receive grant funding from the NI Housing Executive to make investments in the community house.

Income:

Income receipts for the year totalled at £16,622.83 compared to £18,363.11 for the previous financial period. The main income streams were as follows:

See independently examined accounts for a full breakdown of the income figures for the year.

Expenditure

Expenditure for the year totalled at £22,097.20 compared to £16,212.66 for the previous financial period. The main items of expenditure were as follows:

See independently examined accounts for a full breakdown of expenditure for the year.

Charity No: NIC103609

Funds Materially in Deficit

As of the 31[st] March 2023 the Greater Linenhall Area Community Association had no funds materially in deficit.

Major Risks

No major risks have been identified.

Assets & Liabilities

The Trustees of the Greater Linenhall Area Community Association can confirm that the Association currently hold no assets and have identified no liabilities moving forward.

Financial Management

The Community Association maintain robust financial systems and have good financial management systems in place; all cheques must be signed by two out of our three cheque signatories; we have successfully held a large number of grants and have always fulfilled all accounting, reporting and monitoring requirements; our annual accounts are always independently examined, and our current independent examiner is Mrs Marian Shields.

Charity No: NIC103609

Public Benefit Statement

The Trustees of the Greater Linenhall Area Community Association confirm that they have complied with their duty under section 4 (b) of the Charities Act 2011 to have regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and that the public benefit requirement has informed the activities of the Greater Linenhall Area Community Association in the year to 31[st] March 2023.

In evaluating public benefit, the Trustees note that membership is open to all residents in the ‘area of benefit’ – (Full members aged 18 and over, Junior members under 18) – and we strive to provide a range of activities that will cater for all ages but some necessary and reasonable restrictions have been put in place for example, personal development programmes for the older youth would not be age appropriate for primary school children. However, many events, activities, seasonal events and fun days are open to all ages in the community.

Summary of Community Activities

Community House Activities & Projects

The community house continues to provide the base for many of our projects and activities; however, we do also make use of St Joseph’s Boys High School and the local Enterprise Centre at WIN when we require larger facilities. Thanks to funding from the NI Housing Executive we were able to invest in a Defibrillator for the community house and purchase new kitchen equipment and accessories.

Over this period, we are delighted to have been able to run the Homework Club twice weekly to provide children and young people with a safe, warm space to complete homework or school projects under the supervision of a teacher/classroom assistant. This Club is possible thanks to the Newry & Mourne Extended Schools (NAMES) programme which funds the costs of the supervisor.

The community house was a hive of planting and potting for our inter-generational ‘grow good wellbeing’ project. Children and young people got to sow sunflower and strawberry plants and nurture them in the community house over a few weeks before they were distributed to grandparents, neighbours and newcomer families – making sure, of course, that there were some plants left for the children themselves.

Charity No: NIC103609

Cost-of-Living Community Support Response

As a grassroots charity operating in a designated Neighbourhood Renewal area, due to the high levels of multiple deprivation as evidenced by statistics, we are acutely aware of the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis. Families and households are really struggling with budgets stretched beyond breaking point and detrimental impacts on physical health and overall emotional health and mental well-being. Trustees have been able to access crisis support funding throughout this reporting period, which was being managed by the Confederation of Community Groups; this essential funding allowed us to immediately address emerging needs within the community and provide timely help with food vouchers, utility support for gas and electricity costs, toiletries and sanitary products. Through a partnership with the local Credit Union we were also able to get vulnerable households support with an oil delivery. This support has all been provided on a confidential referral basis, with proper scrutiny and safeguards in place to ensure that we are not duplicating the support being provided by another agency.

A number of slow cookers were distributed with a food voucher to struggling households. We have also been able to distribute ready-made meals to vulnerable or older residents on a weekly basis thanks to a community partnership with the Confederation of Community Groups and Norbrook Ltd. This has helped many residents over the past year.

Summer Scheme

The highlight of the year has to be our Summer Scheme, and full credit to our amazing team of volunteers and charity trustees for the incredible amount of volunteer hours they freely give to benefit the local community. This year, thanks to grant funding from Children in Need, we were able to offer an amazing programme of activities, events and opportunities over the whole summer period. These included a daily schedule of activities from the community house base, arts & crafts, baking, games, messy play, clay modelling, pool tournaments and much more.

There was an exciting visit from Wee Bugs and Beasties which enthralled the children.

Charity No: NIC103609

Next up at the community house was a visit from Tommy Trickster who amazed the children with an afternoon of magic and mayhem.

We had a focus on outdoor play and activities, promoting physical activity and team games. Everyone got involved to try and ‘get fit’ for the Sport’s Day when the competition and craic was mighty. We also had a week long outdoor multi-sports activity programme, funded through the Neighbourhood Renewal Health subgroup and SHSCT.

Our annual Colour Run was back again and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. We made the most of the sunshine for our annual Teddy Bear’s picnic.

We also had an absolute blast with a summer water fun day!

The younger children got to enjoy a visit from the Play Bus. There was great excitement when the local Fire Service came to visit with a fire engine and the children got to ask lots of questions and examine the vehicle. We had a number of outings to the local Snooker Club as it’s within walking distance. A group of young people were able to attend a Newry City Football match thanks to the donation of tickets.

Trustees were delighted to be able to facilitate a number of community trips to suit different ages, trying to ensure that there was something on offer for everyone. The trips kicked off with an end of school outing to Infinity, followed by Friar Tucks. Families then enjoyed the opportunity for a trip to the Mount Panther Farm Park and another trip to the Mo Mowlam Play Park. There was also a trip to Todds Leap Activity Centre which provided the adrenaline junkies with ample entertainment.

Charity No: NIC103609

Our Summer Scheme concluded with the annual Community Festival, providing a days fun for all the family with bouncy castles and obstacle courses, face painting, Community Tribal Drummers, hula hoop games, circus skills, bubbles, food and treats.

Seasonal Events

Easter: Everyone enjoyed the visit from the Easter Bunny who hopped around all the estates delivering easter eggs and smiles for young and old.

Halloween: We made use of the local High School to run our fancy dress Halloween disco, when much fun was had with toilet rolls! Older residents all received the gift of an apple tart, with young people delivering the treats to reassure our older residents that Halloween would pass of safely. Halloween night ended with an amazing fireworks display on the green.

Christmas: In the run up to Christmas there were different arts & crafts sessions and workshops avaialble in the community house. The children attended a number of afternoons in the

community housee to rehearse some Christmas Carols and then they held a beautiful Carol Service. We held a Santa Sunday with many local families coming along to visit with Santa, get their pictures taken and receive gifts & selection boxes.

We also hosted a High Tea with a festive feel for our older residents and a great afternoon was had by all, reconnecting with friends and sharing many stories.

Charity No: NIC103609

Training & Physical Activities

We are grateful to the continued funding being provided by the Neighbourhood Renewal (NR) Programme (Department for Communities) and the work of the local subgroups. Thanks to the funding provided via the NR Health subgroup, which is managed by the SHSCT, we were able to access a range of physical activity programmes at no cost to local residents, alongside access to additional services. These included:

Trustees also updated their Emergency First Aid training during this period.

Young people from the community got the opportunity to participate in the Respect World Cup Football competition, competing with teams on an inter-community and crosscommunity basis, learning about good relations and teamworking through the medium of sports.

Safeguarding

The Trustees of the Greater Linenhall Area Community Association can confirm that there were no safeguarding concerns raised during this reporting period.

Partnership Working

The Trustees of Greater Linenhall Area Community Association continued to fulfil all governance requirements and have continued working in partnership with:

Charity No: NIC103609

Greater Linenhall Area Community Association Photographic Highlights for 2022 to 2023

Charity No: NIC103609

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