## **St Oliver Plunkett Guide Unit**
## **ANNUAL REPORT CHARITY COMMISSION FOR NORTHERN IRELAND**
|**1.Charity Name as listed on the Charity Register**||St Oliver Plunkett Guide Unit Lurgan||
|---|---|---|---|
|**2. Any other names the charity is known by**||N/a||
|**3. Financial year the report is for**||Year ended 31 August 2022||
|**4. CCNI Charity Registration Number**||107392||
|**5. The address from which the Charity Operates**
**(usually your Meeting Place)**
_This should be the address that the charity used_
_when registering unless it has changed._||Ozanam Centre,
14-16 William Street,
Lurgan,
Craigavon,
BT66 6JA||
|**6. The names of all our Trustees at the date this**
**report was approved plus any who stepped down**
**as a trustee during the year**||**Current Trustees**
Mrs Kerry Daggett
Mrs Kath Wilson
Mrs Michele Bishop
Mrs Sinead McGivern
Mrs Michelle Magee
Mrs Sonia Rice||
|||**Trustees who stepped down**
Mrs Geraldine Bracken||
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## **7. A summary description of the purposes of the charity**
The purpose of the Unit is to provide the Guiding Programme of the Catholic Guides of Ireland, which promotes and fosters the spiritual, moral, cultural, intellectual, social and physical development of its members, to girls and young women at a local level.
|**7. A summary description of the purposes of the charity**
The purpose of the Unit is to provide the Guiding Programme of the Catholic Guides of Ireland,
which promotes and fosters the spiritual, moral, cultural, intellectual, social and physical
development of its members, to girls and young women at a local level.|**7. A summary description of the purposes of the charity**
The purpose of the Unit is to provide the Guiding Programme of the Catholic Guides of Ireland,
which promotes and fosters the spiritual, moral, cultural, intellectual, social and physical
development of its members, to girls and young women at a local level.|
|---|---|
|**8. The name of any person, or body of persons,**
**permitted by the trusts of the charity to appoint**
**one or more new charity trustees and a**
**description of the method used to make such**
**appointments**
_If there is any individual or organisation with the_
_power to appoint charity trustees, such as another_
_charity or a government department, provide their_
_details, the relevant powers, and methods of_
_appointment._|**N/A**|
|**9. Include details of any funds held by the**
**charity as a custodian trustee**
_This is mandatory for charities preparing accruals_
_accounts_**_._**|**N/A**|
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## **10. Charity’s Main Activities and Achievements during the year.**
The following is a copy of the report made to the Unit’s AGM on 15[th] November 2022 by the Unit Leader Kath Wilson.
## **Membership:**
We currently have 67 members, with our largest Ranger section for some time.
## **Leadership:**
Unit Leaders remain Kerry Daggett and Kath Wilson.
We have a change in leaders for this guiding year and welcome Laura who has already completed her Step 1 Guide training. Laura has joined our Cygnet Guide section.
We also would like to thank our outgoing leaders Geraldine Bracken, Joanne McConville and Michelle Magee (who has remained as Treasurer).
## **Programme and Unit Activities:**
## **- Cygnet Guide Section (age 5 6 years)**
2021 Autumn term was spent mostly outdoors due to COVID-19, which the girls absolutely loved. We did lots of outdoor autumnal crafts, and the Cygnets did a nature walk around Oxford Island and created beautiful pictures. This activity contributes towards our Environmental Challenge badge. We also did some skipping & played Simon Says.
Upon finally returning to the Den, we got stuck into indoor fun including Christmas Crafts and making reindeer food.
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In springtime the girls got rehearsing for their enrolment. They loved holding the flag and the prospect of becoming an “official” cygnet
Badgework for our Cygnet guides included tasting the rainbow, fruits to keep a healthy heart, finished by some yoga to relax. All girls tried the fruits and loved them. Another step towards our Miss Sparkle badge. Some priceless faces when tasting lemon and limes!
The cygnets worked incredibly hard on their "Miss Sparkle" badge which was completed before the start of summer. Activities to earn their badge included learning how to wash their hands and brush their teeth. They took home a nice care package to practice at home. We were kindly invited to a tea party in the guides room as part of their badge work.
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The girls had a brilliant guiding year in 2021-22 despite restrictions. We ended the year with a trip to Airtastic which everyone loved. Lucy won Cygnet of the Year and each girl was celebrated by receiving a unique certificate.
## **- Brigin Guide Section (age 6/7 11 years)**
When we returned in September 2021 we continued with outdoor meetings, making great use of our local outdoor facilities, especially the Bushcraft Centre at Oxford Island where we had outdoor games, walks and autumn crafts using the nature around us (the Brigins worked towards completion of their Craft interest badge).
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We finished our outdoor meetings with a unit Halloween campfire and lots of singing and entertaining. This was a terrific unit even to end the term.
After Halloween we Returned indoors to our guide den and continued our meetings and working towards some of our interest badges - craft. The final challenge for our Brigins to earn their Craft badge was to build a Christmas Tree Mobile, which they completed over several weeks.
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Our return after Christmas was delayed until the end of February as a result of COVID and an increase in cases in January. All sections prepared for our unit enrolment ceremony in March 2022 learning about the Guide Laws and promise. The ceremony itself was a great success with celebratory cupcakes afterwards.
In March our brigin and cygnet sections went bowling, which was part funded by our CGI Regional Office.
In May 2022 we returned outdoors with our activities. Our brigins completed the Artist badge, which was chosen by the girls themselves to complete. They collected leaves to do crayon drawings back in the den. We also visited Oxford Island where the girls had to draw a picture for their Artist badge. They completed this badge by creating posters about caring for their painting equipment.
We finished our guiding year with our awards ceremony at Airtastic and then our camps for Brigins and Guides.
The Brigin Camp, a weekend away at Lorne House, was a fantastic weekend. We had great weather, lots of activities, beach walk, crafts, fun and games.
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## **- Guide Section (age 10/11 17 years)**
We started the autumn term with outdoor meetings to try to keep COVID safe. However by Halloween it became unfeasible
We returned to the den with masks on and had an adapted program with much more focus on desk-based activities and patrol challenges.
But we had a great time Christmas shopping in Belfast at the end of November - always a highlight of the year.
We took another break after Christmas due to leader illness and increased Covid rates. But when we came back in March we got started into our preparation for enrolment, with our new Guides following the preenrolment challenge booklet.
Whilst the new Guides learnt all about our organisation our current Guides felt moved to do something for the Ukrainian refugees that were starting to arrive in NI. They made over 50 little art and activity packs from our own stock of resources.
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Enrolment was a massive success in March (much later than our normal November time), but things were starting to get back to normal and we very much enjoyed being all together again.
It was back outside again before Easter, and our first time practising putting up tents might have been during the monsoon season, but we weren’t put off!
After Easter as the nights got lighter we got camping again and enjoyed simple pleasures like cooking on the campfire and singing long after sunset.
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Our year ended in June with a very successful Guides Camp in Jungle NI in moneymore. Ok so we were nearly blown off the hill on the second day but the fun and camaraderie will live long in the memories of our girls of 2022.
## **Ranger Guide Section (age 14+ years)**
The autumn term started with outdoor meetings to try to keep COVID safe, however given Rangers meet after Guides at 8pm it became very dark very quickly! (gadgets by torchlight !)
Thankfully Rangers were able to use some garage space allowing a bit of shelter whilst still in the fresh air. The girls have decided to work on the Gaisce award this year and as their community project they supported the “bulbs for bees” drive and planted 75 pots of bulbs for each of the girls and leaders in the unit with prizes for the best bulb pots in the spring time
Our final outdoor meeting was a unit Halloween campfire where Rangers served the hotdogs!
Returning to the den in November with masks on and using a COVID app, Rangers commenced the volunteering aspect of their award planning 12 weeks volunteering with our Cygnets and Brigins groups. The Rangers have loved it so much they have continued to volunteer week in week out they are gaining leadership experience, are a fantastic support to the leaders and the girls love them.
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Enrolment of our 2 new Rangers happened in March rather than the normal November
The year finished with our Rangers supporting Brigin camp at Lorne in June, with 7 new Rangers due to move up in September we are aiming to complete our practice expedition for the Gaisce in October.
## **Equipment:**
No new equipment (over £100) was purchased during the 2021-22 guiding year.
Our equipment is valued at £7,307 (cost) and includes event shelter tents, tents, laptops, photocopier, iPads and freestanding sanitiser dispensers.
## **Trustees:**
Current Trustees are:
Kerry Daggett, Kath Wilson, Michele Bishop, Sonia Rice, Michelle Magee and Sinead McGivern. One Trustee steeped down during the year – Geraldine Bracken.
## **Conclusion:**
We are in a good position – membership, financially and leadership to offer our girl guides an exciting guiding programme going forward.
Special thanks to all our volunteer guide leaders who give up so much of their own time to run our guiding programme – planning activities, shopping for materials for those activities and attending events and camps.
_Kerry Daggett and Kath Wilson Unit Leaders_
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## **11. How is the Group doing financially?**
A review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the year:
In the financial year ended 31 August 2022 the Charity had an income of £11,297.77 and an expenditure of £15,288.20.
The closing balance on the bank account at 31 August 2022 was £3,527.28. This amount included an amount of £1,600 for our Education Authority grant which will be used towards running costs for our guiding year 2022-23.
## **12. How has the Unit ensured members have not come to harm?**
All leaders and parent helpers receive training in Safeguarding, which is renewed every 2 years and are Access NI every 3 years. Leaders are required to attend Step One Guiders Course. Other training is available to leaders such as Step 2 and Advanced Leaders training. A valid Camp Warrant must be held by at least one leader who wishes to take the young people away either indoors or outdoors, this includes doing First Aid which needs to be updated every 3 years. Parents are regularly updated with planned activities. All activities are carefully planned and the appropriate equipment used.
**13. How has your Unit ensured that any private benefit to your volunteers has been incidental to the public benefit of your work?**
Volunteers gain additional transferrable skills but this is incidental to the work that they do and are the skills that they require to undertake that work.
## **14. A statement that the Trustees have had regard to the CCNIs guidance on Public Benefit.**
We the Trustees of St Oliver Plunkett Guide Unit can confirm that in setting our objectives and planning for the year that we have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s guidance on public benefit to ensure that the activities have helped to achieve the charity’s purposes and provide a benefit to the beneficiaries.
## **15. This report was approved by the Trustees at Unit Council on 14 November 2022.**
## **16. Signature of Trustees**
**Trustee 1** : **Date:**
**Trustee 2: Date:**
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