�������������������� �� � ��������� �� � ���� �� ����
The Happiness Cafes
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
for the period ended 31 May 2025.
The trustees present their Trustees’ Report and the unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2025.
Objectives and Activities
Compliance with Public Benefit
The trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission's for Northern Ireland’s statutory public benefit guidance to ensure that activities entered into during the year have helped to achieve the Café’ s aims and objectives as well as providing public benefit.
The purposes of the charity are:
To offer programmes and services that improve the quality of life for persons living with dementia as well as their family care partners and friends and any purpose for the benefit of people living with dementia in Northern Ireland. The Group promotes social inclusion for people with dementia, their families and their carers by preventing them from becoming isolated. The group provides facilities in which people with dementia, their families and carers have the opportunity to meet regularly with others in the same situation to speak openly about their problems, share their feelings and experiences and support each other. The group encourages peer support, provides practical information and signposts access to advice from health and social care professionals and others and raise awareness of dementia.
To offer a positive, non-judgemental environment. Caregivers & the Person With Dementia (PWD) socialise together and connect with/support/guide others in the same position.
-
an extended close-knit network with emotional support & peer advice in or out of the sessions - a free to attend service for 2 hours fortnightly with refreshments, fun stimulating entertainment, socialising, signposting of support services and making sure everyone is okay
-
the only essential service in our rural area that provides ground level support to carers and PWD
The main activities undertaken by the Cafes are:
-Music - Provides comfort and can both soothe and stimulate people and elicit powerful emotional responses and reconnects them with memories. (singalongs, playing instruments, live singers). Our Dementia choir provides a range of inclusion and belonging.
-Reminiscence - photos, memory boxes & ‘my story’ boards - stimulating activities that leaves our People With Dementia and their carers in high spirits, providing freedom from concern that in turn lessens the effects of depression, anxiety and irritability. Recalling childhood memories and happier times is hugely advantageous.
-Painting, Crafting, Clay Model Making - Helps people create significance and give an insight to their thoughts in a non-verbal way. We encourage intergenerational participation as this brings out the nurturing/parental side of our attendees.
– -Mindfulness - improves health & well-being reflexology, massage, deep breathing.
– – -Poetry Stimulates creativity and happiness, reminiscence nursery rhymes, limericks.
-Chair / Gentle Exercises – Improves self-sufficiency, self-confidence and cognition, builds or maintains muscle, strength and balance, helping our PWD maintain their independence for longer. Also, it can help regulate their sleep and prevent restlessness and sleeplessness in the evening.
Pets - help to relieve stress, depression and anxiety whilst also providing a sensory experience. Pet therapy helps lower blood pressure and heart rate, reduces the stress hormone cortisol, and boosts serotonin (happiness).
4
�������������������� �� � ��������� �� � ���� �� ����
Structure, Governance and Management
Governing Document
The principal document regarding governance of the charity is the constitution. The committee members are the Charity Trustees. The Cafe is an unincorporated organisation.
Organisational Structure
The committee is responsible for the day to day running of the Cafes. The committee is made up of at least three volunteers elected each year at an annual general meeting. The committee stands down at the Annual General Meeting each year and a new committee is appointed in line with the constitution.
All committee members and trustees are volunteers. No-one receives payment for services.
Achievements and Performance
-
46 weekly sessions with hot meals provided
-
Average of 42 attendees each week
-
3864 hours of support and entertainment provided during sessions
-
869 hours of external respite care provide to unpaid family carers so they could have a break
-
Additional daily support offered via WhatsApp and telephone
-
Mentored others so they could open a new Memories Cafes
-
Health sessions with podiatrists, RNID etc
-
Carers session with Dementia Admiral Nurse
-
Fundraising activities supported – concert, supermarket collections, 3[rd] party events
-
Intergenerational sessions
-
Referral processes established with doctors’ surgeries and Memories Clinic
-
Self sufficiency has greatly increased with the introduction of our Community Kitchen and work with partners
-
Increased fundraising activities to reduce the reliance on grant funding
-
Increased the number of volunteers
Financial Review
During the financial year the Cafes continued to raise funds via grant assistance, donations and via sponsored events.
The receipts and payments accounts set out on page 7 reflect the activities undertaken by the Cafes in 2025. The Cafes had income of £11.785.58 and expenditure of £36,120.56 resulting in a deficit of £24.354.98 The Cafes had unrestricted reserves at 31 May 2025 of £11,642.04
Volunteers incur fuel costs when carrying out activities for the charity. Within this financial period, six amounts were paid from restricted grants to meet these costs. The total amounted to £540 in this financial year.
5
The Happiness Cafes
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
for the financial year ended 31 May 2025
Going Concern
The trustees are satisfied that there are adequate funds in place to ensure that the Cafe can continue its activities and that the financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2025 can be signed off as a going concern.
Approved by the Board of Trustees on _
_ and signed on its behalf by
Signed by: Signed by: \ ___ ______ KoSer5A15C7AFE8BB473...rm four <CB357F2BC9C7432...\ PQQ) 2) Karen Brown Terri McQuaid Secretary Treasurer
6