AG scio Td.01292 26S3L Age Concern Ayr SCIO Trustees, Annual Report 1 St March 2024 - 28th February 2025 FOR ThE ELDERLY
Age Conc8m Ayr Trust88s' Annu81 Report Contents Contact infomialS0n..................................................................................................... Structure, governance and management................................................................... Charity Tru8ts•8 forthe perfod 202*2025............................................................,.... Trustsa rncruitmentand appointment........................................................................ ObJectlv•$ and aclivhl•8.............................................................................................. Achi•voments and Perfomiance............... ............................. The Ag• Concern Ayr SCIO Charlty Shop . + Tho Ago Concern SCIO Advlce and Infomiation Centre......................... other Funded Inltlatives........................................................................ .................... 10 OurGra88 Cutting S•rvlce............................................. -10 Vl8lts to the Robert Bum• Birthplac• Aqu•eum.....................................11 + Ho•pital Emory•n¢y Tolletry Bag8......................................... ...............12 + Ayr and Prestwlck Men'8 Shod...............................................................12 Wlntsrcozy 8ag8....... .............................................................................13 + The Telephone Befrlendlng Servlce.......................................................13 The S•nsory Impaired Support S•Nlce (SISS)...............,....,.................13 Our Shop Voluntsern.......................................................................... ...................,... 14 Tru8te• D•velopmont......................................................................................... ..... 15 Promoting Ag• Concern Ayr................................................................................... .. 16 Future plan8. 17 Appendlx l.. Tho Accounts and Accountsnfs Report.......... . ................................ 18
Age ConcemAyr Trnste&s'Annual Report Contact informatlon Age Concern Ayr SCIO Scottish Charity Number SCO41523 Vvebsite.. htt econcerna Facebook.. Age Concem Ayr Trustee Annual Report signed by: Alec Oattes (Chair) . Grace Bricknell (Treasurorl Pamela Ireland (Secretary) . 49oyÉ&
Age Concgrn Ayr TnJst8es' Amual R8wt Structurei governance and management Charity Trustees for the period 2024-2025 Other Trustees who served during the year Age Concern Ayr is 8 Scottish Charitabk8 Incorporated Organisation and 18 administered in line with our govemiThJ document. We have an Executive Cornmittee comprising our trustees 0 are all volunteers. We alternate monthly meetings with a General Committee. which. as well as the trustees. indudes volunteer supervisors from our shop.
Age Concern Ayr Twstees. Annual R6port Trustee recruitment and appointment We advertise opportunities to become a trustee on Voluntary Action South Ayrshire's (VASA) volunteering websrte which sets out the role, requirements, and how to appty. Some of our trustees have seprfed the organisation for many years, whilst newer members have come through this route. Our Trustees bring a wide range of skilts and experience to the role, boosts'ng our charity's ability to meet its aims. No external organisats'ons are allowed to appoint charity trustees. Objertlves and activlties Age Concem Ayr SCIO is a registered Charty in Scotland dedicated to protecting and promoting the wellbeing of the those aged over 55 in South Ayrshire. We are 1000A funded by our Charity Shop and public donats'on. and all money raised is used for the benefit of residents in South Ayrshire. Ive have been operating in South Ayrshire since the opening of our Charty Shop in 1975. The Charity Shop quickty proved to be a great success, but we realised that our customers were often looking for advice. Vh11St our Volunteers at the time dealt with these enquiries as best they could. rt was evident that there was a local need for more, and so, in 1987 we also opened our Advice and Information Centre. Our Goveming Document sets out our charitable purpose as the relief of those in need by reason of age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or anotkEr disadvantage. Our shop provides the income to fund our advice centre and enables us to develop and support initiatives to assist our target group. We recently updated our Goveming Document to cfartfy our geographic boundaries. and this was approved at our Annual General Meeting. OSCR have been notifEd of the change.
Age Concern Ayr Tnisl8es' Annual Report Achievements and Perforniance The Age Concern Ayr SCIO Cbarlty Shop Our Charity Shop is located at 5 Crown Street in Ayr and is run entirely by Age Concern Ayr SCIO'S greatest resource - our team of dedicated volunteers. In our reporting period 1st March 2024 to 281h February 2025 shop sales realised £110,119.03, an increase on the previous year when sales totaled £97,861 (see Table 1 for three years comparative income and expendtture). These sales enable us to run Infomiation and Advice Centre and the other projects set out in the section on Other Funded Inltiatives.
Age Concem Ayr Tnistees, Annual Reik)rt Table I: Income and ExDenditure £140,( ¢120.000 £119,740 £119,341 zILNJ.( £93,655 ¢87.731 £80.(M)O £59,888 £64,434 £20K&)) £0 2022n3 2023n4 2024125 IrKon* ll Expèn(ntu Thanks to support from individual donors, our shop is always well stocked, and we can sell pre-loved goods and donations back to the local community at really affordable prices. Any items we cannot 8ell, we recycle to redu our carbon footprint. Please come along to the shop and mernber anything you buy will help support local older people. In tems of donating have a look at what %ve can accept on our website h ma .co.u Our Shop Is open Monday to Saturday, 10.00am - 3.45pm, clo•ing for lunch betweon 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm. Tel: 01292 262 894
Age Concem Ayr Tnl88s,Ann{nl R8POrt The Age Concern SCIO Advlce and InfOrntton CeDtre Age Concern Ayr SCIO operate an Infomiation and Advice Centre at 6 Garden Street, Ayr with a focus on issues affecting South Ayrshire residents aged 55 and over. The Centre is fully funded by our shop. and we employ a part-time Administrator to support clients who need help or advi on a wide range of issues. We understand that completing fomis can be confusing and that not all our clients are dyrtally aware, and so we help make the process simpler for them. We can help trEm to request and complete forms including applications for: Attendan Allowance, now Pension Age Disabilty Payment in Scotland Carers AllovRnce + Blue Badge + Personal Independent Payment, and + Self-Assessment Fomis (requesting aids and adaptations). We can also help them with.. • Explaining letters from DV, Council. Calling the DWTr. Council, etc on their behalf, and Wrib'ng Letters of Appeal rf tumed down or overcharged. We can make sure they are reIving all the benefits they are entrtled to, and, by comparing the market, we can also help them find cheaper energy bills, home
Age c(yrn Ayr Trust88s'Annual R8POrt insuran, car insurance and trusted local trajers. We can help people to resolve issues with their energy suppliws, an wnportant element of support for many older people. We increasingly support clients who are of, or are approaching, retirement age and have be6n recommended to ge1 our help by South Ayrshire Council and the local Job Centre. Many of our clients greatly value the opportunty to discuss their issue ya to face, andur Charity Administrator. also deals with issues over tha phone and by e-mail. kle has an 'anything and everything. approach and seeks to resolve issues in the first Instsn or to refer them to a trusted peer agency. In this financlal year Alan has: Swported clients to make 95 clairns for Attendance Allowan cnpleted 48 ¢lnts to apply for a Blue Badge. and Assisted an additional 31 clients with various cl8im8, e.g. checking eligibility for pensi credrt and other benefits.
Age CofftEm Ayr Tru8te6s' Annual Report prease note these figures ontr¥ include ttrL)se clients who made and attended ar, appointment at the Advice Centre. In addition there are those who simply call In. o, telephorE for advice and support. As a non-statutory tyganisation, clients are not obligated to provide feedback and so there is no measure to determine the success of the applications for benefits. However, from the L311er3 who do provide fee(IbaL*, we estimate 80% - 900A have successful outcomes. from Ayr contacted t1 Age Concem Ayr offKe late Friday aftemoon. Just Ccilliiig io say thank you for helpg me with my Attendanc8 Allowance Fonn. I got it and a £600 sum b8ckd8ted". How fantastic is that? Anotherperson who will gel £3,276 over Ihis forthcoming ye8r to help them out as well as 8 wee lump sum in their account right away. The cen recently had 8 major Success for a clienl who had not claimed her State Pansion. She had not wothed for many years and not think sh8 Was eligible. She and her husband had recentty been evicted and fmancial worries Gonsiderable. Our team was able to get onto the DWP and found she was due a pension of £203 a week, with 8 back payment of £10,0. Needless to say she left the office a much happier lady. ar• h•rn to help. Phone r vl8lt our offiGe (please
Age Concem Ayr Tnis18es' Annual Rep)rt Other Funded Initiatives Our Grass Cutting Service Worki with a lo1 contractor, we offer an affordable fortnuhtly seasonal grass CLrtting service to private tenants ag&# over 55 in Ayr and Prestwick. Vve subsKlise this Servi and demand contlnues to grow- in 2022 they were cutting 50 gardens and in 2023 this rose to 70. and in 2024 it was 97. We have now agreed to fund a maximum of 100 clients and for the last two year3, awa that clienis were having to cope with the Increased cost of living, we have absort)ed the increased cx)st of the service. If you would like to find out more about this SeThi, Plea conlact our Advice and Infomiation Centre. 10
Age Concern Ayr Twstees'Annual Report Cycllng Wrthout Age Cycling Without Age is a rM)t-for-profft organisation which provides trained volunteer cyclists who use special three wheelers. Thev enable people with IIODilitv or disability issues to experience brang ride along the Ayr seafront. We donated £300 to help them 8et up this local initiative. A Cyrth WttIK¥rtAge Trfp Vlslts to the Robert Burns Blrthplace Museum Age Concern Ayr worked with the Nakn'onal Trust Scotland to offer over 55s an opportunity to vistt the museum for free and to enjoy a coffee and scone. Fifty people requested tickets although not all were used. The total cost of the project was £545. 11
Age ConGem Ayr Tnist88s'Annual R8port Hospltal Emergency Tolletry Bags In response to a request from Voluntary Action Swth Ayrshire TrIASA). Age Concern Ayr donated £1,500 for the purchase of 100 emergency toiletry packs for people in hospilal . who did not have famlly or friends wfK) were able to bnng them the rtems tkEy ne&Jed. The bags are distributed as needed by VASA workers who also check that people in hospital are getting the beneffts they are entitled to. Ayr and Prestwlck Men's Shed In addltion, in the la* year. we donated £500 to the Ayr and Prestwid('s Men's Shed (APMS). a new local charity which supports mental health and well-being. from APMS thanked us for the donation. which wa6 useKI to buy s to enable them to craate a 'quid space, ma eria Our Chair, is Pictur presenting Ihe cheque. 12
Age Concem Ayr T89s,Ann8l Rqxyt Wlnter Cozy Bags Age Concern Ayr donated £2,500 to VASA to fvnd the purchase of Cozy Bags which were distributed to vulnerable p60P ruggling with heating rAJsts. They Contained a fluffy blanket, an 'oodie', a hat and gloves *t, cosy socks, a hoater x)tlle and a copy of the 'strictly Seniors, rnagazine. They ere much appreciated by those who received them. A CAxyBag The Telephone Bemendlng Servlce VASA run a telephone befriending service in South Ayrshire whereby lonely and isolated people, many of whom are older, get a weekly phone call from their befriender. The prOjt employs a cothinator who plays a vital rola in matching clients with befriendffs and ensuring tho $ep4ice runs smoothly. VASA contacted Age Concem Ayr because a major funder had pulled out, leaving the Service in an untenable position. The Trustees agreed to donate £5,000 for Ihe project and this enabled VASA to get matched funding to keep the project running while longer temi funding is s8cur8d. The Sensory fiiipdll.ea Support Sendce (SISS) Age Concèrn Ayr were asked to 8UPPOrt SISS who were trying lo ralse funding to enable trEif co-ordinator to run a monthly Wisual Loss Support Group, a weekly Well Being Walk. and one-ttrone support visits 'oi those struggling wrth age related hearing andlor sight loss. The trustees agreed to donate £1.000 lo this worthwhile tharity. We subsequenly Increased this by £3.500 which will show In next year's accounts. VV8iioeing vwal 13
Age Goncem Ayr Tniste89' Annual R8Kort Our Shop Volunteers Our work would not be possible wrthout the support of our dedicated volunteers, and we are abways keen to add to our Volunteer Team. Our volunteers gain experience and new skills in a retsil environment whilst workir& as part of a friendly and supportive team and helping to support older people in our communty. eiiil)ers 171 Viliii Ipf i TdlI Irene, Mary and Jan are three of our dedicated shop volunteers. Irene has been volunteering for 13 years, Jan for 6 years and Mary for a year. They all say they lov8 working in the shop and get a lot of satisfaction from being able to help the customers who com8 in. some every week. and some just for a chat. Irene, Mary and Jan are pictured in our shop. asked what they enjoyed about their volunteer ro they were very FQSitive. '1 lov8 being afftong people and having a laugh" agreed.. 'We do have lots of laughs while Wort1 togelhe "I lov8 the feeling that YOU Can cheerp80pk up 8nd the way they lo what If ou would like to fi teerlng please Call us on Thanks to the work of our amazing voluntrs. Age Concerned Ayr, was Dresented with an award for serving the local Community for MO than 40 years at the South Ayrshire Volunteer Awards 21Y24. 14
Age Concgm Ayr Trnstees. Annual R8POrt To ensure that we are providing sufficient support to our volunteers we undertook a Volunteer Consultats'on in 2024, which provided us with areas for improvement which we have addressed. We consult our volunteers regularly. We also revised the Volunteer Job Description to ensure it covered all aspects of volunteering in our shop. In 2025 we conducted a full Health and Safety Audrt of the shop and the Advi and Infomiakn'on Centre. Trustee Development We held our first Trustee Development Session in 2025. This aimed to give us the space and time to consider some of the issues which are not easily dealt with at monthly meetings. Examples include.. + Succession planning and filling key Trustee Posits'ons. Volunteer recruitment - what can we do to attract more volunteers to ensure our work can continue. Premises - we are finding rt very difficuft to find a new premise where we could have both shop and the Advice Centre. Do we needed to change our parameters? + Funding Priorities - to consider what we see as the funding priorities in the next year. 15
Age CL&M Ayr Tmst*s'Annual Rep(yt Promoting Age Concern Ayr During the last year have sought to increase the promots of the charty, the volunteerirvJ OpponItieS and the work that we do. We produced volunteering leafiats and distribut8d widely in the cornmunrty. We also produced a six-monthly Newsletter for volunteers and customers, seth'ng out vrtlat we were doing and funding. We plan to continue doing this on a ttvice-yearly basis. * We had a tsvpage artide In South Ayrshire Council's annual Strictly Seniors Magaine which is widely distributed in South Ayrshire. + The Age Conwn Ayr Secretsry waa a keynote speaker at the launch of South Ayrshire's Ageing Well Strategy in the Gaiety Theatre. Tr8 LaunG) d The Ageing Well &rat8gy 16
Age Concem Ayr TnJst8es'Annu81 Report Future plans We are reviewing our plan to purchase a propety which would enable us to bring the shop and the Advi Centre together. Vthilst this would provide much needed storage space. and an area for the volunteers, as well as saving on rental costs, it has proved to be eXptionallY difficult to identify a suitable propety for sale in our target area. In the interim we have changed the layout of the Advi Centre to provide a separate more usable room for meetings and we are planning to refresh the shop toilet and kitchen area. + We are currently researching how to set up a fund which would enable local organisations to bid for our funds for initiatives. We have Set out a task plan for this vthich we are working through. This indudes the basis and criteria of the fund, the application process, the decision making process, informirvJ the bidders of the outcome and the reporting requirements for funded projects. We will continue to explore opportunrties to work with other local voluntary organisations to address the needs of older people in South Ayrshire. This includes participating in South Ayrshire's Ageing Well Movement and Champions Board. 17
Age cOnM Ayr Tnistees, Annual Report Appendix I: The Accounts and Accountanys Report 18
AG A8e Concern Ayr SCIO Chartty Number SC051523 Appendlx I Contents of the Flnandal Statements for the year ended 28 February 2025 Independent Examlnerfs Report Statement of Receipts and Payments Ststement of Balances Sheet
AGE CONCERN AYR SCIO Charity Number SC051523 Independent Examlnerfs Report Foi the year ended 28 February 2025 I report on the accounts of the charityfortheyearended 28 February 2025. Respectlve responslbllltles of trustees and examlner The charitls trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment Istotland) 2CK)5 Art and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulation5 2006. The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regularion 10111 Idl of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 4411} Icl ofthe Att and to state whetherparticular matter5 have come to my attention. Basis of independent examinerfs statement My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the tNstees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provlde all the evldence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts. Independent examinerfs statement In the course of my examination. no rnarter has come to my attention which gives me aSOnable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirernents: to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44111 (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulètions, and to prepare accounts whh accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 AccDunts Regulations have not been met,. or 2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accountsto be reached. Date: Mcmorland and Company Accounts 24 York Street Ayr, KA8 8AZ
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