2024-07-31-accounts - G61/G62 Community Response

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Charity Name G61/G62 Community Response

Trustees’ Annual Report Period From 1[st] August 2023 to Period End 31[st] July 2024

Charity contact information

Your charity’s name G61/G62 Community Response

Scottish Charity Number: SC051962

Address 122 Ledi Drive Bearsden Glasgow

Postcode G61 4JR

Website g61g62communityresponse.org

Facebook & Instagram Social Media profile name g61g62communityresponse

Charity Trustees

Name all of your charity trustees for the period, and the date they left if they were not in post for the whole year

Objectives and activities

During the first lockdown East Dunbartonshire Voluntary Action set up Groups in Post Code G66 Kirkintilloch, G64 Bishopbriggs & in our local area G61 / G62 Bearsden & Milngavie. Our Group began in 1[st] July 2020 & became a Charity on 30[th] August 2022.

Our Aims are to assist as many elderly or vulnerable people in our catchment area as possible with various tasks.
We do this by shopping for them, picking up prescriptions, picking up foodbank parcels, transport to hospitals and clubs, light gardening, hedge & grass cutting & basic DIY, dog walking and any other Ad hoc requests that are within our capabilities. We also have a few volunteers making befriending calls or befriending visits.
We have built up a client base of 316 people a further 30 are no longer with us for various reasons. Some of these needed one off assistance during lockdown and some are regulars with weekly transport to clubs they attend or shopping they need.

We have 18 active volunteers who undertake the tasks. We do not take pictures of our clients getting into cars or out shopping, so have no images to share.

Structure, governance and management

Type of governing document

We have a constitution covering everything we do as our governing document.

Trustee recruitment and appointment

The trustees were appointed at the outset when we became a Charity. At the AGM the positions just like the committee positions are proposed for re election. Before last years returns had resigned. Due to an oversight we did not appoint a third trustee. When we were advised of this was appointed on 6[th] May 2024.

Achievements and performance

Since we began we have undertaken over 6,000 tasks. More than 1,500 in the financial year to July 2024. At the beginning it was shopping for people who were shielding during covid & picking up their prescriptions. Now it is predominantly transport as none of the local hospitals are easy to get too often needing 2 modes of transport, 2 buses or bus and train, assuming you can physically get to a bus stop or train station.

We were covering 100% of requests, but with only a few of our volunteers willing to do transport, and the volume increasing, 14 regular transport request to clubs every week 2 fortnightly ones and 2 monthly ones, so 16 or more those weeks, plus requests to get to hospitals, we are on occasion not able to cover everything.

The Trustees : -

We have made a big difference to numerous clients mental health, getting them away from isolation and loneliness by transporting them to clubs, making befriending calls and visits and outings for coffee & cake. We have helped them with cost of living issues by transporting them to hospitals. Some make voluntary donations. For example. the cost of a taxi to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is £26. £52 for a return trip.
Our volunteers are really dedicated. They get the satisfaction of helping people, while also getting out of the house. We are in the 10[th] week of taking a lady to The Beatson for cancer treatment. The wait time to take her back home can be between 3 & 4 hours, one week 6 hours but they wait patiently. Recently a volunteer took a client to Yorkhill Hospital in the West End of Glasgow. She was told that she could drop dead any minute and had to be taken to The Queen Elizabeth Cardiology Department to have a pacemaker fitted. She was to wait on a hospital bus / ambulance, but instead our volunteer rushed her straight there.

Financial Review

We received £2,970 less in grants, becoming more self funding and looking to become completely self funding. However, as the people who answer calls and pass referrals to us are closing down, to ensure our funding is not affected we will exceptionally apply for funding to cover the cost of a phone & reprinting literature and advertising our new number. Donations increased by £400. Transport Costs (volunteers expenses) were down by £700. We are doing much more local transport to clubs. Volunteers tend to not claim for these trips. We were shopping every week & paying bills for a client in 2023. This created just over £2,000 of contra entries. With the grant figure reduced and the contras removed our Income has dropped by £4,000. Overall though we had a surplus of Income over Expenditure of £1,590.66.

We are in a good position financially with as at the financial year end £5,669.50 and £181.44 on an Asda Card.

Statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

In the early years we were dependant on Grant Funding, and while we applied for a Grant in November 2023, which was paid to us in February 2024, due to the amount of transport we are undertaking, and donations received from that and gardening, we see ourselves being self sufficient ongoing. We have no reserves target and quite the opposite, work on the basis that should funds fall we will seek grants again.

Donated facilities and services

We take some young autistic adults to a gardening group every week. Their project New Roots Initiative agreed to donate an amount equivalent to the 45p a mile that we would pay a volunteer. This is listed separately in our accounts and amounted to £560.25. The clients have made donations amounting to £2,699.84. Local supermarket Waitrose has donated some bags of food the last 3 years. 10 from memory last Christmas. We pass these on to any clients that we have provided packages from the foodbank, or for whom we have done shopping.

Future plans

We need to get more volunteers to undertake transport. We actively advertise and get the occasional free advertorial from a local Community Magazine, which has in the past got us some volunteers. We aim to get back to 100% coverage of requests made.

A major change is required. Currently we get all our requests from the OPAL Helpline. This originally stood for Older Peoples Assistance Line, but during lockdown they fielded calls from anyone and have continue to do so. It is manned by staff from Ceartas, Carers Link & Citizens Advice. Regrettably their funding has been withdrawn and it will close on 31[st] December 2024. It is incredible that this decision has been made leaving so many people across out 3 groups in East Dunbartonshire with no support. They field hundreds of calls that are not passed to us, but instead to their group’s, social services, carers, etc.

In order to maintain our service, we are getting a phone and fielding our own calls from January 2025.

Declaration

Signed on behalf of the charity trustees: (See separate signed page)

Print name

Designation

Date

		G61/G62 CommunityResponse	G61/G62 CommunityResponse	G61/G62 CommunityResponse
		Income & Expenditure Account
		as at 31st July2024
	INCOME			EXPENDITURE
Grants *Note 6			2,000.00 £	Volunteer Expenses
Donations Received			2,699.84 £	Coffee Expenses
Contra Funds Received * Note 1			608.72 £	Contra Funds Paid Out *Note 1
From spend on Asda Card Note *2			37.63 £	Gardening*Note 4
Cashback			3.01 £	Client Food
Transport costs claimed back * Note 3			560.25 £	Advertising
				Postage
				Printing
				Insurance

				SURPLUS
			5,909.45 £

Bank Account

Balance B/Fwd			4,078.84 £
Add Surplus			1,590.66 £
ClosingAccount Balance			5,669.50 £

Asda Card
Balance B/Fwd			210.07 £
Asda Reward			9.00 £
Deduct Client Shopping*Note 2			37.63 -£
New Balance			181.44 £

ASSETS
*Fixed Assets*
GardeningEquipment * Note 4			- £
				£0.00
*Current Assets*
Bank Account			5,669.50 £
Asda Card Balance			181.44 £	5,850.94 £

TOTAL ASSETS				£5,850.94

Notes:
1. Contra - We madepurchases of shoppingfor clients,thengot repaid
2. We madepurchases for clients usingthe Asda Card,then received repayments to our Bank Acco
3. We claimed back Transport costs From New Roots Initiative re GardeningBoys
4. Gardeningcosts includes weedkiller, petrol for mower & hedge cutter & some flower &plantgif
5. The equipment we own if depreciated would now have a zero value.
6. The Grant Funds are restricted funds. Onlyfor use to reimburse volunteers for mileage expense
HMRC rate 45p per mile As at AGM the remainingbalance of restricted funds included in our Ba
Balance was £993.32.

£2,215.33 £361.22 £608.72 £105.04 £52.42 £550.00 £95.24 £143.72 £187.10 £1,590.66 £5,909.45

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Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of G61/G62 Community Response

I report on the accounts of G61/G62 for the year ended 31 July 2024

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (a) to (c) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s 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 trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent examiner’s statement

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the

requirements:

• to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and

• to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations have not been met, or

to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.