“A place for people, a centre for all”

Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre brings together the communities around to enrich the lives of the local people.

Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre We believe in Equality, Access, Busby Road Care, Openness and Bellshill Community. North ML4 2BW A place for people and a centre for all: Tel: 01698 842215 Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre provides Fax: 01698 573259 easy access to a wide range of services www.oncbellshill.org and activities for learning, leisure and self-improvement. We support the facebook.com/onc.bellshill well-being of the people in Bellshill and the surrounding areas in an open, friendly and caring environment.

meet the BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sheena Bowman Chairperson Tom Lamont Vice Chairperson Tom McGown Treasurer Mary Mitchell Director Marion Whyte Director

Irene MacKinnon Director (Deceased March 2020) Elizabeth DiNardo Director (Joined September 2019) Margaret Yule Company Secretary

STAFF MEMBERS Irene Gibson Operations Manager

Karen Clark Administrator Robert Piper Development Officer

Laur a Boyle Housekeeping / Childcare Worker Agnes Henderson Housekeeping

David Doherty Driver

Martin Girvan Childcare Coordinator Jillian Faulds Senior Childcare Worker Lisa McGuiness Childcare Worker

Michael Clark Catering Manager Ryan Williamson Chef

Maureen Gallagher Older Person’s Service Manager Helen Stevenson Older Person’s Service Support Worker Chris Steggles Older Person’s Service Support Worker

Mary Murphy Befriending Coordinator (until October 2019) Elaine Hamilton Befriending Assistant Coordinator Tammy Rankine Befriending Admin Assistant

Bethany Smith Childcare Worker Reiss Anderson Project Assistant Kirsty Gage Catering Assistant Ryan Braiden Resource Worker

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We believe the services provided by Utheo Ltd contribute significantly to the social economy of our local area. The Board of Directors extend their thanks to all volunteers, It is always difficult looking back over the past years’ highs and lows and service users, community members, groups, partner agencies and funding bodies remembering the challenges that were faced by Utheo during 2019-20. It supporting our work. is even more difficult after the recent turn of events since March 2020 when the world was in turmoil due to the Covid-19 health pandemic. All local Primary & High Schools Age Scotland Alzheimer’s Scotland All Out Transport Each year the work and effort made by staff and volunteers alike is crucial ASDA Plc Befriending Networks to the services we aim to provide. Our staff and volunteers cannot be Bellshill & YMCA Big Lottery Fund praised highly enough for their time and commitment. It is down to their Bellshill Community Forum Bellshill Masonic Lodge dedication and hard work that our centre holds such an important place in Cllr Colin Cameron Cllr Harry Curran the community. Cllr Jordan Linden Congregation Bellshill Central Parish Board members are volunteers too who support and make decisions which Church & Bellshill West Parish Church Community Food and Health affect the overall running, development and sustainability of the Esure CBRE organisation. We are all lay persons, bringing our own particular skills, General Trustees Church of Scotland Cooperative Funeral Care expertise and experiences. We are seeking other like-minded persons to Generations Working Together Greggs Foundation bring their skills and enthusiasm and join us on the Board as directors or John Clark Funeral Services Holly Tree Foundation advisors to the Board. If you feel you could make a contribution and would Kew Gardens Retirement Housing Jobcentre Plus be interested in getting involved, please speak to any of the Directors or Lanarkshire Community Food and Joseph Potts Funeral Directors Health Lanarkshire Carers Centre the Operations Manager. Margaret Mitchell MSP LESL Business Gateway We still aim to be in a position to purchase the property from the General NHS Lanarkshire Marion Fellows MP Trustees of the Church of Scotland. If we can raise the £30,000 required, it Council Move On will give us the opportunity to apply for further funding in order to adapt Richard Lyle MSP Need A Hand the premises to more suit our needs and those of the community. Royal Bank of Scotland Police Scotland SCVO Routes To Work It has been my privilege to be a member of the Board since the STV Children's Appeal Sir John Mann Centre organisations inception 26 years ago and also top serve as Chairperson for The Kelvin Partnership Tannochside Information & Advice the past nine years. I am immensely proud of the work undertaken by Trust Housing Centre Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre and sincerely hope we can continue to be University West of Scotland Transport Scotland a major contributor and partner as we seek to address the ongoing needs Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire Virgin Media within our community. William Grant and Sons Warburtons Bakery Sheena Bowman, Chairperson, Utheo Ltd. West End Drive Retirement Housing Wood Group Ltd

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It is again my great pleasure to update you on the organisations progress and achievements over the last financial year via our annual report.

As in previous years, this last year has been one full of challenges, hard work, opportunities and developments. Our work has continued to reflect our commitment to sustaining existing services and development opportunities, which continue to make a difference in so many people’s lives.

Centre users enjoyed a varied programme of services, activities and events, and whilst it is difficult to highlight the best of what we do, we hope you get a flavour of this in our Annual Report. Thanks to Tammy for her preparation of our report and to all who have contributed to it.

As always, without the hard work and commitment of all involved, our Centre would not be the happy busy place it is. Sincere thanks must go to our staff, directors and volunteers whose tremendous determination and compassion touches the most vulnerable people in our community. Together they create a community spirit and friendly atmosphere and their expertise, hard work and support ensures that Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre continues to be a vibrant and comfortable place where people can meet.

This year we said goodbye to: Mary Murphy, BeFriend in Bellshill Coordinator since 2012. We wish her well in her retirement and thank her for all she contributed to the development of the project and organisation with such a generous heart. Karen Clark, Bookkeeper/Administrator since 2016. We wish her well in her new role and thank her for all she contributed to this role carrying out her duties in a diligent and professional matter. Reiss Anderson, Bethany Smith and Leanne Devine who were with us in various roles through the Community Jobs Scotland Programme.

We continued to host the Bellshill Locality Consortium placing our organisation at the heart of Community Solutions, health and social care investment programme. Part of this work is to administer the Locality Activity Programme funding, which in this year supported 13 local projects. This work keeps us extremely busy.

Our thanks also go to our partner organisations, groups, funders, local company’s and elected members for their valued support throughout the year.

As always, we look forward to the year ahead and to all that it brings. Generating the funding we require to sustain our work will be our priority in the coming year, this continues to be a big challenge. I offer my thanks to our staff and volunteers and to you for your continued support and encouragement. Without your contributions it would not be possible!

Irene Gibson, Operations Manager 3 12

I begin this annual report by giving thanks to Bellshill Academy, Masonic Lodge The Older People’s Service has provision to accommodate 110 service users per week. and William Grant Ltd for financial donations received within the year, with a At present, we have 67 individuals who attend between 2-3 times per week. special mention for Tunnock’s Bakeries and board member Irene Mackinnon, who’s We provide a varied range of activities, i.e. quizzes, bowling, music, bingo etc to direct approach to the company secured a donation that will contribute stimulate interaction for people with Dementia and various disabilities who had to the fundraising efforts to buy the Centre’s buildings from the General Trustees become socially isolated in their own home. We link in with a wide range of local Church of Scotland. A constant and dedicated director and volunteer, Irene’s work agencies that refer people to us and self-referrals are welcome too. We also continue has been an inspiration to us all. Not all donations had a monetary value. CBRE Ltd to receive support from the John Mann Centre and Social Work. selected BeFriend Bellshill for their corporate volunteering programme. Office workers donated festive gifts for befriendees and gave up their time to run the We have had our usual parties (Easter, Halloween & St Andrews). We also changed befriendees Christmas party here in our Neighbourhood Centre. The National the venue for the Christmas party which was a great success. We went to Bellshill Lottery Community Fund continued to support our befriending service with match West Parish Church for a change and they were very welcoming. They had decorated funding from Community Solutions Health and Social Care Partnership and a the hall & it looked fantastic! We also asked Rev. Callum Stark & some of his welcome grant from the Corra Foundation, who previously supported the work of parishioners to attend as they had once again provided the gifts for service users. Utheo as Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland. North Lanarkshire Council continue to support the work throughout the Centre. Discretionary grants contributed to our During the summer months, ourselves and the Men’s Club had trips out on the barges core cost. Community Grants paid for a new dishwasher, resources for our Men’s and they had a fabulous time! Fish suppers at lunch, sailing along the canals. Club and volunteer recognition. Funding from Social Services sustained our Day Our numbers increased during the year and we welcomed some new service users to Service for older adults. Our contract with Trust Housing provided earned income, the centre. They are having a great time. They have made new friends and are and allowed our staff to check in on residents in Appleyard Court sheltered enjoying our activities and daily routine. Last year, we purchased a marquee and housing. Grants from Asda Foundation and Greggs Foundation supported activities managed to have a BBQ for the service users in the grounds. We had hot dogs, salads, supporting Day Service members and older persons groups. Bus Operators Grants burgers and chicken as well as music and bingo. We also received a large grant from issued by Transport Scotland sustained the use of our minibus. Funding from the Bellshill H&SC Consortium which let us purchase new tables, covers and new Community Jobs Scotland and SERI allowed the Centre to create new jobs for young activity packs. The service users and the Men’s Club have benefited from the monies people facing barriers to employment. Our associations with Cardinal Newman we were given. It also let us produce a new brochure and banners for advertising the High School and University West of Scotland allowed the Centre to provide work OPS / Men’s Club. placements for senior school pupils and honors students. Other Health and Social In Jan 2020, we had our Rabbie Burns Party - the entertainment was awesome and Care funding paid for new laptops equipment benefiting older learners and they enjoyed a meal of haggis and neeps, as well as a tombola stall which had a jobseekers. We give thanks to Cardinal Newman High School, Lawmuir Primary variety of prizes. We have sourced a large computerised wall screen for the dayroom School, Liberty Community Church Bellshill and Vallourec Mossend who donated which will allow us to expand our activity range and the service users are looking food and essential supplies the Centre was able to share with persons in need. We forward to seeing it in use. It will benefit us in showing movies as well as activity end the year by giving special thanks to Warburtons Bakeries. Our Older Persons variety - we can work with different groups when using it. team continue to distribute bread donations with residents in sheltered housing and our application for a project grant will support the work of the Centre in the coming Maureen Gallagher, Older People’s Service Manager year. Robert Piper, Development Officer

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Utheo is the Locality Partnership Development Programme host organisation for We continued our work with older adults and adults with disabilities in our local Bellshill. Our role is to chair the Bellshill Locality Consortia and with our partners community experiencing loneliness providing 1 to 1 volunteer visits to individuals support the capacity building of local activity and developments. in their homes, 1 to 1 outings for individuals with their volunteer, telephone befriending, group befriending and various social events. Community Solutions is the Third Sector delivery branch for Health and Social Care investment programme in North Lanarkshire with the ambition to help people live In October 2019, after a few difficult years, Mary the Befriending Coordinator made healthier more independent lives with choice and control through the building of the difficult decision to retire early. We were sorry to see Mary leave but wish her a individual and community capacity. Key features of the programme include: long, healthy and happy retirement. The Locality Activity Fund (LAF), provides a flexible resource that can support the We have a small staff team now consisting of myself taking on the role of development of additional activity for citizens within the locality. A total of £30,000 Befriending Coordinator and Tammy filling the role of Assistant Coordinator on a was allocated to each of the six localities and is distributed through a simplified part-time basis. We hope to increase the Assistant Coordinator hours and employ a award process, with decision making through the Local Consortia – ensuring activity third staff member in the not too distant future. complements other provision in the area and is informed by emerging local need and focusses on supporting activity in line with the priorities set out under Integration Just before the end of the financial year, we secured 5 years funding from The and every funded LAF funded programme must be able to demonstrate that it meets National Lottery Community Fund and some funding from Community Solutions via at least two of the following criteria: Reduces Isolation and Loneliness; Addressed Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire for one year. The funding will allow us to Inequalities; Increase or Promotes Physical Activity; Promotes Better Eating Habits. continue the work we are doing, increase our staff hours, plan for the future and expand our work allowing more people to benefit from our befriending service. This year the £30,000 was allocated to 13 local projects to support new and developing activity that includes Orbiston YMCA; LCFHP; NL Disability Access I would like to thank Tammy for all her hard work over the last year. Her I.T. skills Panel; REACH Autism; Y Health & Wellbeing; Solihull Project; Tannochside school and artistic talent are invaluable. Tammy is a wonderful asset to our service. project; Lawmuir Generations Garden

We have an awesome group of volunteers and could not exist without them. I would This work is supported by Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire. Our involvement in like to thank them for giving up their time to volunteer with us. We appreciate each this national programme is both challenging and exciting. and every one of them and all that they do. Many people benefit from their visits, outings, calls and group activities. One befriendee told us "Befriending is the best Irene Gibson, Operations Manager thing that ever happened to me." One group member told us "The day the group is on is a good, fun day where we can put our life on hold for a few hours You have taken a group of strangers and turned them into friends who care for each other." It's great to know our volunteers enjoy what they do too. One volunteer who works full time told us "I would never not befriend. I love it. I would put other things off before befriending." Elaine Hamilton, Befriending Coordinator

To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world. 5 10

Our organisation continued its involvement and provided employment opportunities for young people aged 16-29 through the Community Jobs Scotland programme. Within the year, 46 children from 35 families used our service for before and after school care, as well as holiday care. This service is an invaluable resource to Jobs roles are specifically designed for young people to gain practical experience parents and guardians. In the morning, we offer a Breakfast Club from 7:00-9:00am and transferable skills to maximise their employability. and After School Care from 3:00-6:00pm. We cover the 6 primary schools and 2 high schools in the Bellshill and Mossend areas. We provide staff escort and We engaged 6 unemployed young people; Rebecca and Bethany – Childcare transport support in getting children to and from school. We also provide holiday workers; Leanne and Kirsty – Theo’s Café; Reiss and Ryan – Resource workers. care for up to 24 children per day during the spring, summer and autumn holidays,

where we offer a varied programme of in house activities and days out. Other work experience and student placements in our Centre are arranged with universities, colleges, local schools, Routes to Work and JCP. The Out of School Care team are working towards their SVQ Level 4 in Social Care and Playwork. The team also successfully completed a 6 week intense course on Their posts were deployed in different service departments increasing the capacity of Behaviour that Challenges through West College Scotland. This will allow the team the centre’s workforce and improving the level of services offered. Their participation to further update their knowledge and understanding of Playwork. enables the Centre to contribute to priorities to reduce unemployment and worklessness amongst young people in North Lanarkshire. We had a young adult that used to attend the Out of School Care return to do a project with the children for part of his 6th year course at Bellshill Academy, who

has now successfully gone to University. Martin Girvan, Childcare Coordinator 20 activity and support groups provided regular and ongoing activities throughout the year engaging with +500 people every week. Crafty Crafts, Men’s Group, Petals, and Musical Memories groups engaged with mostly older adults and adults with disabilities tackling problems such as loneliness and isolation. Body Maintenance, Line Dancing, Yoga classes and the Walking Group provided physical exercise for older adults. Mossend and Bellshill Scouts, Children's Dance, Elisa’s School of Dance and Parents and Toddlers provided activities engaging with children and families. Fool On and Gardening groups provided activities that increased the integration of persons facing barriers to participation in community activities. Our Food Coop continues to provide a local outlet selling essential groceries at low Cotswold Medicals, Mosshill Credit Union and the Health and Wellness Hub used the prices. The work is delivered by a dedicated team of volunteers who ensure centre Centre for meetings and appointments ensuring local people were able to access user groups have access to essential groceries and supplies. Food Coop volunteers support in their own community. make extra effort to serve members attending our Older Persons Day Service, making sure they are able to feed themselves when they go home. They also Local and national elected members held their provide home deliveries for our older customers when they are unable to leave surgeries in the centre to consult with their community. their home or come into the centre. They have continued to team up with Theo’s Café, Move On Glasgow and Lanarkshire Community Food and Health Partnership this year to deliver the Fare Share initiative redistributing surplus food and contributing to national efforts to eliminate food poverty. We thank our volunteers for their continued support of this service.

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Theo's Café aims to provide nutritious and affordable home-cooked Over the last year we have again been blessed with people who have given their meals and refreshments to centre users and the general public. We provide time freely to support Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre. They will have chosen to volunteer for a variety of reasons. For some, it offers the chance to give something catering for a lot of our regular centre groups and activities as well as outside back to the community or make a difference to the people around them. For others, catering for local groups and organisations. We try to keep our prices as low as possible in line with most local people’s budget. it provides opportunities to develop new skills or build on existing experience and

knowledge. For the past six years, we have been recipients of NHS Scotland's Healthy Living People from all walks of life who engage in volunteering opportunities at Orbiston Award recognising our efforts in promoting fresh fruit and vegetables, as well Neighbourhood Centre participate in all areas of service delivery, administration as controlling the use of salt, sugar and fats in our menu as part of a healthier and governance. Groups of people who volunteered included active older people; diet. We offer fresh fruit and yoghurts at a very low price, or sometimes free as young people; people with additional needs and jobseekers. Many of our a meal deal to our customers. volunteers tell us that because of their volunteering they feel less lonely and gain We are a member of the Glasgow Fare Share scheme which supplies us with improved mental health and wellbeing. surplus food from large retailers for an annual subscription. This helps greatly Each year, our volunteers receive a certificate with our overall food costs and we can then pass on the savings we make to our of recognition during Volunteers Week for customers. We continue to support Fair Trade products in our café, usually their volunteering work. supplied by Green City.

In order to retain our long-time customers and attract new ones, we run In 2019, 5 of our volunteers received long several special offers such as our popular Loyalty Cards (hot drinks & soups), service awards; Marie Moynagh (5 years), 2-for-Ones, Senior Specials and Kids Specials. Danny Farquhar (5 years), Jim MacKintosh (10 years), Margaret MacKintosh (10 years) 2019-2020 and Christine Chalmers (20 years). In August / September, we provided Cookery Classes to diabetic patients Quite an amazing achievement! from the Bruce Medical Centre. We also had our Healthy Living Award from NHS Scotland renewed for a further two years in December. We received a considerable grant in January / February to upgrade our cafe facilities but that work has been put on hold for the time being. In early March 2020, we sadly lost one of our long serving volunteers and board member, Irene MacKinnon. As always, I’d like to give my thanks to our dedicated team of volunteers who Alongside her duties on our board of directors, Irene dedicated her time, every help out in the café each week. We are always happy to welcome new week, to our Food Co-Op. She welcomed every customer with volunteers so please get in touch if you are interested! a smile and gave extra assistance to our older users. She treated the shop like it was her own and even joked it was Michael Clark, Catering Manager her ‘wee sweetie shop’ from the amount of extra sweets she brought in! Irene was always on the go – when she wasn’t in the centre, she was knitting to raise money for various charities. Her knitted Santas and Humpty Dumpties have featured in our centre newsletters, which she was very proud of. As one of our most notable characters, Irene will be deeply missed by all who knew her. Her kindness and her cheery disposition will be a huge loss to all.

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