Aireborough Voluntary Services to the Elderly with Disabilities
Annual Report 2014/2015
Charity Registration: 1048902 AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
Office Committee Members
Suffolk Court Chair Ken Elliott Silver Lane
Yeadon Vice Chair Brian Myers LEEDS LS19 7JN Treasurer Neil Moffoot
Telephone: 0113 250 1702 Secretary Ann Turner
E mail: [email protected] Isabella (Bunty) Burgon-Byrne, Roger Halliwell, Edward Lamb, Wendy Hanson (from Oct 2014), Website: www.avsed.org.uk Cllr Ryk Downes (in an advisory capacity)
Staff
Project Coordinating Manager Sarah Macfarlane
(pictured on pg 4) Project Coordinating Manager Sarah Macfarlane
Volunteer Recruitment, Training Community Cohesion and and Development Officer (VRTD Diversity Officer (CCD Officer) Officer)
Lesley Newton Fleur Mitchell (Feb to Oct 2014) (until Dec 2014)
Sarah Rogers Sharon Ahmed (Jan 2015 to present) (Dec 2014 to present)
Activity Support Worker Minibus Driver (part-time)
Sharon Ahmed Don Robertson
(May – Dec 2014) (from Jan 2014)
MinibusElla Baxter Transport and (Jan 2015 to present)
Minibus Driver & Equal Access Organiser Rick Lamb
2 Front page: Bollywood Morning at Cuppa and Company
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
Mission Statement
The primary object of the charity, as set out in the charity’s constitution, is the relief from isolation (without distinction of colour, ethnic origins, nationality, political or religious opinion, sex or sexual orientation) of the older people, many of whom have disabilities, living in the community of Aireborough within the City of Leeds.
Aireborough Voluntary Services to the Elderly with Disabilities (AVSED) provides a unique service to the older people of Aireborough, many of whom have various disabilities. Designed to support those who wish to remain living independently at home, AVSED aims to continually update and expand its socialisation and healthy living services to meet the changing needs of Clients. By relieving social isolation and providing Volunteers who care, great improvements should continue to be made in the quality of life of all our Clients and Volunteers.
Background Information
Aireborough Voluntary Services to the Elderly with Disabilities (AVSED) is a registered charity (registered in 1995), managed and run by registered Volunteers with the support of six paid staff, and covers an area of approximately 18 square miles. The charity is governed by a constitution
Founded in Yeadon in 1992 by a group of caring local people who recognised the loneliness and isolation of older disabled people living in Aireborough, AVSED is run by a Management Committee of eight Volunteers, which by including older people with disabilities, reflects the makeup of the organisation. A local Councillor has been nominated by Leeds City Council to attend Committee meetings and provide support.
All Volunteers, and all Clients who pay an annual subscription to receive services from AVSED*, are registered Members of the organisation. Each registered Member may nominate and vote for Management Committee representatives at the Annual General Meeting. A postal vote is arranged if necessary.
(*£15 for a single person or £20 for two people living in the same dwelling in 2014/2015)
Although AVSED is an independent registered charity, it works within the Leeds Older People’s Neighbourhood Network (around 37 separate organisations spread across the city) and, in particular, with the seven charities within the NW PCT area. The co- ordinators of these organisations meet together on a quarterly basis prior to a meeting with senior staff from Adult Social Care (together with representatives from the Neighbourhood Network organisations in the west of the city) and provide support for each other.
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Chair’s Report
2014/2015 Was a year that brought opportunities, challenges and some surprises for AVSED. The performance of all the volunteers and staff over the period has allowed us to achieve the targeted outcomes set by our funders and in some cases exceed them which has given us the opportunity to consolidate our activity base and initiate extra events for the members. We are still trying to overcome the challenge of finding new premises to operate and expand our services. The team have followed up over 15 possible properties in the Aireborough district and all have not been suitable mainly due to cost implications or planning problems and others just do not meet our requirements. However we are in negotiations with a possible shared property which would solve our problems but nothing is finalised at the time of this report.
One of the surprises we had was some major staff changes over the period which has given us one of the strongest teams we have had in a long time. This gives me great confidence that we will meet our objectives set for 2015/16 to help the elderly of Aireborough live a full and involved life by reducing their social isolation.
Project Manager’s Report
2014/2015, my fifth year at AVSED – time is still flying by! Once again we have achieved so much this year, especially in terms of our one off events, fundraising and trips out. The French themed tea dance was definitely a highlight for me and not only raised some funds but also raised our profile locally. As you can see from the photos on page 13 we also had great fun dressing up in our ‘French attire,’ including large moustaches and berets!
It was again a changeable year in terms of staffing levels. Lesley Newton, who joined us in February 2014 as our VRTD Officer fell ill in July and was unable to return to work – I’d like to thank her for her hard work whilst she was with us and wish her the best for her continued recovery. Fleur Mitchell, our CCD Officer then left us in December 2014 for pastures new (I’d also like to thank Fleur for all her hard work and commitment over the past 6 years) so we had 2 vacancies on the staff team. Sharon Ahmed was successful in gaining the post of CCD Officer, and Ella Baxter gained Sharon’s former post as Activity Support Worker. Sarah Rogers successfully gained the VRTD Officer post so we were back to a full staff team in January 2015. The last quarter of 2014/2015 was extremely busy with staff inductions, training, and getting everyone up to speed with their roles, but I’m happy to say that the new team has really gelled, and they are very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about AVSED and its future. I consider myself very lucky to lead such a fantastic staff team, dedicated volunteer team and amazing group of older people. With exciting plans for AVSED it really is a bright outlook for us all.
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AVSED Finance
During 2014/2015 we received a contract, grants and donations from all the organisations and individuals listed below:
Contract: Adult Social Care, Leeds City Council – year 5 of a 5 year contract to provide services for older people in Aireborough. This contract ends in October 2015, but with the hope it will be extended for a further 3 years, to take us through to October 2018.
Grants: The Big Lottery Fund Grant – Third Year (of five) grant entitled ‘Socialising Seniors’ to allow us to enhance the capacity of AVSED to help more older people in Aireborough Frank Parkinson Yorkshire Trust – Third Year (of five) grant to part-pay the monthly lease-hire charges for our Renault minibus Horsforth Live at Home Scheme (lead scheme in a three-way partnership with Otley Action for Older People) – funding additional services for people with low-level memory loss Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales – second year (of 2) grant to pay for the salary of our part-time minibus driver Leeds Older People’s Forum – International Day of Older People funding
Fundraising: Sara Thomas (pictured left) who raised an incredible £1100 by taking part in the Loch Ness Marathon in memory of her auntie, Win Thorpe. She did it in an incredible 4 hours, 56 minutes and 8 seconds. Gift Aid – from individual contributors who have completed a Gift Aid Form
Christmas Cake Raffle – our lovely volunteer Eileen Betty our baked this yummy Christmas Cake and raised £103 lucky Market Stall at Yeadon Town Hall – raised £183 Christmas Le Thé Danse de France – raised £430 (see details Cake below) raffle Raffle at the Airedale Lodge (Masons) - £130 winner raised
We became Charity of the year for a café in Yeadon - Somewhere Different. They are running various fundraising days, Donations: have a collection tin on the counter and are donating 10p per cup of coffee sold to
AVSED. They had collected over £200 by 5 April.
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
Donations in memory of the following former AVSED members: Lilian Brown, Anne Hathaway and Geoff Jennings Individual Donations: Mary Kitchen, Mary O’Connor, Chris and Ben Francis, John and Anne Rowlands, Betty Noon, and Eric Holmes Organisational Donations: Guiseley AFC (Community Shield), Yeadon Methodist Women’s Fellowship, Inner Wheel Club of Aireborough
Annual Income 2014/2015 - £189,991.00
6.7% Adult Social Care Contract 0.1% Grants 3.8% 12.8% 35.0% Subscriptions
Donations 1.4% 40.2% Investment Income
General Fundraising
Activity & Minibus Income
Annual Expenditure 2014/2015 - £174,634.00
Staff Wages (incl. NI & pension)
Staff & Volunteer Expenses 3.2% 2.8% 1.2% Transport Costs (vehicle hire, fuel 15.7% & maintenance) 1.2% Office Running Costs (telephone, postage, printing etc.) 7.0% 55.0% Recruitment and Training 12.3% Activity Running Costs (room hire, tutors, refreshments, etc) Governance Costs 1.6% Depreciation of Assets (minibus, equipment etc.) Other (insurance, subscriptions etc.)
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Our Registered Volunteers
We have an excellent team of registered Volunteers ranging in age from 17 to 87! With a mix of experience from just about every walk of life you can think of, our Volunteers show care and commitment to the older people of Aireborough as they run a myriad of services for AVSED.
Our Volunteers work: as Trustees in three separate weekly social centres, and Cuppa and Company as befrienders to provide support at appointments, 1:1 shopping or on trips out as minibus drivers and escorts with fundraising, marketing and administration as leaders of small groups/specialised activities such as our Tai Chi classes, Chair based Exercise Classes, Friday “Fish ‘n’ Chip” Home Delivery service, and minor repairs – to name but a few! as much needed ad hoc volunteers to ‘fill in’ any gaps as IT support gurus ……. and 101 other ways that help our Clients.
As well as being a tremendous help to our members, our volunteers have experienced personal changes through their volunteering too. The annual volunteer questionnaire highlighted some of these: Of those who responded, 96% felt they were doing something useful 83% felt more involved in the local community 93% would recommend volunteering with Tuesday Social Centre Volunteers AVSED to other people No one, especially the Volunteers, should underestimate the value of their work and dedication. Due to their long term commitment, AVSED has grown steadily over the years and is now able to help hundreds of older people, many with disabilities, living at home in the community of Aireborough, to maintain their independence. Thank you! Registered Volunteers who have served in 2014/2015
Theresa Angove, Denise Arnott, Christine Baguley, Sue Best, Jill Birch, Roy Blanshard, Kim Broadhead, Bunty Burgon-Byrne, Margaret Clark, Rosemary Clarke, Beryl Claughton, Christine Coen, John Davies, Annette Dewhirst, Jo Dixon, Jonathan Doidge, Dorothy Downs, Ken Elliott, John Foster, Janine Garnett, Maureen Gough, Ray Hall, Roger Halliwell, Wendy Hanson, Bernie Harrison, Carlo Harrison, Tony Hemingway, Claire Hepworth, Joyce Heslop, David Hirons, Sheila Hollings, Tessa Holmes, Moreen Holt, Shelagh Hooten, Anne Hudson, Lynn Ive, Diana Jenkins, Peter
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Jenkins, Dorothy Jones, Michael Jowett, Christine King, Eddie Lamb, Sandra Lamb, Tina Lawrence, Alexis Mannion, Jean Mason, Dianne Midgley, Elaine Miller, Neil Moffoot, Geoff Mott, Barbara Myers, Brian Myers, Bridget Napp, Paul Napp, Pauline Noonan, Sasha Ollerenshaw, Hilary Pank, Sarah Penketh, Andy Pickles, John Ratcliffe, Aaron Sanders, Pat Sands, Jean Sawyer, Andrew Scott, Hazel Shaw, Alan Sheath, Annabel Shuttleworth, Pat Simpson, Matthew Smith, Jane Stebbings , Susan Stevens, Ann Turner, Andy Walker, Anna Webster, Fred Wells, Edna Wild, Alan Willey, Eileen Wilshaw, Colin Wrigg, Anne Yeadon.
AVSED Members
In March 2015 we had 437 registered members of AVSED. This figure includes clients (those who are over 60 and live within Aireborough), affiliated members (over 60s who live outside of the area, in sheltered housing complexes not supported by AVSED, and those who access our 300 transport regularly to attend 250 sister groups) and our 200 Number of Volunteers. 150 requests Our youngest client was 100 63 years of age, and our 50 2 oldest were 101! 75% of our members are 0 women 48 new clients joined us this year, and 54 left. We had 319 requests for services from new and existing members this Source of AVSED Service Request year from a variety of sources (see chart to right) Client Questionnaire Results
Of those who responded to our questionnaire: Clie 66% felt the services they received from AVSED helped them maintain their independence 80% felt their wellbeing (mood, memory and self-confidence) had improved as a member of AVSED 62% felt less socially isolated as a member of AVSED 82% felt we offered a sufficient variety of services/activities
Frank and Denniss enjoying a cuppa at Thursday Social Centre 8 AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
96% felt the practical services offered by AVSED were adequate for their general needs 100% thought our services were affordable/value for money, but 78% said they would pay slightly more as long as it was
reasonable Minibus transport was ‘very important’ to 73% of those interviewed 94% felt AVSED is adapting to their changes needs, and were confident we would continue
to do so in to the future Christmas Carol singing at Wednesday Social Centre
AVSED Services
AVSED services in 2014/2015 included: General advice and information Personal 1:1 Shopping Trips (non Bi-monthly Newsletter grocery) Memory Loss Support (see below) 1:1 appointment support (non Health and Wellbeing Support hospital) Handyman Service Carer Support Full needs assessment Help with form filling Accessible transport to the majority Advocacy of our activities Referrals / signposting to other Fitting of smoke alarms agencies Pastoral care telephone calls Mobility Aid Loan
Transport: AVSED’s two minibuses continued to be used every day of the week to provide transport not only for our own activities, but to provide accessible transport to other local groups for older people, without which they would be unable to attend. Regular weekly bookings include The Convent, Rawdon’s Darby and Joan Club and Yeadon Methodist Church’s Sunday Worship transport, as well as various residents’ associations, which have been set up in sheltered housing complexes in the area. These buses are extremely well looked after, with regular safety checks and servicing, as they are amongst our most valuable resources.
Memory Loss and Dementia: This financial year we provided additional services for members with memory loss to enable them to have access to all our activities. These included: Telephone prompting for our activities Carer invoicing for members who attend our activities but who struggle with bringing purses/wallets/money
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Newsletter visiting – for those without carer support who find it difficult to read the newsletters, telephone the office to book, make the payment, then record and recollect what they were booked on to
Signposting:
During this financial year we signposted our members to the following services to help them maintain their independence and improve their health and wellbeing:
GP / NHS Tradespeople (Leeds Directory) Adult Social Care Other Access Bus Other local activities Other local charities Blue Badge
One of the major ‘signposting’ we did was for reliable and trustworthy tradespeople
Other includes: Leeds Refuse Services, Meals at Home, Library at Home Services, Leeds Safer Project, Trading Standards, the Fire Service, I.T. support, Leeds Dental Services
Other local charities include Leeds Vision Consortia, Carer’s Leeds, other local NNs, Care Aware, Alzheimers Society
AVSED Activities
In 2014/2015 AVSED continued to provide the following regular activities, which combined offered nearly 200 member places to socialise each week:
Quarterly Outreach “Windmill” Day Trips Friday Fish and Chip Home Delivery Service 3 weekly social centres 1 coffee morning – Cuppa and Company Monday afternoon trips out 2 Tai Chi classes 2 chair based exercise classes Befriending for members unable to access regular activities Our Thursday Social Centre enjoying lunch at the Wheatley Arms
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Unfortunately this year saw the end of the Joint Lunch Club with Holly Court in December 2014 – they had a Christmas dinner at Wetherby Whaler in Guiseley to say their goodbyes and thank the volunteers.
Social Centres:
The Social Centres enjoyed a raft of activities including:
* book/cake/ bric a brac stalls, quizzes, pie and peas, clothes stalls, various talks (e.g. Guide Dogs, Scams and Frauds, Doorstep Crimes, Local Solicitors, Tales from a Charity Shop, Woman’s Land Army, Local
History etc), solo singers (including Emma James,
Terry Williams and an Elvis tribute) and duos, birthday celebrations, Christmas parties, reminiscence sessions, choirs and instrumental performances (from bell ringers to keyboard players) and they helped with They also enjoyed lunch trips out to local venues such a research for various groups (nutritional information, research for The Big Lottery etc.) Christmas at Tuesday Social Centre
Trips out to:
* Graveleys, White Hart, Noble Combe, Otley Golf Club, Murgatroyds, Dick Hudsons, Newsholme Manor, Tarn House, Wheatley Arms, Generous Pioneer, White Cross, New Inn, Millstones, The Wharfedale, Stansfield Arms, Wetherby Whaler, and Wheatley Arms
Monday Afternoon Trips:
Monday afternoon ‘trippers’ were spoilt for choice with
trips to: Ilkley, Golden Acre Park, Roundhay Park, the Cow and Calf Café, Roberts Park (Saltaire), Yorkshire Dales Icecream Parlour and Stephen Smiths
lunches at: Brownlee Arms (Horsforth), Clothier’s Arms (Yeadon), New Inn, Graveleys, The Fleece (Farsley), the Cinema, Dick Hudsons and the Wetherby Whaler (Guiseley)
Windmill Trips:
Windmill Trips’ are supported day trips for which we hire the ‘Windmill Coach’ (see picture right): a specially adapted 46 seat coach, complete with a passenger lift so we can take AVSED members with a variety of disabilities. Up to 15 wonderful volunteers look after our members all day long, either pushing a wheelchair or just ensuring they have some company and are in the right place at the right time.
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This year we visited Millstones for some Wartime entertainment, Beamish to have a wander round the amazing living museum, Lytham St Annes for some sea air, and Boundary Mills for Christmas dinner and bargain shopping.
One off activities:
This was a bumper year for ad hoc activities! They included:
Bollywood Event at Cuppa and Company on 2nd October 2014 to celebrate International Day of Older People
The Not Grown up Club – a 6 week art, music and drama pilot with JP Productions in Guiseley. They performed at Guiseley Town Hall and also produced this wonderful banner for our Le Thé Danse de France celebration, complete with real onions and snail shells!
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A visit to Yeadon Town Hall for the Christmas Concert on 19th December 2014 A 6 week Beginners IT course between June and July 2014 at Yeadon Library Le Thé Danse de France – a fantastic chance to join with Yeadon Carnival on Saturday 28th June to celebrate the Tour de France coming to Yorkshire, but also raising the profile of AVSED locally and raising some funds! We had a tombola, stall, gorgeous cakes, French themed entertainment, a magician and even a visit by Ronnie the Rhino.
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What’s new this Year
Living Wage Accreditation
We decided, as an organisation which values our staff as well as our members and volunteers, to ensure all paid employees had a wage which met, or was above the Living Wage. The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually - it is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK, and is higher than the National Minimum Wage. Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public; it is a social consensus about what people need to make ends meet. Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis.
Childcare Vouchers The cost of childcare can be astronomical so to ease the financial burden on employees with children we introduced a childcare voucher scheme in February 2015. These vouchers are not subject to tax or national insurance costs so it makes wages go just that little bit further for busy parents.
Student Placement Jill Reilly joined us on placement from Bradford College between January and April 2015 as part of her degree in Counselling. Her project whilst she was with us was to conduct our annual quality questionnaire and ‘interview’ individual AVSED members from a cross- section of our activities/services in person and over the telephone. She also attended many of the trips and was a regular escort on our minibuses. She was a great help to the office staff and highly regarded by the members and volunteers with her infectious giggle.
The Future of AVSED
This was a really important year in terms of planning for the future of AVSED. We were coming to the end of our 5 year business plan and needed to ensure we maintained our vision for the future of AVSED. Over the next 3 years we are also facing a number of changes: the end of all our main contracts and grants
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Suffolk Court will be changing to a short term care facility rather than for permanent residents so we have been advised will have to move from our current offices Social Care (social services) will face further cuts in funding and resources so more will need to be provided by voluntary and private services People are getting older, which should be celebrated, but they often have higher support needs It will not be long until we potentially work with up to 3 generations of people as more people are living longer – from 60 to over 100 years of age. We need to find activities and services which meet the very different needs of these generations, which is challenging More people are ageing without children or a close support structure so are more at risk of social isolation
We have put together a 3 year Strategic and Business Plan to try to address these changes, sustain the longevity of AVSED and ensure it remains ‘fit for purpose.’ These plans address the issues raised above, but also use information gathered through the quality questionnaire at the beginning of 2015 from members, volunteers, staff and stakeholders. Our 7 Strategic Aims moving forward are:
Aim 1 To develop a central hub in Aireborough for older people to socialise, exercise and visit for advice and information
Aim 2 To increase the number and diversity of AVSED members
Aim 3 To increase the variety of activities available, particularly those which will introduce our members to new technology, improve physical health, and an investigation of ‘out of hours’ activities
Aim 4 To review charges to members for activities and offer everyone the same level of subsidy
Aim 5 To maintain funds to support an adequate level of paid staff members
Aim 6 To maintain current volunteers and continue to recruit volunteers to consolidate any gaps that may arise in the future due to the new Hub, and additional activities
Aim 7 To strengthen the feeling that AVSED members have input in the decision making at AVSED
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AVSED Suffolk Court, Silver Lane Yeadon Leeds LS19 7JN
Tel: 0113 250 1702 Email: [email protected] Website: www.avsed.org.uk
Charity Number: 1048902
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