Annual Report 2017-2018
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Annual Report 2017 – 2018 Registered Charity No 293475 Company Limited by Guarantee No 1975481 Directors and Trustees Dan Abel Alison Beeton Hilder Penny Bruce Jay Chambers James Easterbrook Richard Farnhill Advisor Phil Hammond David Harrington Lynn Tom Henderson Chair Shaida Hussain Vicky Jenkins Hon President Dan Jones Michele Katzler Stewart Keep Sheena Kelly Andrew Ktenas Karen McBride Vice Chair Natalie Maderova Sarah Wallis Chris Wride Permanent Staff Rachel Bean Instructor Dan Cantwell Inclusion Co-ordinator Jan Coughlin Centre Co-ordinator Rob Edwards Maintenance Co-ordinator William Tytler Youth Activities Co-ordinator Mike Wardle Centre Director Ashley Wyatt Seconded from British Rowing Part Time Staff and Volunteers Gill Anker Victoria Chepurna Robyn Cuthbert Richard Elkan Nicki Gilbert Carl Greenslade Richard Greenslade Myriam Guenem Gabriella Leoni Michele Leoni Claire McNally Dima Mostovyy Asher Robinson Paul Shepherd Aquilla Vitalis Rebecca Vitalis William Walker Goodbye, Good Luck and Best Wishes to: Karen McBride and Ashley Wyatt Special Dedication The Shadwell community lost a dear member in February 2018 when Rosalind Yhnell, the Centre’s long standing Caretaker, sadly passed away. Ros had spent over forty years of her life devoted to working and tirelessly raising money for Shadwell. She was one of the local people whose vision and determination helped to get the Centre started back in 1976 and was known and loved by generations of Shadwell members. Her dedication to the work of the Centre will live on in the “Rosalind Yhnell Legacy Fund”, which was set up in her memory with the wishes of her family. The fund is there to assist young people between the ages of 9 and 18 years that attend the Youth Project. It will provide bursaries in the form of financial assistance with both equipment and residential costs for their personal development. The Centre wishes to thank: Aldgate and Allhallows Foundation Hermitage River Projects Bazalgette Tunnel Ltd Jack Petchey Foundation Bench Blisters Rowing Team London Borough of Tower Hamlets British Rowing London Dock Community Fund Canary Wharf Ltd Norton Rose Fulbright Foundation Clifford Chance Sport England CVB Tideway Volkerstevin Ltd East End Community Foundation Waitrose Ltd The Centre is fortunate to have many supporters and volunteers who assist it in providing challenging, exciting and worthwhile activities for the local community. We wish to thank everybody who has given their time, energy and enthusiasm. Chair’s Report This year has been a year that you might characterise as consolidation, after a period of rapid change over the previous few years. The new slipway was opened in June 2017, and its presence has been felt in the programme, where significantly better river access is both enabling greater use of the river in the youth programme and enabling the Sailing Club to get back to normal operations after a challenging couple of years. Financially large cuts occurred in council spending, and thus our grants. These have been contained to some degree, in no small part due to the generosity of our friends at Aldgate and Allhallows Trust, but result in another significant loss of £19,809 this year. This is clearly unsustainable, and there has been significant effort expended on seeking replacement income streams. In rather better news, Sport England recognised the truly outstanding work that the team have been delivering in our inclusion programme with extension funding for an additional year. Subsequent to that, and technically after the period that this report covers, I’m very happy to report that the BBC’s Children in Need has agreed to fund the work for a further three years. The youth club’s membership has grown significantly, and has seen a wide range of trips from sea kayaking off the west coast of Scotland, to wild bivouacking on an island in the Lake District. Of particular note has been the success of our Girls Can Adventure work, which has resulted in six of the seven members of our coach development scheme for 2018 being young women. In the schools programme activity has been frenetic, with our first A level scheme, in addition to 150 GCSE students, and our regular outdoor education work. In total this has reached 3,800 students through 9600 sessions. It’s important to observe that despite the very high levels of activity the quality of the work has not suffered, and 85% of the students achieved in excess of 70% in their assessments. Our adult clubs have been busy, taking advantage of the new slipway to host visitors to the Thames, and travelling far and wide. This ranged from trips sea kayaking in Denmark and white water kayaking in the Alps to a circumnavigation of Iceland. Closer to home our friends the Bench Blisters (a group of magistrates who row) raised a brilliant £15,092 in sponsorship rowing the Centre’s Skerries in the Great River Race. Looking ahead there are several plans afoot: we are working on obtaining alternative income streams to make up for the cuts we have received in recent years; and have both short and longer term plans for the site. A cursory analysis of our financial position would suggest that we’re making steady losses and doing nothing about it. However, the reality is rather different: we’ve contained our costs and brought in other income streams over the last few years, but sadly the cuts have kept pace with our improvements. Our objective for 2018-9 has to be to finally outpace the cuts. In terms of development of the site, plans are afoot to convert the old top store in to a new multifunction space for both the youth club and schools programme, whilst we are now trying to work up plans for adding a new wing to the building to deliver much needed increases in changing room capacity. Finally, as ever, I must thank our staff team, my colleagues on the management committee and everyone who has been involved in making this place the vibrant, enthusiastic, warm and welcoming place that it is. Tom Henderson November 2018 Centre Activities Report 2017-18 has been an exciting and challenging year of providing outdoor and adventure activities to the whole community at Shadwell Basin. The wide range of activities, our charitable objective of affordable costs for all, and the focus on the development of young people make the Centre a unique place within Greater London going into our 41st year. The activities at Shadwell Basin are used by both adults and young people alike as a vehicle for; change and development, creating opportunities, testing abilities, exploring emotions and values, experiencing concepts like teamwork and leadership, creating a healthy lifestyle, enjoyment, fun and friendship as well as training and pathways into employment. All that come here involve themselves deeply, each for their own reasons. From the structured learning ‘Pathways’ of the youth project and club training sessions to the freedom experienced within the natural environment through exploration and competition. All this creates a positive and stimulating atmosphere where all are welcomed and all are encouraged and when sadly they do leave, they leave a better person than whence they came. 2017-18 was about individuals and groups pushing their limits, accepting challenges and discovering new abilities. For the clubs, staff, volunteers and young trainees this has meant professional development with numerous people gaining qualifications and expeditions exploring the country here and overseas. For the young people it has meant learning new skills and applying them through expeditions into wild environments, pushing personal goal posts whether examined under syllabi or taking on incredible journeys within themselves and with others. This is all guided by the Centre ten year development plan that started in 2014 and has to date achieved 108 of its 243 targets. There is still an important need by the whole Shadwell community to raise money to support the Centre. We would like to extend a big thank you to all those who help the Centre continue to deliver special experiences for all. To an individual, young or older, the Centre offers a journey once they come through the doors. Stretching everyone through challenging situations gives the individual an unforgettable experience that enables them to learn more about themselves and others. The consequences of which, from beginner to experienced member, are that they develop into a holistic person with a positive attitude, giving them answers to problems and arming them to cope with adversity in the face of difficulty. Youth Activities In 2017-18 230 young people in the youth project have taken part in 56 sessions and 71 days of challenging and adventurous activities, with a total of 5,859 attendances. This year the young people have continued to push the boundaries of what is possible with not only day trips kayaking and mountain biking but also sea kayaking off the west coast of Scotland, sea cliff climbing, white water kayaking in the Peak District and on the River Ken and bivouacking overnight on an island in a Scottish loch. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Bronze and Silver groups had a very difficult and challenging assessment in July in the Lake District in atrocious weather. All twelve participants were a credit to themselves, still managing to pass. As a result of the ‘Girls Can Adventure’ group six out of the seven young people on the Adventure Coach Training Scheme for 2018 will be girls. As another result, in its third year, the 5 to 8 year old sessions have now allowed the first young people to move through into the Youth Project. In the 2017 Summer Project 174 young people participated in activities over 25 days, obtaining 303 certified and 164 accredited outcomes with 2,662 visits in total.