annual report 2014/2015 - windowsbtckstorage.blob.core.windows.net/site448/avsed annual...

Aireborough Voluntary Services to the

Elderly with Disabilities

Annual Report

2014/2015

Charity Registration: 1048902

AVSED Annual Report 2014/15

2

Office

Suffolk Court Silver Lane

Yeadon

LEEDS LS19 7JN

Telephone: 0113 250 1702

E mail: [email protected]

Website: www.avsed.org.uk

Committee Members Chair Ken Elliott

Vice Chair Brian Myers

Treasurer Neil Moffoot

Secretary Ann Turner

Isabella (Bunty) Burgon-Byrne, Roger Halliwell,

Edward Lamb, Wendy Hanson (from Oct 2014), Cllr Ryk Downes (in an advisory capacity)

Staff

Project Coordinating Manager Sarah Macfarlane

Minibus Transport and

Front page: Bollywood Morning at Cuppa and Company

Volunteer Recruitment, Training and Development Officer (VRTD

Officer)

Lesley Newton (Feb to Oct 2014)

Sarah Rogers

(Jan 2015 to present)

Community Cohesion and Diversity Officer (CCD Officer)

Fleur Mitchell (until Dec 2014)

Sharon Ahmed

(Dec 2014 to present)

Activity Support Worker

Sharon Ahmed (May – Dec 2014)

Ella Baxter

(Jan 2015 to present)

Minibus Driver (part-time)

Don Robertson (from Jan 2014)

Minibus Driver &

Equal Access Organiser Rick Lamb

Project Coordinating Manager Sarah Macfarlane (pictured on pg 4)


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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

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

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.

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!

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


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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

Donations:

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

baked this yummy Christmas Cake and raised £103 Market Stall at Yeadon Town Hall – raised £183

Le Thé Danse de France – raised £430 (see details below)

Raffle at the Airedale Lodge (Masons) - £130 raised

We became Charity of the year for a café

in Yeadon - Somewhere Different. They

are running various fundraising days, have a collection tin on the counter and

are donating 10p per cup of coffee sold to AVSED. They had collected over £200 by

April.

Betty our

lucky

Christmas

Cake

raffle winner

https://www.facebook.com/Somewheredifferent/photos/a.391454621023497.1073741828.341604709341822/393444504157842/?type=1


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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

35.0%

40.2% 1.4%

3.8%

0.1%

6.7%

12.8%

Adult Social Care Contract

Grants

Subscriptions

Donations

Investment Income

General Fundraising

Activity & Minibus Income

55.0%

1.6%

12.3%

7.0%

1.2%

15.7%

3.2% 2.8% 1.2%

Staff Wages (incl. NI & pension)

Staff & Volunteer Expenses

Transport Costs (vehicle hire, fuel& maintenance)

Office Running Costs (telephone,postage, printing etc.)

Recruitment and Training

Activity Running Costs (room hire,tutors, refreshments, etc)

Governance Costs

Depreciation of Assets (minibus,equipment etc.)

Other (insurance, subscriptionsetc.)

Annual Income 2014/2015 - £189,991.00

Annual Expenditure 2014/2015 - £174,634.00


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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.

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

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 AVSED to other people

Tuesday Social Centre Volunteers


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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

transport regularly to attend

sister groups) and our Volunteers.

Our youngest client was 63 years of age, and our

2 oldest were 101! 75% of our members are

women 48 new clients joined us this

year, and 54 left. We had 319 requests for

services from new and existing members this

year from a variety of sources (see chart to right)

Clie

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Number of requests

Source of AVSED Service Request

Client Questionnaire Results

Of those who responded to our questionnaire:

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


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AVSED Services

AVSED services in 2014/2015 included: General advice and information

Bi-monthly Newsletter Memory Loss Support (see below)

Health and Wellbeing Support

Handyman Service Full needs assessment

Accessible transport to the majority of our activities

Fitting of smoke alarms Pastoral care telephone calls

Personal 1:1 Shopping Trips (non

grocery) 1:1 appointment support (non

hospital)

Carer Support Help with form filling

Advocacy Referrals / signposting to other

agencies 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

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


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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:

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:

GP / NHS

Tradespeople (Leeds Directory)

Adult Social Care

Other

Access Bus

Other local activities

Other local charities

Blue Badge

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:

They also enjoyed lunch trips out to local venues such a

Trips out to:

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.

* 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 research for various groups (nutritional information,

research for The Big Lottery etc.)

Christmas at Tuesday Social Centre

* 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


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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

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.

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

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.

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.


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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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