Annual Review 2013-2014

CommunityTrust

“I have been going to Gems for approximately 17 years. It has a

very friendly atmosphere and all the staff are most helpful”.

Foreword I am again privileged to introduce this Review of the activities of BD4 Community Trust for the last year. It has been a successful period where we have seen our initiatives strengthened and become even more effective in meeting the needs that are present in young families and the older generation in this South Bradford area.

Although the activities of BD4 Community Trust go back many years this has been our first year operating as a separate charity, having gained charitable status and becoming a company limited by guarantee in June 2013. The Board of Trustees/Directors has been strengthened this year with new members and has been effective in overseeing the growth of the initiatives. In addition they, along with the staff members, have been tasked with seeking the direction for the next years. I am certain we shall see the fruit of this in this coming period. I thank my fellow Trustees/Directors, Jan De Villiers, Emily Elgar, Lynne Walker, Donald Smith, Jo Medd and Lisa Normington for their tremendous dedication.

Although this has not been an easy period for funding, we have been grateful to all those who have contributed whether as individuals or corporations or grant making charitable trusts. We have again been grateful for statutory funding from Bradford Council which continues to value the work accomplished amongst the older generations.

The weekly timetable of activities is impressive and this could not be achieved without the enthusiastic leadership of Mel Astin at BD4 Family and Lynne Walker at Gems. Then there are the sessional workers and of course our ‘army’ of volunteers who give their time so generously. All are ‘priceless’ and we thank them heartily.

I hope you enjoy reading this Review and are inspired by all the varied imaginative activities.

Howard Astin

Chair of the Trust

Mums Unlimited started in September with a grant from Awards for All and was attended by 30 mums. The session was for mums with children under two years. The mums were treated to a free healthy lunch each week, followed by an hour long adult activity that was led by a tutor. The mums have enjoyed print making, jewellery making, baking, Pilates, Bootcamp and knitting. Mums really valued an hour to themselves learning something new whilst their children were cared for in the Sure Start creche. To finish mums and their children came back together to participate in a Yookababies session led by Jon Biggin where they learned to play the ukulele and sing rhymes. The session was a huge success and we hope to run it again next year.

Our Parent & Toddlers still remains the focal point of what we do. This is where the majority of our families come and provides an access point for meeting families and their children in our area (and beyond). We offer a high quality two and half hour session of play twice a week, offering craft, physical movement, literacy, speech and language communication and snack time for our preschoolers and their carers. Our Parent & Toddler group is so much more than just coming with your child and having a chat with friends, there are lots of opportunities for both child and parent to learn, interact and engage with the activities on offer. During the year we also won an award from ‘Netmums’ for being one of the top three toddler groups in Bradford.

It’s been another exciting year of growth and development for BD4 Family as we constantly try to stay relevant to our families and provide sessions that reflect the needs of our community. Since April last year we have set up three new groups and our overall provision now covers six days a week.

BD4 Family

During 2013-14 BD4 Family supported 196 families

“You’re the only place that I feel like I can go and get help if need be” BD4 Family service user

We run a Tots Unlimited (nursery preparation) group each week on a Wednesday. The session is for children aged two years and over. In the group we explore different themes each term to focus the children’s learning and development. The parents are taught the importance of getting alongside their children and supporting their learning now and as they continue on to school. The group is set out as a typical nursery setting with various learning activities for the families to investigate together. Some of our Tots showcased their talents at the Meeting Point Christmas service. They acted out the nativity story in front of the whole congregation and their families, afterwards they all enjoyed a disco and food in the hall. Demand for this group is high and we have recently secured funding to run an afternoon group from May 2014.

Another exciting new group starting this year has been the launch of our Dude’s Group. This runs on alternate Saturdays and is for and led by dads from our area. The dads come together with their children and enjoy breakfast and fun activities such as wide games in the hall, table tennis, xbox and more.

BD4 Family has delivered many other sessions throughout the year including: Infant Massage, Culture Comforts, Grow your Own, Cook and Eat, home visits and we have delivered a mums project and Messy Play group at The Life Centre in Bierley.

Through all our sessions we are providing opportunities where families can come together to learn, share and grow. In 2014-15 we hope to reach more families than ever as we continue to develop our existing provision and deliver sessions specifically for new mums to be.

We believe that families work best when they put love and family values at the heart of their relationships

“My name is Cindy, I'm 22, and a mother of two. I chose to volunteer at BD4 Family because I wanted to better myself by helping others and by meeting new families and making friends. I try my best to do the things that need doing like setting up for the groups, talking to the families that come, getting to know them and their children and making them all feel welcome! This is a great place for adults to talk to other parents and for the children to make new friends and enjoy themselves. I love it here, we all get on so well”. Cindy Mitchell - Support Volunteer

“I really enjoy helping out at Gems and getting to know the clients; I love sitting down and talking to them. I also like serving the dinners and the opportunities to gain experience in doing new things”. Sam Ayers

“My name is Sarah and I am the sessional support worker at BD4 Family. I started as a volunteer and now my role is to support our volunteers in what they do, as well as setting up equipment ready for the families to come and join in our activities. I like putting new ideas together for the groups to make sure our provision is always exciting and fun for all.

Working here has given me confidence I need; I feel like I can make something of myself and help to make the community I live in a better place too. I believe it’s all thanks to the people that surround me and have inspired me along the way.  I was introduced to BD4 Family when my children were younger and it helped me and my kiddies to make the most of our time together before they started full time school. There's always lots going on at BD4 Family and I would recommend it as a great place to bring your children and meet new friends and get support, friendship and hope”. Sarah Bairstow - Sessional Support Worker

Both the BD4 Family project and the Gems project rely heavily on volunteer support and we are most fortunate to have an amazing army of dedicated volunteers who give their time week in week out so enthusiastically to enable sessions to take place - we really wouldn't be able to achieve all that we do without them. Below are some stories and comments from some of our volunteers who explain why they choose to be involved:

Volunteering

“When I retired from nursing after 45 years, I always knew I wanted to do something else, though at first I didn’t know what, but after visiting Gems I was ‘hooked’. For some clients, coming to Gems is the only day in the week that they get out of the house. If they need someone to listen, or someone to hold their hands and give them a smile or a hug I am there. Volunteering at Gems is such a joy and a blessing and on top of all this, I believe that I am a brilliant ‘washer-upper’. I love it!” Gorel Heaney

6000 hours of volunteer time have been invested in BD4 Family & Gems during 2013-14

“I facilitate for BD4 Family's "Dudes Group" on alternate Saturday mornings and I'm dad to two beautiful kids! Our group is focused on Dads and their children. We meet for breakfast, and provide play equipment of all kinds for the kids. We have some trips in mind for the future, and have discussed things like going for walks together in the woods or in the park etc.

I love running this group because it provides a place where Dads including myself have a space to enjoy some one-on-one time with our children. Often at times it's difficult for Dads to get this crucial time especially if they're away at work. It's also a great place to share experiences and offer encouragement to each other, another thing that's rare to get elsewhere. We have all become quite familiar with each other, and I can see some good friendships being forged as a result. Our group is still in its infancy, but once I am fully acclimatised and we have consistent solid numbers turning up, this group will become something special”. Allan Lloyd - Dudes Group Volunteer Leader

GemsThe bus run to Asda on Tuesdays continues to be much appreciated by all who use it and there is always much chatting and laughing on the bus and also lots of shopping bags for Trevor, the escort, to carry to people’s doors!

The Thursday day centre has again been a place where people can access activities such as Keep Fit and Indoor Bowls, as well as having manicures or pedicures. For a period of time this year there was also the opportunity to learn the ukelele. Also for a period we had a fruit and vegetable stall where people could buy as much or as little as they needed which was very popular. For some of our members, Thursday at Gems is the only time they get out of the house all week; it is always really good to see them catching up with friends and enjoying being with other people.

The summer trips to Lotherton Hall and Millstones Restaurant were enjoyed by all. We had very sunny, warm weather for the trip to Lotherton Hall and there was lots of dancing and laughter at Millstones. We had various comments afterwards, including “That was the best day I have had in ages” and “I enjoyed every single minute of today”. Some Gems members also joined BD4 Family parents and children on the trip to Knowsley Safari Park. Our trip to Millstones was so successful that we had a return visit in the October half term break which we were able to do after securing additional funding. Our trips are becoming very popular, for some it is their only opportunity to get out and about. We have had requests from clients to go on more trips next year which we hope to do including a cinema trip and another trip to Millstones of course!

In March, Gems were invited to visit Bradford Academy by some students as part of their GCSE in Citizenship work. They provided lots of refreshments, games of bingo and prizes and were very successful in their aim of showing older people that young people do not necessarily behave in negative ways as is often portrayed in the media but are in fact quite friendly and helpful!

Throughout the year we have had groups of young people from Bradford Academy come along to Gems to help out. They have been taking part in the Archbishop of York’s Young Leaders Award scheme, a six week course run by e:merge youth leaders. Each group spent one of the weeks at Gems, half the group went into Keep Fit and the other half into Indoor Bowls. After some initial reticence they all seemed to enjoy the activities, though the ones in Keep Fit really struggled to keep up with some of the exercises! All the young people helped to serve the lunches and also helped with clearing up afterwards. There had been some concern amongst Gems members before the first visit but this soon disappeared and they began to look forward to meeting more young people throughout the year. Before each visit the young people were asked to make a list of what they thought older people were like. We were told that after their time at Gems, each young person went back to e:merge and crossed out all the negative comments they had written. The scheme has proved immensely successful in removing preconceptions and barriers at both ends of the age range, with lots of interaction and communication between the young people and Gems members.

One of our members, Mrs Mounsey, was 100 years old in December and is still going strong and enjoying Gems each week. She is an inspiration to us all!

5%

50%45%

15%7%1%10%

16%

15%36%

Income £79,396

Gems Grants & Donations 45% £36,036

BD4 Family Grants & Donations 50% £39,625

Other Project Grants & Donations 5% £3,735

Expenditure £73,589

Staff costs 36% £26,281

Overheads/Building Hire 15% £10,725

BD4 Family Activity Costs 16% £11,824

Gems Activity Costs 10% £7,699

Other Project Costs 1% £1,000

Office & Admin Costs 7% £5,265

Development Costs 15% £10,795

Finance BD4 Community Trust Income & Expenditure 2013/14

Accounts for the year 2013/14 can be requested from the company’s registered address.

“BD4 Family is one of the most welcoming groups I’ve been

to! It meets all our needs. The staff are amazing, friendly and

supportive, and quality advice is always at hand”.

A BIG thank you to our many supporters and partners

Bradford City Challenge Foundation

BD4 Community Trust Registered address: 96 Lister Avenue, Bradford, BD4 7QS

Tel: 01274 720927

Email: admin@bd4communitytrust.org.uk Website: www.bd4communitytrust.org.uk Registered Charity No: 1152702 Company No: 6753751