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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)
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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.
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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!
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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.
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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.
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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
AVSED Annual Report 2014/15
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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