AVOW Impact Report 2021 - 2022 (English)

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IMPACT REPORT 2021 - 22

11 CONTENTS 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 - 8 9 - 10 11 - 12 13 14 15 - 16 17 Foreword Staff & Trustees 2021-22 About AVOW What did we achieve? Volunteering Sustainable Funding Good Governance Engagement & Influencing Events AVOW In Your Community Finances AVOW | Tŷ Avow | 21 Egerton Street | 21 Stryd Egerton Wrexham | Wrecsam | LL11 1ND Charity Number | Elusen Rhif: 1043989 Company Limited by Guarantee Number Cwmni Cyfyngedig gan Warant Rhif: 2993429 avow org 01978 i312556 nfo@avow org /AVOWWrexham @AvowWrexham @AVOW (company) AVOW, Wrexham

We would like to thank the AVOW members, volunteers, and partner organisations for their continued support, and for their commitment to making our Community of Wrexham the best it can be! Your influence makes this a great place to live, work and play! We look forward to another year of impact.

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There is great significance in changing the title from Annual Review to Impact Report for the year 2021/22. The first impact is how COVID 19 has changed our lives: the way we work, the way we communicate and the way we live Just two years ago, Zoom was the noise a car made, and TEAMs were on the playing fields Lockdown was something you did on your tent pitch to keep from blowing away in a storm. Google was for searching, not classrooms. 'Hybrid' typically referred to cars, rather than working patterns.

This year began the slow transition to the new normal. Our Trustees and AVOW Team have shown great resilience in adapting to this new way of working and assisting Third Sector organisations (in Wrexham and beyond) with the change: offering guidance, training, support, and most importantly, a voice! A voice in National and Regional meetings on recovery. A voice within decision-making bodies on grant development and distribution.

'Impact' - A marked effect or influence (Oxford English Dictionary)

Another great impact on 2021/22 was John Gallanders' decision to retire as AVOW's Chief Officer. For more than 20 years, John has led the organisation through change and challenges to success. During the COVID pandemic, he tirelessly gave his time to ensure the Third Sector’s needs were met, that their voice was heard, and that they had a seat at the table with the Local Authority, Regional Service Boards, and the Welsh Government. John has truly had a marked effect on AVOW, and his influence remains.

Dawn Roberts-McCabe Peter Howell Chief Officer Chair

FOREWORD

Barbara Roxburgh

Tim Johnson

Paula Wilcox

John Swarbrick

Sharon Stocker

Darren Tomkins

Ceri Jones

Katherine Prince

Berni Durham Jones

Howard Davies

Dawn Roberts McCabe

Helen Davies

John Gallanders

Peter Howell

LITTLE SUNFLOWERS CHILDCARE

Mervyn Dean

STAFF AND TRUSTEES 2021-22

Gary Jones

Sharon Evans

Zoe Jones

Kevin Forbes

TRUSTEES

Sian Pritchard

Scot Owen

Stephen Perkins

Ken Rowlands

Margaret Heaton

Mary Walker

FINANCE

BUSINESS SUPPORT

Darcey Griffiths

David Thompson

John Leece Jones

Hayley Butler

Lowri Jones

Stacy Williams

Wanjiku Mbugua

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Kate Davies

Audrey Spearman

Victoria Milner

Delwyn Derrick

VOLUNTARY & COMMUNITY SHOPMOBILITY

Gemma Jones

Zoe Mills

Roger Beer

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Kath Brown

Plas Madoc Play

Vicky Bolton

Katie St.John

Claire Pugh

Donna Jordan

And a huge thank you to all of our volunteers who help AVOW tremendously, day in & day out!

Gareth Poole

Justine Hurst Harry Jones Anna Szymanska

Natasha Borton

Val Connelly

VOLUNTEERS

Nigel Davies

Emma Louise Noot

Sian Price

STAFF AND TRUSTEES 2021-22

Sarah Williams

David Bullough

Support the development of individuals and organisations within the voluntary and community sectors.

Undertake the provision of services appropriate to the voluntary and community sectors

ABOUT 5AVOW

Establish and sustain good practice.

AVOW's vision is for the voluntary and community sectors to achieve their missions, for the benefit of the community within Wrexham County Borough.

The shared goal is to enable the Third Sector and Volunteers across Walesto contribute fully to individual and community wellbeing, now and in the future The focus of our collective work concentrateson four pillars of activity:

Volunteering Good Governance

To enable the voluntary and community sectors to achieve their missions for the benefit of the community within the County Borough of Wrexham, AVOW will:

Consult,represent and champion the voluntary and community sectors locally and nationally

AVOW is part of Third Sector Support Wales (TSSW), the collaborative name given to the network of support organisations for the Third Sector in Wales: This consists of the 19 County Voluntary Councils (CVCs) in Wales as well as Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA).

Third Sector Support Wales (TSSW)

WHAT DID WE ACHIEVE? Funding supported by AVOW £739,937 Funding awarded by AVOW £292,808 Organisations supported with Direct Advice 255 Organisations supported with Specialist Advice 70 196 Digital Training participants Face-to-face training courses 7 Number of face-to-face training participants 94 Partnership events 250 Partnership Event attendees 345 Volunteers supported to enter into a volunteering opportunity 58 Individuals placed into volunteering 111 113 Total Membership 6

Volunteer Registrations Volunteer

TSSW's goal is that Wales benefits and thrives through volunteering.

What did we do?

Provided volunteering advice and support to voluntary & community organisations on 140 separate enquiries

Volunteers

110 156 111

Produced a film, in partnership with Eternal Media Ltd, entitled ‘Volunteers of Wrexham’ showcasing the volunteer Opportunities advertised placed

7VOLUNTEERING

Commissioned research looking at Strategic Issues in Volunteering

Case Study

The Community Café, Rhos sourced funding from AVOW’s Youth Led Grants for a fun night for all their young volunteers.

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"We had some wonderful fun times from the funding you gave us."

AVOW was delighted to receive a volunteer reference request for a volunteer who was on AVOW's Youth Led Grants Panel and is now studying medicine at a university in London It’s great to see the benefits of volunteering and how it can help people to gain valuable experience firsthand, which may lead to great things and a lifetime of volunteering!

Quote from the Café

VOLUNTEERING

elp alleviate Winter Pressures. The funding acement wheelchairs, mental health y. ABF)

"It brings laughter to my life!"

"Itgives me a sense of stability and routine, which really helps my mental health and wellbeing."

s

Quotes from Beneficiaries:

"It has been such a help during the long, dark winter."

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continue to provide the high standard of Brighter Futures whilst providing the most those in need."

"It lifts me out of the darkness."

group, continued a blended support latforms, and ensured their building

SUSTAINABLE FUNDING

17 organisations we supported with direct funding advice were successful in attaining funding of: £739,937 AVOW distributed grants to the value of: £272,953 What did we achieve? 0

1 65 Number of information dissemination actions, promotional and/or marketing activities undertaken 3 27 Number of networks established 116 Number of participants supported Number of stakeholders engaged

What did we do? for the project:

Although the project didn’t start properly until October 2021, AVOW hit the ground running and achieved so much within the 6 months to the end of the year

GOOD 1GOVERNANCE

Performance indicators

Ensured community venues were safe to operate in a covid environment, and had the necessary resources and equipment Supported with Risk Assessments Digital training Created a community network Completed health checklists Held several workshops on: Skills and inclusion Writing a funding bid Digital platforms and marketing Governance

Reset, Resume, Rebound

With funding from Cadwyn Clwyd, AVOW started the Reset, Resume, Rebound project to support community venues in Wrexham County Borough.

TSSW's goal is that those involved in running Third Sector organisations effectively lead their organisations and maintain high standards of governance.

"At Refugee Kindness, we are regularly taking on new volunteers. We can only do this with the help of AVOW in providing DBS checks efficiently. We are extremely grateful to all the staff there!"

DBS Checks

Ensuring your organisation is operating safely is part of Good Governance and AVOW has received funding to ensure Volunteers in Wrexham County Borough have the relevant DBS check

GOOD GOVERNANCE

It has been helpful having a named individual to contact for any help and support we needed. It has helped us have swift recruitment to direct support. Thank you h!"

Rachel Watkin, Founder & Chair of Trustees, Refugee Kindness

Quotes:

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"Having DBS checks done by AVOW has helped Home-Start Volunteers because it has taken the hassle out of doing them ourselves. It has been a very straightforward process and they have been completed very quickly.

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This year we have completed DBS Checks

Electric Vehicle Community Transport Scheme

Growing from 4 established food banks to 28 offering food related services, the network was developed to share information, experience and funding opportunities with the aim to reduce the need for food banks, and encourage partnerships to reduce duplication: subsequently, there are now 8 food bank sites that also support people dealing with fuel and data poverty. Due to the sharing of information, organisations are in a better position to direct people in need to relevant services

Food Poverty Network

ENGAGEMENT AND 1INFLUENCING 3

TSSW's goal is that public policies and services are improved through Third Sector Organisations influencing.

Back in 2019, AVOW facilitated a workshop in conjunction with Renew Wales, the Community Transport Association (CTA), and Splash Magic Community Trust This workshop explored how local transport issues affect the community and the environment Attended by 45 people, this led to the creation of a steering group to ensure a community-driven call to action.

This year AVOW set up the Covid Food Poverty and Inequalities Network as a direct result of the number of food pantries and pop up ‘foodbanks’ across Wrexham County Borough

Fast forward two years: AVOW secured funding from the CTA to pilot the Wrexham Community Car Scheme, operating in South Wrexham. Two electric vehicles one being wheelchair accessible – were sourced to enable greater public access to le food sources, and to reduce social

Following the Polish Integration Support Centre’s (PISC) fundraising and donation campaign for Ukrainian refugees, Tŷ AVOW served as a donation collection point, given PISC’s status as a licensee organisation. AVOW also sourced volunteers to help with the sorting of all donated items for Ukraine before they were dispatched in a series of ‘humanitarian convoys.’

Volunteers' Week

Holocaust Memorial Day

AVOW celebrated the volunteer effort across Wrexham County Borough with a week long ‘Thank you’ campaign on social media. The campaign led to over 3,500 engagements on social media and increased awareness of the fantastic volunteers and the variety of voluntary organisations we have in Wrexham.

With the theme for this year being ‘One Day’, AVOW, in conjunction with WCBC’s Community Cohesion Team, held three workshops for the general public exploring the theme and an online awareness campaign to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution, and in the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

EVENTS

Ukraine Appeal

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AVOW IN YOUR COMMUNITY

The AVOW Play and Plas Madoc Community Development Team were awarded £485,861 from the National Lottery Community Fund in July 2021, and already this has made a massive impact on the local community Since re opening in 2021, the delivery of daily playwork provision has seen attendance reach an all-time high, not only in numbers but also in the consistency of attendance. The children are asked for regular feedback on activities and projects as they really enjoy being part of the planning process and in general, they are happier and are finding it easier to make friends

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The funding has also enabled the team to respond to community consultation which identified the need for the renowned junk playground ‘The Land’ to be open at weekends, and parents have commented that they've seen improvements in children's happiness at home following attending The Land. With so many children attending on such a regular basis, it's clear that the children see the provision as a key part of their happiness

Play Services

AVOW Little Sunflowers provide childcare services in Plas Madoc, Wrexham, and the team has brilliantly weathered the storm of working throughout a pandemic. Following a robust risk assessment to mitigate the constant risk of catching Covid, the service continued throughout enabling parents to continue working or have much-needed respite

The AVOW Wrexham Shopmobility service operates from Wrexham bus station hiring out scooters and wheelchairs to enable people with mobility issues the freedom to access shops and services. During the Covid lockdown periods, the service was closed and only opened for two days a week when lockdown eased Despite that there were 670 hires in the reporting period and 27 new members.

AVOW IN YOUR COMMUNITY

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Shopmobility

Little Sunflowers Childcare

INCOME

Incoming resources from generated funds Donations and legacies: Investment Income interest receivable: Income from charitable activities: Total income: EXPENDITURE Charitable activities: Total expenditure: Net (expenditure)/income for the year before transfers: Gross transfers between funds: Net movement in funds: Reconciliation of funds

1FINANCES

£ 1,416 52 313,688 315,156 420,531 420,531 (105,375) 202,486 97,111 369,656 466,767

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2022 (INCORPORATING THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)

Total Funds Restated 2021 £ 16,941 119 1,132,361 1,149,421 933,835 933,835 215,586 215,586 438,030 653,616

FIXED ASSETS Tangible Assets: CURRENT ASSETS Debtors: Cash at Bank and In Hand: Total: CREDITORS

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities The charity’s financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small Companies regime The Trustees consider that the company is entitled to exemption from the requirement to have an audit under the provision of section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 (“the Act”) and members have not required the company to obtain an audit for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Act However, an audit is required in accordance with section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and their preparation of financial statements

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 30th August 2022 and signed on its behalf by Peter Howell (Chair) A copy of the full annual report and accounts can be obtained from: Finance Manager, Tŷ AVOW, 21 Egerton Street, Wrexham, LL11 1ND Telephone: 01978 312556 | Email: info@avow org

Total funds brought forward: Total funds carried forward:

Unrestricted Funds

Restricted Funds £ 741 982,253 982,994 712,753 712,753 270,241 (202,486) 67,755 283,960 351,715

BALANCE SHEET AS OF 31ST MARCH 2022 (COMPANY NUMBER: 2993429)

Amounts falling due within one year: NET CURRENT ASSETS: TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES: CREDITORS: Amounts falling due after more than one year NET ASSETS: THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY Restricted funds: Unrestricted funds General reserves: Designated funds: TOTAL CHARITY FUNDS: £ 221,526 534,675 756,201 (195,481) £ 257,762 560,720 818,482 828,482 351,715 332,261 134,506 818,482 £ 48,412 496,712 545,124 (85,489) £ 193,982 459,635 653,617 653,617 283,960 206,911 162,746 653,617 2 0 2 2 2 2 1

0

Total Funds 2022 £ 2,157 51 1,295,941 1,298,150 1,133,284 1,133,284 164,866 164,866 653,616 818,482

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