Annual Report 2013—2014
Cover photo: High tide at Pensarn Harbour
Chair’s Welcome This year ECHO delivered more services to more people than ever before. Despite all the problems caused by Council cutbacks, ECHO continues to grow and deliver high quality services. This report tells you about some of the good work that we do One of ECHO's aims is to offer the chance to learn new skills. With funding from Herefordshire Council we run lots of short courses each year. Wendy's Cook and Share is very popular. And both Clever Betsy and Rose Tinted Rags run craft courses which bring new participants to ECHO. Changes at Herefordshire Council meant that we had some thinking to do about our future. We are working with other local charities to see how we can improve services by working together. ECHO could not continue without our hard working staff team and our wonderful volunteers. Thank you to all ECHO’s participants, volunteers and staff for continuing to support us this year. Cath Baker
ECHO—WHAT WE DO ECHO works to make a real difference to the lives of disabled people in Herefordshire. We support people to be valued members of their community. ECHO offers lots of different activities during the day and in the evenings. This year we have provided 90 hours of activities over 6 days and 3 evenings each week. Our day opportunities provide a full day of supported activity where people work together to learn new skills.
Our leisure and social activities happen in community venues during the day, the evening and at weekends.
Picture needed and better one above?
Community Connections support individuals in their local community: making friends, volunteering, getting involved and joining in community life.
OUR WORK THIS YEAR Day Opportunities Our shop in Leominster got a new name and a new look. Clever Betsy re-opened with a party in October. About Face Theatre Company have a new one year training course. Theatre is a good way to grow in confidence and learn to be reliable. Just what you need if you are looking for work. We also have a new puppet show called the Apple Dumpling Girl. It’s our first love story.
Rose Tinted Rags is now jam packed full of textiles, haberdashery and wonderful treasures. In June we will be moving to Governors House on Union Walk.
Our sewing project, Frock On have a thing about owls!
At Storytelling, we have been looking at our own stories. We made models of Gypsy caravans as part of a course about travellers in Herefordshire.
At Rural Crafts we are proud of what we grow.
Friday Lifelinks have taken up dog walking. This is Angela with Charlie
We also have time for trips out. Here we are in Malvern
At Lifelinks we do shopping for older and housebound people…..
Lots and lots of shopping….
Lots and lots and lots and lots of shopping…!
We also help out at the Courtyard, stuffing envelopes and addressing postcards for their mailouts.
Sometimes we have time to make things…
Community connections The Ambassadors 42 people have become Ambassadors by doing a course to help them feel more confident in their lives. Over half of these have gone on to do something else with the project. Mand has done a teaching qualification so she can deliver training to others.
Volunteering 21 participants volunteer in ECHO and in the community. Mrs Price and Kevin go shopping every Tuesday morning
ECHO has over 100 volunteers who help our participants in all sorts of ways. Jan supported Tracey and Steph to demonstrate their weaving skills at the Apple Fair in Leominster Priory. 15 participants do things in the community with the help of a volunteer buddy. Jim and Sheena enjoy a coffee at Grange Court before going to Yam Jams on Friday morning
The Living Your Life group took part in the Herefordshire Wheelchair User Group survey. We discovered that we could not all travel together on the same train from Leominster to Ludlow.
We are also offering training to people who work in Adult Social Care. We can help train staff to be skilled and compassionate and to promote dignity, safety and respect.
Pooled Budgets This year we have been looking at how people can pool their personal budgets to run their own service. The 5 members of Our News Our Views have done this. In February they appointed their own support worker to help them launch Our News Our Views, Herefordshire’s learning disability newsletter.
Next year we want to help lots more people to think about pooling their budgets to create their own services and support.
Leisure and social A group went on holiday to Le Fosso in Brittany in May. We went cycling on the velo-rail and on a horse and cart ride in the Forest. In March we had a fun weekend of walking, climbing, archery, kayaking and good food at Pensarn in North Wales.
Lots of people enjoy coming to Yam Jams each week and making music with Lofty and Rich. Nick took over as the coach for our Football Club in February. He is supported by a great group of volunteers. At Friday Club we were busy making our Christmas puddings for our festive party. . The Spinning Circle gave a spinning demonstration for the opening of Grange Court during Leominster Festival in June.
Summer Activities We visited Acton Scott Farm on a lovely warm sunny day in July.
We also had two beautiful days sailing down the Gloucester Canal on the Willow Trust Barge.
As usual we had lots of music, food and fun at Annie’s summer BBQ.
Watching cricket was almost as much fun ‌..
as playing it at Burghill Cricket Ground
How is ECHO Run? User Led Anyone who uses our services can join ECHO We now have over 230 members.
The Rep Group The ECHO Rep Group met 44 times this year. They enjoy their work listening to and speaking up for ECHO participants and helping to run ECHO. Thanks to everyone for supporting us in our work.
The Board Half the people on our Board of Trustees have a disability or are family carers.
The Staff and volunteers We now have 20 people working for us and 110 volunteers. Without their dedication and hard work, ECHO could not continue.
THANK YOU! Thank you to all our participants who make ECHO such a joyous place to work. Thank you to all our charitable and other grant funders: The Big Lottery Fund, Herefordshire Council, The Eveson Charitable Trust, the EF Bulmer Benevolent Fund, The Ernest Cook Trust, the E P Godson Charity, the GMC Trust, The Henry Smith Charity, the Learning & Skills Improvement Service. Thank you to all the individuals and local groups who have made donations to ECHO this year: In a Nutshell and everyone who sponsored an apple on their Friendship Tree, St Richards School PTA, Alan Hooper and the members of Leominster Golf Club, Felicity Jacks for funding the Apple Dumpling Girl, Cllr Molly Cooke and all her supporters for raising £750, everyone who gives a regular monthly donation by direct debit and all the people who put a coin or two in our collecting tins…… To our partner organisations Affinity Trust, Aspire, The Bulmer Foundation, Earl Mortimer College, Halo Leisure, GreenEyedMonsterCo., Hampton Dene United Reformed Church, Herefordshire Mencap, HVOSS, Leominster Community Centre, Leominster Methodist Church, The Music Pool, St. Martin’s Church, Hereford, Walk Herefordshire
Thank you to all our volunteers who give their time so unstintingly: Margie Amos, Vicki Andrews, Graham & Lynda Archer, Jessie Ashmore, Paul Baines, Nick Baker, Frances Biseker, Michelle Broad, Sara Buckley, Diane Burgess, Jennie Burns, Jerry Burslem, Phil Caton, Tiz Chapman, Paul Choppen, Veena Chumba, Ciaran Cleery, Lucy Cole, Beth Collier, Caroline Collins, Gill Collins, Carol & David Cross, Keith Ellis, Tim Evans, Jackie Francis, Jonas Fredriksen, Annie Gamble, David & Sonia George, Sue Hall, David & Mary Hancock, Seb & Callum Harries, Jenny & Mark Harrison, Susan Harvey, Bella Hesbrook, Kayleigh Hicks, Sheila Hobden, David & Wendy Holton, Jim Howden, Heather Hughes, Jane & Neil James, Angela Jauncey, Annie Joss, Cate La Barre, Rachel Lawson, Beth Layton, Alice Leaper, Holly Lewis, Sara Lewis, Alison Lindsay, Gavin Long, Astrid McBride, Peter McKay, Sandy Madden, Viv Mair, Dave & Ann Marshall, Josh Mather, Francesco Mekhail, Peter Morgan, Maureen Morton, Anne Penning, David Penny, Rhiannon Phillips Powell, Edmund Proctor, Tracey Radford, Louisa Reeve, Hetty Scott, Hannah Segar, Sara Siloko, Anna Smith, Jan Smith, Kathryn Smith, Victoria Smith, Jane Stott, Jason Stuchbery, Kevin Stuchbery, Paul Tandler, Jeanne Taylor, Ann Tether, Kristina Thimm, Sue Thomas, Jenny Tomlinson, Kathy Townsend, Mel Townsend, Sophie Traylor, Emma Tustin, Jim Watt, Carla Warren, Viv Webb, Caroline Wood.
Thank you to all our staff who always go the extra mile: Steph Baines Participant support worker
John Newman Lifelinks project worker
Kay Beeden Office administrator
Maggie Percy Operations Manager
Kris Betterton Rural Crafts co-ordinator Zoe Bradley Shop & Creative Arts Assistant Liz Evans Lifelinks project worker Yvie George Ambassadors Project Meg Hughes Ambassadors Project Denise Kerwood Volunteer Coordinator Smart Arts Storyteller Jess MacKenzie About Face Theatre Co Artistic Director Lyndsay Maples Lifelinks project worker Karen Meiklejohn Rose Tinted Rags
Fiona Ritchie Chief Officer Richard Smith Finance Officer Jacqui Stewart Lifelinks Project worker Emma Standing Office Assistant Jane Stockton Yoga Tutor Lucy Tisdale Project & Activities worker Lisa Woakes Shop Manager Tina Walton Rose Tinted Rags
Our Trustees
Cath Baker Chair
Blaise White Treasurer
Graham Archer (until Oct 13) Tiz Chapman
Jocelyn Hughes
Cate La Barre
Sue Robbins
Paul Scott Vice Chair
Rose Hunt
Jason Stuchbery
The Rep Group 2013—14
From left to right: Mand Hamblin, Richard Crook, Donovan Lewis, Simon Harris, Marianne Simpson, Aida Kiledjian, John Stuchbery, Sally Lewis, Richard Woodall, Michelle Tilbury
OUR EASY READ PLAN ON A PAGE
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OUR VISION ECHO’s vision is of a fair society where all disabled people are valued, respected and supported.
OUR MISSION ECHO wants to make a real difference to the lives of disabled people in Herefordshire, supporting them to be valued members of their community
OUR LONG TERM AIMS 1. Services – what we do. We will provide good services which change and grow to continue to meet local needs. 2. Involvement. We will listen to and involve our participants and their carers, our staff and our volunteers and others in our planning. 3. A quality organisation. We will make sure ECHO is well run with good staff and volunteers.
THE DIFFERENCE WE WILL MAKE SERVICES
INVOLVEMENT
Our participants will: Our participants: ∗ have good lives. ∗ feel they are listened ∗ feel less lonely to and have more ∗ have more choice say ∗ Have more ∗ have the information independence. they need to make ∗ make new choices which meet friends their needs. ∗ Be part of their ∗ feel valued local community. Our organisation and services are better quality because we involve disabled people in how they are run
ORGANISATION ∗
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ECHO is a well run organisation Our participants are happy with ECHO services. Staff and volunteers are happy in their work. ECHO has a growing number of volunteers ECHO has enough money to run its services
Money This is a summary of how we have spent our money this year. Full copies of our accounts are available from the ECHO office Summary Income & Expenditure for the year ending 31/3/14 Income From generated funds From charitable activities Total income
2013 £28,084 £326,917 £355,001
2014 £47,494 £371,814 £419,308
Money spent Fundraising costs Charitable activities Governance costs Total Money Spent Balance Money brought forward Money to carry forward
£1,261 £310,095 £6,963 £318,319 £36,682 £239,069 £275,751
£1,646 £377,033 £8,702 £387,381 £31,927 £275,751 £307,678
Balance sheet for year ending 31/3/14 Current Assets Creditors Net current Assets Funds Restricted Unrestricted—general Unrestricted—designated Total Funds
2013 £316,616 £40,865 £275,751
2014 £321,299 £13,621 £307,678
£27,457 £129,518 £118,776 £275,751
£43,283 £167,005 £97,390 £307,678
For further details of the work of ECHO please contact
40 West Street Leominster Herefordshire HR6 8ES Telephone: 01568 620307 Fax: 01568 620308 Email: echo.info@echoherefordshire.co.uk Website: www.echoherefordshire.org.uk
Registered Charity No: 1096449 Company No: 4475254