Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2020/2021

West Lothian

For parents when they need us most

ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Contents We are Home-Start West Lothian

3

Management & Accounts Chairperson’s Report Manager’s Report Annual Accounts 2020/2021 Treasurer’s Report

5 7 8 9

Service Delivery Reports Family Support Coordinator’s Report Group work Report Referrer’s Report

10 12 14

Impact Our Impact Family Case Study

16 18

Volunteers Volunteer Gallery

20

Marketing Marketing Report Fundraising

22 23

Funders & Donors

24

Home-Start West Lothian Cameron House 13a Fairbairn Road Livingston West Lothian EH54 6TS Tel: 01506 415755 email: admin@homestartwl.org.uk www.homestartwl.org.uk Registered in Scotland: SC280852 Registered Charity Number: SC029770 2 Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021

We are Home-Start West Lothian For the last 21 years Home-Start West Lothian has provided friendship, support and practical help to families in our community.

Our mission is to see every child have the best start in life in the vital first 5 years. To make sure that happens we know it takes nurturing relationships, an enriching home environment and parents who are well supported.

Our model is built upon parent-powered support which addresses directly some of the stressors or challenges that are impacting families. We build on people’s strengths with honest and open relationships with families and always with a choice of engagement at the forefront. Families are in complete control of the support and able to adjust at any time helping them to move forward in their lives with renewed energy and capabilities. We encourage lots of participation from parents to make their own decisions - empowering them to focus on solutions, building on skills and their own experiences, rather than problems.

The Home-Start approach and our roots in West Lothian mean we are well placed to reach and support families facing challenges or experiencing distress.

At the core of what we do are our magnificent volunteers. They bring personal experience and understanding of the complexities of family life and the situations affecting the families they support. Volunteers’ compassion and experience makes a positive impact with families, building trusting relationships and working with them on their own terms to take control of their lives.

Because Home is where we Start from

Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021 3

Board Gallery

Ann-Marie McAllan

Diane Somerville, Vice-Chair

Scott Coutts

Tom Mitchell, Treasurer

Louise Taylor, Chair

Mohammed Sabur

Veronica Smith

Liz Clow

Staff Gallery

Hayley Ellis Family Support Coordinator

Stuart Barrie, Manager

Emily Hutchison, Group Worker

Steph Fry, Group Worker

Kim Harris, Senior Administrator

4 Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021

Joanne Baxter Family Support Coordinator

Lesley Cook, Group Worker

Lisa Callaghan Family Support Coordinator

Chairperson’s Report Welcome to HSWL Annual Report It has been a challenging year for everyone due to COVID restrictions and lockdowns. The staff at HSWL have continued to work to support all the families we are linked with. This has been done by telephone, email, Zoom and social media, offering on-line activities which many families have participated in. This has included craft sessions, talks, zumba and yoga. The team worked hard to change the service and keep supporting families during this testing time.

Volunteers are our most invaluable resource to enable the project to continue and we are so grateful for their support. They have been fantastic in adapting to keep supporting families. Some have opted to rest for a time and will re-engage with the service when conditions allow and continue to support the families. It cannot be stressed enough that our volunteers are our most important resource and allow us to continue offering our service to families.

Board meetings – the members are also volunteers – have continued via Zoom; discussions and decisions have been reached despite not being in the “The Boardroom”. Two of the board members have recently stood down, we thank Stella and Margaret for their fantastic support and contributions over many years.

Despite the circumstances we have recruited three new coordinators. I’d like to say thank you to Lisa, Jacqui and Stacey for their work with us over the years and welcome Joanne, Lisa and now Hayley into the Home-Start West Lothian family. They are settling into their new roles and building up relationships within the team, volunteers and the families. Referrals of families needing assistance are now coming through. Volunteer training is ongoing led by Lisa, a Family Coordinator; this will expand our volunteer numbers and develop training opportunities.

A big thank you to our funders and to those who kept raising money on our behalf; and to COVID funding which enabled us to help in specific areas of need.

“The team worked hard to change the service and keep supporting families during this testing time. ”

Louise Taylor, Chairperson Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021 5

Family Story I have rather bad depression and anxiety which can stop me from wanting to do things.

When S was born I wanted to try to go to groups but I was too scared. My Health Visitor referred me to Home-Start West Lothian. At first I was really anxious about going to the group but the first one I went to made me feel so welcome and it felt like I had known them forever. It gives me a chance to have some adult time and maybe sometimes get things off my chest.

It also gives S a chance to play with other children younger, older and the same age. The difference in her is unbelievable and we’ve only been at Home-Start for about 3 months now but she loves coming to play and see her little friends.

The girls at Home-Start West Lothian are amazing; they’re so supportive with everything!!

I love that you can be completely honest without feeling judged, they’ll encourage you to think about the choices you’re making for your family, if they will have a positive or negative impact but they don’t judge. They will sit down with you and help you find other ways of coping and suggestions for self care. We all know that can be hard with little ones.

I honestly don’t know what I would do without my volunteer anymore, she’s absolutely amazing. I might only see her for a couple hours once a week but those two hours make a massive difference. My volunteer is helping me have confidence to do new things and have fun while doing them instead of feeling anxious.

Home-Start West Lothian holds one of the best family support groups out there, they show how much they care and they make you feel like part of a big amazing family. We cover lots of different things in the groups, sometimes it could just be us parents giving each other parenting advice and sharing our experiences or sometimes we have people from different agencies to give us advice and support on things we’re struggling with.

I’m also doing a 6 week course called “Steps to Success”, where we are learning about how to develop our well being toolkit and how to look after our mental and physical health. We have been working on writing down 5 positive things that happen to you everyday even if it is that you got out of bed. We also cover Affirmations and mood boards and the Law of Attraction. Things like this really help because although I feel I have grown after having S and love being her mum I did lose myself as a person. “Steps to Success” helps you remember that you’re not just a mum, you’re still a human being !!

6 Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021

Manager’s Report Being a parent is a challenging time at the best of times but parenting and nurturing children in a pandemic has been stressful and even traumatic for many. The isolation, economic turbulence and mental health issues have pushed many people to the brink.

Yet it is when we are facing adversity that the best of us is shown. So many people have risen to the challenge to help others and do their bit. The Home-Start team and volunteers have all been magnificent to be there for families when they need help most. The board, staff and volunteers associated with Home-Start West Lothian have shown great compassion and gone to great lengths over the last year to keep open and helping families. I would like to express my gratitude for all their hard work. Thank you!

Over the last year we have said goodbye to some long serving team members with Jacqui, Stacey and Lisa moving on but as one door closes another opens for new team members Joanne and Lisa. With Hayley joining the team in the summer of 2021 we are preparing for the future. We hope it’s a future without any more lockdowns and the issues that they bring. We are ready for the challenges ahead and will approach every one of these with a renewed passion to make a difference.

We are extremely proud of the part we have played in the West Lothian community during the COVID pandemic. We have developed relationships with the third sector in the region and forged new partnerships to help families in new ways. We know that collaboration with our stakeholders, referrers and funders will be fundamental to the recovery of West Lothian As I look forward to the future I want to build on what we have achieved so far and for Home-Start West Lothian to keep developing those all-important collaborations and forge new partnerships so no child or parent gets left behind. A key strategic aim will be to raise our profile to help us become even better known for the first class support the team and volunteers provide. In doing this we hope to connect with the wider community in West Lothian and importantly we hope to reach every family that needs us.

The clarion call is to build back better and we all stand ready to help do our part, to not only build back better but also to build back fairer and kinder too.

“ We all stand ready to help do our part, to not only build back better but also to build back fairer and kinder too.”

Stuart Barrie, Manager Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021 7

Accounts 2020/2021 INCOME Grant Funding Other Income and Donations

£257,298 £31,486

Total income

£ 288,784

EXPENDITURE Staff costs General Office costs Programme costs Shop Support & Governance Volunteer Travel & Activities

£179,262 £31,551 £11,534 £102 £8,909 £1,656

Total expenditure

£233,017

8 Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021

Treasurer’s Report We are making great progress with the COVID vaccination program and key aspects of life are slowly getting back to normal – especially meeting up with family and friends. I hope that you & your family are safe & well.

Over the last year all the HSWL staff and volunteers have shown great dedication and flexibility in supporting our families under the ever changing COVID rules. Thanks to all of you. It’s an amazing commitment from the team to provide this high level of support via telephone calls, securing food parcel deliveries and other practical support.

Over the last 12 months I’m proud how the team and board have adapted to keep helping families.

This year we received additional funding that meant we were able to directly assist families in crisis and facing financial or other challenges during the pandemic.

I wanted to personally thank Stuart for the massive effort on the many operations changes within HSWL through these unprecedented times. HSWL has yet again demonstrated a strong financial position due to our generous funders, some extra COVID funding support and our great expense management. We continue to manage a healthy backlog of cases and large group of volunteers. In presenting this year’s Treasurer‘s Report, I would like to give my thanks to Kim for the administration of our financial records.

This is my final treasurers report. I will continue as a HSWL Trustee but am standing down from the treasurer role after 9 years. HSWL has more than doubled in size over this period, which is a credit to all the Trustees, Staff and Volunteers. This demonstrates the massive value of our services to our local communities and families - which is clearly recognised by our funders.

The ongoing role of West Lothian Council, the Big Lottery and Henry Smith, our key funding partners, are critical to our success. Thank you.

The contributions from ALL of our funders have enabled HSWL to navigate this pandemic and help our families. This year HSWL has been supported by BBC Children in Need, The Robertson Trust, R S Macdonald Charitable Trust, Cash for Kids, St James Place, Cattanach, Garfield Weston, Inspiring Scotland, Community Recovery Fund, Phoenix Drilling , John Lewis and West Lothian Development Trust - as well as other individual fundraising & donations. Again, a huge thanks for your support.

Thanks again to our accountant Brian Maloney and his team, for his examination and production of our end of year accounts. Our accounts are available with a copy of this Annual Report and I look forward to seeing you all at our Annual General Meeting.

“This demonstrates the massive value of our services to our local communities and families - which is clearly recognised by our funders.”

Tom Mitchell, Treasurer Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021 9

Family Support Coordinator’s Report Joanne and Lisa are our new team of coordinators. They have been working hard to continue the excellent work and support given to our families from our previous team over the past year.

Since joining we have been busy building new relationships with existing staff and are thankful for the warm welcome and support they have given which has allowed us to seamlessly continue to provide our valuable service for families across West Lothian.

We have been busy getting to know our families and volunteers which has been challenging to do during the COVID pandemic but it’s been a pleasure to meet new people and get to know people.

Regular supervision meetings help us to identify how we can best support the families and volunteers.

Keeping volunteers engaged and up to date has been a big priority for us. We’re pleased to have hosted a variety of training courses that have been organised for current volunteers, allowing them to further develop their skill set when supporting our families. We have organised an informal coffee morning which helped us get to know our volunteers, strengthening relationships. In learning our new roles we’ve also been getting involved with the family group sessions. This has also allowed us to help build on and strengthen links and relationships.

One of our priorities is to continue to develop our skills by attending regular training courses and have had the opportunity to network with other Home-Start Providers. We want the volunteer experience to be first class and for our volunteers to have all the skills they need to keep doing the amazing work they do with families. Working alongside Tom Thomson to introduce a new Database (TOMS) system which replaced our old one (MESH) in March 2021. This has really helped us organise and streamline paperwork processes and will improve how efficient we can be with our time. Thanks for all your patience and huge effort with this massive project Tom. Over the past year we have received and managed 101 referrals. They were supported by either a volunteer befriender for 9 months, family support groups or both. 50 were new referrals and 51 carried forward from previous years continuing with support.

We have recently welcomed a new coordinator to the team, Hayley. We are looking forward to working with her and creating a great wee team. We’re passionate about making a difference to the lives of parents and children in West Lothian. Whilst its been a challenging time we’re optimistic about the future when COVID restrictions are removed and when we can help even more families.

Since March 31st 2020-March 31st 2021 we have had: 30 Positive endings following a support package tailored to suit each family’s needs.

26 Families were matched to a volunteer befriender 17 families had a positive ending with volunteer befriending and continued to be supported by group only support.

38 families referred chose not to proceed with Home-Start support due to leaving the area, managing better, getting a job, college placements or were unsuitable for our service.

2 unpositive endings due to personal circumstances.

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As we continue to navigate our way throughout the pandemic we are still supporting families remotely via zoom, facebook and telephone. Volunteers continue to be matched with families and are supporting them through the above methods of communication. Moving forward as restrictions ease we have begun discussions with families and volunteers about outdoor and indoor support in the future and have provided information and risk assessment forms on how to keep themselves safe following the current guidelines. We plan to offer a flexible approach to support by offering a mix of face to face and online communication methods.

Recently we celebrated our fantastic volunteers however due to the pandemic normal celebrations were not possible. As a token of appreciation each volunteer was sent a small gift, an online quiz was held and a video message was recorded by all staff to thank them for their dedication and commitment to their vital role.

If you’d like to volunteer, please contact:

Volunteer Prep Course We currently have 40 wonderful volunteers and we have an ongoing plan to increase this amount and recruit and train more people in the future.

lisac@homestartwl.org.uk

Volunteers are the lifeblood of Home-Start and we can not do what we do without their support. As well as managing a caseload of families, Lisa Callaghan recruits and trains our new volunteers with our Prep Course. This is an 8 week training course that prepares Volunteers for supporting families and over the last year we have successfully completed 3 online training courses.

The prep course was implemented on zoom, using the new Home-Start PowerPoint and training materials, combined with some of the existing activities and materials. This has been very successful although we hope that the next session will be in person, using the same format.

Our online courses have been well received and the volunteers we have on the course have been fully engaged and I believe will be amazing volunteers. Joanne and I have really enjoyed getting to know them all and we are looking forward to working with them in the future.

The planning and recruiting for the next Prep Course, which will start September, is underway and we’re hoping that this one will be in person.

We just want to say thank you to our fantastic volunteers and we look forward to supporting lots of new and current families in the future!!

Family Support Coordinators

Hayley Ellis

Joanne Baxter

Lisa Callaghan

Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021 11

Group Work Report It goes without saying that this year our groups have looked very different than normal due to the Global Pandemic which we are still working our way through and hopefully out of.

In April 2020 we had just introduced our online programme to our families, which at the time were all online group chats due to families being nervous about being on camera/video call. Steadily we’ve been able to move away from this and have thankfully been able to deliver sessions over zoom. It was great to see our families’ faces while we spoke about the things that were troubling them, and as well as being able to get some peer support families were also able to have some light relief with staff and each other.

We’ve been lucky enough to be able to work with some of our long standing partner agencies this year who have attended our online group sessions with the view to helping our families to navigate parenting, homeschooling, family life and their own mental wellbeing through this incredibly tricky time.

We’ve continued to do our bit in raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing by delivering workshops and encouraging the use of wellbeing toolkits while also hopefully inspiring change and progression through our weekly Mental Health Blog.

We’ve been so lucky to have partnered up with local gym DreamFitness who have been delivering online fitness classes for our families throughout the entire pandemic. We’ve had such a great response from families who have reported weight loss, increased mobility, increased motivation along with improvements to their mental health and wellbeing.

In the last year we also successfully held Bookbug and Story sessions online which provided parents a very welcomed break from the challenges of homeschooling.

As we look forward to the next year we are so pleased to finally be able to begin delivering a face-toface programme again and will continue to be led and guided by the families we support during this process.

The group work team would like to give a massive thank you to all of the agencies and professionals who have worked with us during the last year but most importantly we need to give a massive shout out to our families.

Group Workers

Lesley Cook

12 Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021

Steph Fry

Emily Hutchison

As a team we are always absolutely blown away by the work you all put in and that has never been more obvious than it has been in the last 12 months. We often talk about goal setting and at times we ask you thought provoking questions and this year was no different.

At a time where looking ahead seemed really bleak so many of you rose to the challenge and have been on an amazing journey of self development and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for you all.

Thank you to the supporter who knitted the bears to help children understand facemasks One of our major achievements this year was our walking group which was established in August 2020.

At the time restrictions didn’t allow for us to physically meet up so we challenged our families to go walking in their local area and celebrate each other’s results, improvements and successes on our online group forum.

Of course it goes without saying that we were delighted that restrictions are finally allowing us to physically meet up and the Walking Group has continued to be a roaring success!

“After a few months of hard times the walking group has been beneficial to my mental health, and it’s made me more active too” Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021 13

Referrer’s report I have worked as a social worker within West Lothian Council for around eleven years, initially within Livingston Practice team as a Children and Families social worker and latterly within Sure Start for the past two years as a Vulnerable Pregnancy social worker.

Since moving to Sure Start I have participated in the FASS screening group alongside Home-Start and in recent months have undertaken the role of facilitating and coordinating the FASS screening group. This coordinated approach to referrals, in my opinion, has been very successful in terms of identifying the most appropriate service for each individual family, with increased communication between services in terms of sharing relevant information.

As a social worker it was beneficial to be able to refer to Home-Start to provide additional practical and emotional support to the families we were working with, at times to reduce the likelihood of the children being accommodated in local authority care. Partnership working is essential where there is multi-agency working in order to create and achieve progress in a child’s plan and in my experience, Home-Start achieved this very well in terms of communicating with professionals involved in the best interests of the children and their families.

During my time at Sure Start and within the FASS screening group it has been beneficial to workers and families alike to have the option to refer to Home-Start who in my experience have provided invaluable support to the families we come into contact with. Families have been welcoming of the support provided by Home-Start as a means of support and to assist families to improve their circumstances, rather than their circumstances potentially declining which in turn could result in potential social work involvement.

The families I have encountered who have had input from Home-Start have spoken positively about the working relationships they have developed with Home-Start workers, the positive impact of practical and also emotional support, the latter of which in my opinion is vital to families who are often isolated or where parents may have mental health concerns and are consequently experiencing difficulties in caring for their young children.

Home-Start have also supported families in accessing statutory services, supporting them to know what services are available and how to access those services. For example, this may be services through the Child Disability Service, adult social work team and also accessing appropriate health services Furthermore, Home-Start has provided significant support to families during COVID restrictions despite the challenges they have probably faced relating to restrictions in terms of visiting families.

In my opinion the support Home-Start provides to families with young children is of great importance, this early intervention during the early years of a child’s life can support the family’s to make positive and sustained changes within their lives to improve their family’s circumstances going forward.

Fiona McGregor, Vulnerable Pregnancy Social Worker, Sure Start 14 Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021

Our Impact 2020-21

60 families supported including

128 children

49

new referrals

77 children under age 5 supported

With my Home-Start volunteer’s support, my child:

is more confident

100%

copes better now

100%

96%

95%

has improved social skills

89%

was able to try new activities

88%

is more robust is more motivated to learn and try new activities

Data in this section is from the 2021 Family Evaluation Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021 15

Our Impact 2020-21 (continued) After attending a Home-Start group :

76% of parents attended a Home-Start group

97% feel less anxious / panicky 100% feel less isolated 100% feel more able to try new things

With the support of a volunteer: 94% of parents are more confident 86% of parents feel less anxious / panicky 94% of parents feel less isolated 97% of parents feel more able to make positive changes in their lifestyle 89% of parents are more able to deal with challenging situations 48% are now using other local services

62% of parents

said their social network has got bigger

87%

of parents

said they play more with their child now Survey was carried out in January 2021 with families currently receiving support and also as families completed their support in across 2020. In total 41 families responded.

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Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021

Our Impact 2020-21 (continued)

3

volunteer prep courses completed online

3 14

24

School Bank referrals to help with new school uniforms

volunteers achieved SQF Level 5 befriending accreditation

families helped with our partnership with Save the Children

38

40

families received an Xmas Hamper containing food, toiletries, sanitary products and treats

families provided with educational activity bags

61

families helped with Food Vouchers in lockdown Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021 17

Family Story Before I was referred to Home-Start West Lothian I was just muddling along. I felt really alone, and had no support. I worried about everything and didn’t really leave the house because I was so scared.

My volunteer and I talked on zoom because I was matched after the pandemic hit. When restrictions were lifted we were able to take the kids to the park a few times and I was really glad that our last visit was at a cafe.

She mainly gave me emotional support, she was there to talk to about the things I was going through and it was so nice to have a bit of adult company. I always knew that if there was anything bothering me I could talk to her about it and she’d answer any questions I had, or would give good advice if I needed it.

My volunteer gave me someone to talk to that wasn’t judgemental, my own family aren’t even like that. My kids really missed her when our time came to an end.

“I was so nervous to go to my first group, I didn’t want anyone knowing what I’d been through or why I was being supported by HSWL. I was so sceptical and honestly didn’t think it was going to be of any benefit to me. And at my first session we talked about wellbeing and the things we can do to help ourselves feel better. I left thinking; that’ll never work and I’ll never have time to do all of these things (like meditation etc) with two kids to run after.

After that first group we went into lockdown and I really was even more terrified to leave the house, my anxiety was awful and so when HSWL got me a few food parcels it was an absolute godsend.

The groups started online and they started this virtual walking group which focused on walking for our wellbeing, I gave it a go and have been walking every day ever since, this is something I would never have done before. The group has given me the skills to build a wellbeing toolkit and has also introduced me to other services who are working with me on some of my deep-rooted trauma. I now have a daily practice of meditation, tapping therapy, journaling, affirmations and daily exercise.

I cope so much better now. My confidence is getting there slowly. I actually leave the house now, and although I’m still aware of my surroundings when I’m out I’m not scared like I was before.

If it wasn’t for HSWL there would be a lot of parents who wouldn’t be able to cope.

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Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021

Our Impact: in the voices of our supported parents I really look forward to my call from the volunteer. She was a great support. I liked the information she was able to give me. She felt like a friend. I appreciate all the help Home-Start has given me.

So pleased with the matching of my volunteer, we get on really well and thanks to Stacey for finding me such a helpful volunteer.

My volunteer was a rock for me! As I did not have my partner around, she was someone I could just off load to. She was nonjudgemental, warm and friendly. The Xmas hamper was great.

My kids loved it, I really wasn’t expecting that.

My volunteer does more for me than any other service.

Having a daughter with autism mental health problems and two under 2, I was struggling so much to even leave the house. Home-Start gave me the confidence to leave the house and go to groups. To interact with others who has similar issues. Sadly my mental health has took a dive into the darker side due to covid and grief and the fact that X is on the spectrum too. He brings more challenges than my daughter. But Home-Start is my little bit of hope and comfort to know there is always a listening ear.

Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021 19

Home-Visiting Befrienders Volunteer Gallery

Gillian Farquhar

Lyndsay Frye

Moira Emerson

Eilane Sitcha Angela Cameron

Lindsay Smith Susan Arnot

Sharon Inglis

Theresa Hain Carol Blair

Katie Thomson

Jude Fotheringham

Sophie Gorol Michell Richardson

Laura Murphy

Lauren Shoesmith

Gwen Rigg Claire Kerr

Hayley Sinclair Anne Allen

Carol-Ann Moffatt

Sara Al-Nayazi Katina Curley

Valerie Silver

Leanne Kinghorn

Helen-Jane Gisbourne

20 Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021

Kirstie Baird

Shannon Watkin

Kat Wright Joyce McPhee

Diane Somerville Anne-Marie McGuckin

Julie Caskie Laura Bryce

Cleo Cane Angela Northam Kerry Strange

Volunteer Story

Margaret Carson

Carol-Ann has been volunteering at Home-Start West Lothian for a few years. Her journey volunteering has been something that’s really enriched her life. By helping other people, Carol-Ann found that she was also helping herself.

I needed something for myself. Something to bring me into the world again. Something that would help me. I’m a good listener and felt I was able to help other with their problems. I had been stuck in the house for a long time, nearly 5 years, and I had social anxiety. I hadn’t really been out of the house other than work in that whole time.

When I saw the advert, I wasn’t sure at first, as I didn’t think I could do it. I talked it over with some family members and they were encouraging, they knew I could do it and it would be good for me The Volunteer Prep course first night I was really out of my comfort zone and totally nervous but really good group of people. After a few weeks we really gelled talking about why we were there.

The training was so useful in helping me, it gave me confidence and I made friends out of it too.

Volunteering at Home-Start has given me a whole new confidence in myself and its making me feel worthwhile by helping someone.

If anyone is thinking about volunteering, I’d say give it a try, it enriches your own life and it’s a brilliant feeling knowing you are helping someone else by being there for them. It makes you put things in perspective of what you may have went through I doubt myself at first but once I took that first step in volunteering, I know it’s the best thing I’ve done.

Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021 21

Marketing Report This year really has been a year like no other, as we continue to support our families, volunteers, staff and community. As one of the Trustees on the board I wanted to use my marketing experience to help Home-Start West Lothian with their profile in the local area. One of my main goals is to help HomeStart West Lothian reach as many people as possible so that everyone who needs our support in the local area is aware of who we are and what we do.

I have been amazed at how all staff, volunteers and families have adapted during the past 12 months and proud of how much everyone has achieved. The COVID pandemic showed how important communication and keeping in touch with people is.

A big part of how we have adapted during the pandemic is how we communicate and stay in touch with you all using online technologies with regular newsletters and updates. It was vital that we stayed in touch and people knew we were here and helping families. The focus was mainly on Social Media but we also really developed the content on our website.

We have continued to provide regular key updates on social media and have seen terrific increases in engagement that we want to continue. A quarterly newsletter was introduced for volunteers using new software making them clearer and easier to read. We want to have similar newsletter for Funders and Stakeholders so we can let them know about the positive impact we are making with families in West Lothian.

Over the next 12 months we look forward to engaging more whilst making further improvements to key areas of the charity, including marketing and communications. We are looking at how we engage more with local health professionals to ensure they know we are here to support, increase our digital presence and improve engagement with local businesses so we can form mutually beneficial partnerships. Another of our aims is to really develop the website to provide news and content around what we do.

If you want to discuss any communication ideas, or help support what we do for marketing or just want to chat, please get in touch by emailing scottcoutts@hotmail.co.uk

Scott Coutts - Trustee 22 Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021

Support and Fundraising Fundraising is a vital part of keeping Home-Start West Lothian supporting families. We know children whose parents are struggling to cope can miss out on the love, routine and support that are vital for their future so we want to make sure we are there for anyone that needs us.

Last year we had our challenges in fundraising when we had to cancel our annual Variety Show but also were greatly encouraged by businesses and members of the public coming forward to help us.

The virtual kiltwalk was a big success for us this time around too, one we hope we can build on.

I’d like to thank Phoenix Drilling for their support and much appreciated donations in the past 12 months and also for Rab Smith and his Masonic Lodge who made a very welcome donation in lockdown to help us but also provided Easter Eggs for families this year. Also want to thank every person who donated a food hamper for families at Christmas, particularly Stuart Campbell and the team at SEH Europe. Your donations brought much-needed cheer to a lot of families.

And last but by no means least we want to thank each and every person who took part in the virtual Kiltwalks.

Partne e t r ra

ips sh

Corp o

If you or your business would like to help us help even more families across West Lothian we have opportunities to get involved at every level and your support would really help us to help parents and children across West Lothian.

Make Home-Start West Lothian your Charity of the Year.

Nominating us as your Charity of the Year is a unique opportunity to unite your staff behind an inspiring cause and demonstrate your company’s commitment to making a difference. We can support your fundraising with bespoke ideas to engage your staff or help facilitate organised fundraising activities. All of which will be of enormous help to us in helping families right across West Lothian.

For more information on how we can work together and tailor the ideal partnership to suit your company please contact admin@homestartwl.org.uk or call 01506 415755

Individual and Regular Giving

The earliest years make the biggest difference. Home-Start makes sure those years count, so that no child’s future is limited. The need for our work is growing.

Children whose parents are struggling to cope can miss out on the routine and support that are vital for their future.

You can help us change lives with a donation or sign up to make a regular donation of just £2.

Amazon Smile SOCIAL

Sign up to smile.amazon.co.uk, then register to help Home-Start West Lothian.

You shop and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases will help us.

It’s so easy to do.

Home-Start West Lothian Annual Report 2021 23

Funders and donors We couldn’t carry out our work without the generous support of our funders and donors.

Our thanks for 2020/2021 to: