Directors Report
This was a year of extreme highs and lows. It was an extremely hard year that nearly saw the charity close, but God had other plans. I want to start by saying thank you. Thank you to our supporters who gave throughout the year and at the point of crisis to ensure the valuable youth work continues. Thank you to the trustees who at times met almost weekly to find a way for LUX to continue. Thank you to the volunteers who give so much time to make the work happen; we could not do it without you. Thank you to the staff who, despite discussing redundancies, continued to give 100% to serve Jesus and serve the young people. Thank you to Dave Joyce for his many loyal years of service to LUX and the young people of BANES. Dave’s decision to move on to new work was highly sacrificial and enabled the charity to continue. Thank you to Sam Ludwell who has served the charity wholeheartedly since doing a gap year over 20 years ago. Sam changed her main employment this year (but thankfully remains involved in Motus) and we are so grateful for all her work with LUX and especially the Motus family she has created. Thank you to God that we still have the privilege to serve You and the young people of this City.
I only joined the charity as Interim Director at the very end of this year financial year (July 2024), but I am struck reading through the reports and talking to staff about the massive impact on young people. The statistics on page 3 give some headline figures and we are very proud of what has been achieved. Behind each of the 300 young people worked with regularly is an individual, each impacted differently, each with a different story of hope and transformation. Each young person will have received radical hospitality, been listened to, been invested in and supported to grow in confidence. In a time where stories of youth violence, poor mental health, fear and hopelessness dominate the media we know God deeply loves each of these young people and it is our privilege to share that love and hope with the individuals we work with. Thank you all for your role in making this possible.
Larkhall
This year with Larkhall URC we started delivering youth work in Larkhall twice a week. One day the building is packed with young people having fun with their friends and being able to relax in a safe place. The other day is much quieter, but we know that for the few that come along it makes a huge difference to have a space for them to be heard, valued and supported. It has been a real privilege to start to get to know a new group of young people. The Silent Disco in the Larkhall festival was a particular highlight for the young people. Dave Joyce was heading up this work with an amazing team of volunteers (some of whom volunteer twice a week) and we have now recruited Renit who will lead the work going forward.
Roundhill
We started youth work out of our building in Southdown and it has been great to connect with young people from the local community, offering support to young people who would otherwise be out on the streets or isolated. This
LUX Schools work
This year has been full and exiting. I have been delivering 2 days a week of mentoring and group work at Hayesfield Girls’ School. Each week I have worked with 9 mentoring students to offer them 1 hour of quality time to explore their issues and difficulties they face. We have also been delivering a weekly group work programme working with around 8 students at a time. We have begun work in Oldfield school after a long gap, with two new mentors going in for a day a week. We have had two mentors going in, to Ralph Allen to deliver 1 day a week as well as a Christian drop in lunchtime club. We expanded our mentoring in St Gregs with a second mentor to deliver a day a week of mentoring support. We are growing as a team and it is so wonderful to see that we are expanding our reach and support of young people, through the recruitment and training of new volunteers.
I have had the privilege of working with a number of students living with challenging situations. I formed a particularly good relationship with a student who had experienced a very difficult start to life. The mentoring helped her unpack and make sense of some of what she had been through and helped her to voice and vocalise to others in her life what she needed now to lead a full and happy life. She found the mentoring incredibly supportive and I felt it cushioned her at a vulnerable time. It is wonderful to see she is still in school and doing well.
‘As a Catholic school, we are committed to upholding the dignity and well-being of every child, ensuring they thrive in a safe, nurturing, and enriching environment. The mentoring and listening support provided by Lux Youth Project plays an integral role in supporting our mission to help each child reach their fullest potential in life.
Many students face challenges related to mental health, uncertainty about their future, or struggles with peer relationships, anger management, or low self-esteem. Frequently, they lack positive role models to guide them through these issues. Through regular sessions with Lux, students gain a valuable opportunity to openly explore and express their feelings in a safe and supportive space, guided by someone impartial and professional. This process fosters personal growth, empowering students to overcome obstacles and develop healthier emotional and social skills. The tools and strategies students learn via their sessions with Lux to manage emotions, relationships, and personal growth align with our core values of aspiration, responsibility, respect, and virtue.
Lux has a remarkable ability to break down barriers that other professionals or parents may find difficult to overcome, fostering trust and open communication with students.‘ Family Support Officer, St Gregory’s Catholic College
Rachel Hornsby – Lead Schools Worker & Volunteer Coordinator.
This year I’ve run a weekly term time open access youth club; weekly school lunchtime sessions in St Mary’s C of E Primary School, Timsbury; a monthly children’s group in Camerton; 3 Holiday Club Sessions also in Camerton; 2 whole school assemblies; as well as school lessons and other work supporting St Mary’s school in Timsbury. We’ve worked with around 30 young people in our Timsbury youth project and delivered more than 60 school sessions. In addition to this I was part of the detached youth work team at Satellites youth festival in the summer.
Jane Van Haaps, Youth and Schools Worker
It’s hard to measure the impact of all of this and of the prayers that are prayed before and after sessions: all of it working towards our vision of ‘seeing every young person in BANES supported to live life to the full’.
Over the year I worked regularly with a young man who was taken into care; a young woman who was refusing to go to school; a number of young people struggling with their mental health; a young person being bullied at a new school; as well as those dealing with additional learning needs and some simply facing the pressures of life, school, exams and relationships. They are all individuals and as I write this, I see them in my mind’s eye and smile.
Sometimes it’s hard to give the story of one young person with enough details to paint a full picture but also respecting confidentiality and avoiding labelling them. However, one young person who stands out is a young woman, age 13 at the time. She had been part of our project since primary school: steady and stable. Home life seemingly good. Things nosedived when her Dad went off the rails. I won’t say what happened, but it had a huge effect on her. She became very angry, getting into fights, flying off the rails. We were there for her. Listening to her without judgement but with acceptance and understanding. Is there a happy ending? There will be – she has found inner strength she didn’t know she had and knows she’s loved.
After Covid we started an art project which then led into a ‘Young Leaders’ group. This turned into a small group of 5 young women who met to cook and share their lives with each other alongside myself and another leader (a slightly older young woman). That group closed but some of them continued to come to Youth Club. One of these young people talked regularly with one of our volunteers, over a game of table tennis. She was, and still is, struggling with life. Our safe space provided her with invaluable support. The continuity of this project builds community between young people and us as trusted adults, most of whom live in the village. We recognise that sometimes there are no quick fixes but we simply journey faithfully with young people and let Jesus fill in the gaps. This young person might not yet know it, but she has met with Jesus through this volunteer and we pray that one day she will join the dots.
Sam Ludwell, Motus Dance Co-ordinator
Freja George, Motus Dance Co-ordinator
With all the changes happening in Lux, Sam & Freja both started full time jobs in secondary schools, Sam at St Matthias Academy & Freja at Wellsway. Although their hours were reduced, it has been Motus’ busiest year yet!
In April LZ7, a Christian electronic dance band visited the secondary schools in Bath as part of the Illuminate Tour. They ended the week with a big performance, featuring BLUSH UK at the forum. Motus were asked to perform to open the show. There were over 1000 young people who attended and the biggest audience the dancers had ever performed for.
In May, Sam, Freja, Aisha & Niamh took part in a Sky Dive to raise money for LUX. This was a terrifying but incredible experience and through sponsorship we raised over £2000.
In July we had our annual dance show and for the first time in 15 years we moved venue! Having outgrown the stage at St Phillips, we moved to the Roper Theatre at Hayesfield school. This was one of our busiest dance shows yet. The dancers were incredible and our team of young people working backstage on sound and lighting did an amazing job at pulling everything together in just a few hours.
We also introduced 3 new volunteers to the Motus Family this year and as some of our older dancers get even older, they bring more confidence into their choreography and teaching. Freja & Sam have only choreographed 6 dances for the next annual show and the girls have taken a much stronger leadership role.
And last but not least, we now have Motus hoodies and beanies for parents, carers and supporters so look out for those on sale at the annual dance show, 29th June!
We hope to see you there!
LUX Chaplaincy
St Mark’s School
Chaplaincy in St Mark’s motors on. This year I’ve mentored 10 young people for a variety of different needs often resulting in low school attendance. I meet with them weekly and use games and craft activities throughout the sessions as it is often easier for them to talk when they have an activity to do. The students appreciate time out of a lesson to do something completely different. One of the young people me asked how many more sessions they had left as they really enjoyed them & it helped them come into school regularly. Mentoring helped them improve their attendance and engagement with education.
Part of my role as Chaplain is to deliver Collective Worships (assemblies) each Tuesday morning. Throughout the year we looked at a selection themes and shared what the Bible had to say about the chosen themes. At the Easter Service we were fortunate to have Bishop Michael come & speak to the children on where they get their truth from. The students are encouraged to take part too and always give honest feedback.
As well as a Service at Easter, there is one at Christmas at St Saviour’s Church and after that food parcels kindly donated by the Salvation Army were distributed to some of the families who were in need. It was a lovely day of celebrating Christmas and practically meeting people’s needs as Jesus would have done.
It’s a privilege to serve the School Community in Larkhall and I am excited by the opportunities I’ve had to be salt & light .
“I enjoying mentoring because it’s nice to talk about life, The Sanctuary is a calm space and I like being in here. My favourite activities have been playing games like Dobble and Jenga. I’ve also appreciated walking around the School in the sunshine!”
Sam Packer, St Mark’s School Chaplain
We run a weekly food pantry at Roundhill Hub in partnership with St Barnabas Church, Southdown & Whiteway Church & Community Partnership, Bath Methodist Church and Oasis Hub Bath. The food panty makes low-cost food accessible to local people and helps stretch the household budget. This year there were 952 individual visits from 130 members. There were 358 beneficiaries and of those 137 were under 16 years old. Just under 24,000 portions of food were supplied.
As well as accessing low-cost food a number of other organisations come in through the year to provide additional support and signposting.
Whilst we wish this project wasn’t needed, it is a privilege to work in partnership with an amazing team to deliver this project and support our community practically.
Lea Lawton, Business Manager
LUX Chaplaincy
Bath College
Lea Lawton, Business Manager
I had a great year supporting Bath College through chaplaincy across both of their campuses, which has 3000 students and 100 staff.
This year the college invested in a common room for the students and I was asked to manage the space as part of my role. It was great- it gave me direct acess to a large number of the students at college who ordinarily wouldn’t access the chaplaincy service. I became much more visible to the students and formed some good connections through playing uno, sitting and chatting and other table top games. One inparticular young person I worked with wanted to explore sports coaching, so I took them to Satellites (a Christian youth festival run by Youthscape) with me to join the sports team, I was running. This young person was a great asset to the team, and it was brilliant to create a connection with this student from college to the wider work we do at LUX. This young person had a moment at Satellites where faith became an exciting reality for them, and they started to explore faith for themselves. Since then, I have been doing the new Alpha Youth series with them and continuing their faith journey. They are also signed up to join me again on the sports team at Satellites in 2025. It’s exciting to see their journey unfold.
Throughout the year I led a remembrance service, used the sanctuary to provide an opportunity for people to light a candle in response to Holocaust Memorial Day. We celebrated Easter with a big Easter Egg Hunt and chocolate egg giveaway across both campuses and I regularly ran silence & solitude sessions for staff and students. All these provided opportunities for students and staff to explore faith.
Nick Blythe, Bath College Chaplain
I’ve had another great year at youth club. Each year the depth of relationships is getting stronger and more impactful. Average attendance fluctuates between 10-20 young people at each of the two/three weekly sessions. But the most significant change has been in the atmosphere at youth club. I find myself feeling less stressed about managing the behaviour and more able to trust young people to the point where I can sit and engage with a young person without worrying that others are up to mischief. I’ve looked forward to hanging out with the young people and ended sessions with a smile more often than ending with frustration at the mess or negative culture that some young people present. My love for the young people is growing and I feel incredibly proud of the growth the majority have made in their maturity. Coming into this year youth club was running like a well-oiled machine with all volunteers knowing their roles and making progress in their relationships with the young people. Set up and setting down the room that we use became easier as we (the team and young people) settled into the space we use at the hive. This year alongside my job I have been studying theology applied to the youthwork context and it has been a real challenge to read, write and manage my full time job but it has been so beneficial. It has given me language as how and why I do youthworkl the way I do it. Foir example- I wrote an essay on radical hopsitality and how we can show the practical love of Jesus to our young people purely by listeneing to them, by giving them our time and resources is a legitimiate method of evangelism and a fundamental missional approach to community youth work. This year a number of our young people did their GCSEs and it was great to be able to support them through a stressful season- we even got featured on Kiss FM as unsung heroes of exams for the work we do to create safe spaces for young people.
Aswell as our annual Thorpe Park trip we went go karting, ice skating and to a trampoline park. Trips are always a highlight for the young people. We also did a sky dive! It was amazing to have one of our young leaders join us in raising money and jumping out of a plane to raise oney and awreness for Lux Youth Project and the work we do.
At the end of the year I ran the sports program at Satellites, a youth camp run by Youthscape, and this has been a fun and exciting opportunity to grow the presence of our work in and around Bath. It was a full but fun year.
Our Team
The Annual Report covers the period from September 2023 to August 2024. The report contains contributions from LUX Youth staff and trustees.
The focus of this report is on the period highlighted above.
Staff Team 2023-24
Director of LUX Youth Project
Dave Joyce (until May 24)
Luke Brightwell (from July 24 – interim Director, volunteer)
Team Leader Senior Youth Worker – Peasedown-St-John & Bath College Chaplain
Nick Blythe
Lead Schools Worker
Rachel Hornsby
Senior Youth & Community Worker – Southdown
Sam Ludwell (until May 24)
Youth & Schools Worker – Timsbury
Jane Van Haaps
St Mark’s Chaplain
Sam Packer
Assistant Coordinator, Motus Dance Academy
Freja George
Business Manager
Lea Lawton
We were really sad to say goodbye to Dave and to Sam L this year. They’ve both been with us for MANY years and shaped who LUX is now. We are excited to see what they each go on to do with their passion and love for young people.
Volunteer Team 2023-24
We have lots of great volunteers supporting our projects. We can’t name you all but a BIG ‘thank you’ to everyone who supports our work by giving up their time for local young people.
Board of Trustees 2023-24
Chair
Dave Plumbridge
Treasurer
Rosalind Chambers
Trustees
Louise Cripps (until March 24)
Jerry Parr (until Jan 24)
Harley Wykes (until Nov 23)
Catherine Knight (until Nov 23)
Robert Hendra
We are so grateful for our trustees who faithfully oversee our work and put lots of hours into LUX unseen and who attend many meetings!
IT Support
Priority IT Solutions Ltd
Finances and Fundraising
2023/24 Grants
Quartet Community Foundation: Express Grant
Quartet Community Foundation: Commissioner’s Crime Prevention Fund
Quartet Community Foundation: Bath Half Fund
BANES Council Community Infrastructure Levy
Souter Charitable Trust
The Sir Cliff Richard Charitable Trust
Dame Violet Wills Trust
Fundraising
We had a great year of fundrasising, we raised around £10,000 altogether. Here are some of the fundraising events:
The Motus Dance Show
Hornsby Cafe and Sale
Bath Half
Team Skydive
Chair of Trustees Report
This post COVID period was expected to be tough financially and indeed it did prove to be so.
Many of our regular and supportive grant funders changed their funding criteria. As LUX Youth Project (LUX) is a very small specialist independent charity this proved to be a major obstacle in obtaining the previously successful annual fundraising targets. The Trustees were made aware of this financial pressure early on in the year due to the Treasurer being most efficient and keeping the accounts up to date and spotting, early on, the financial imbalance predicted.
At this time, we had to cope with our Business Manager being off on long-term sick leave, which not only disrupted the fundraising activities, but also diverted much of the Director’s time to administrative tasks. Even so, we were successful at this time in gaining a major grant from Bath City Council to upgrade the Roundhill toilets and kitchen, which has proved to be an attraction to various community groups wishing to rent the facilities.
At the beginning of 2024, a number of Trustees resigned for a variety of reasons, so a search was on for appropriate replacements which took several months
March ’24 saw the annual review of staff job descriptions and annual salary review, which again highlighted the impending financial situation we were about to face. At this time, we also lost another two trustees, one to retirement and the other due to a clash of job priorities and a conflict of interest. I would like to express our gratitude to all these trustees for the time and effort they put into LUX.
As we moved into the last couple of months, of this financial year, the Trustees became extremely concerned that decisions had to be made regarding the future of LUX. Would it be dissolved or could it be revitalised? This was an extremely difficult time for staff and trustees, who were feeling under a great deal of pressure.
Our Director, Dave Joyce, left LUX along with Sam Ludwell in May. Both had served LUX faithfully for many years and I would like to express my gratitude to both of them on behalf of everyone at LUX. Although this had significant impact on the running of the charity, the staff cost savings helped to put a plan in place for the long-term future of LUX. Luke Brightwell, then serving as a Trustee, resigned and asked to be considered as a volunteer interim Director for six months. After much discussion, to make sure that the procedure was fair and transparent, Luke was appointed Interim Director on a volunteer basis for 6 months. Luke was well aware of the financial pressures LUX was under.
So, coming into August ’24, we had a new, enthusiastic but small Trustee Group, we had a new Director, all the staff were motivated, finances were delicately balanced, but the passion and drive to move forward was abundant.
The light of LUX has been rekindled, with an infectious desire to move forward into new areas of work, into new partnerships whilst maintaining our service to young people.
Dave Plumbridge Chair of Trustees
Treasurer’s Report
The accounts for LUX Youth Project (Previously known as Bath Youth for Christ) CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) for the year ending 31st August 2024 recorded a small surplus of £6k.
Headline figures show income increased from £143k to £237k, with expenditure also increased from £205k to £231k, resulting in a surplus of £6k. Overall, this increased our reserves from £33K to £39K, of which £5K is restricted. The increase in both income and expenditure was due largely to the grant and spend of £56k for the refurbishment of the kitchen and facilities at Roundhill.
Many of our projects operate on a break-even basis, funded from grants and local contributions. Most of our unrestricted funds are used towards funding core costs to support our projects.
Individual regular voluntary giving remains a critical element of our income. This is supplemented by local church income of £10K (previous year £11K). Together, these provide an important platform and justification when applying for grants and other sources of income.
Our major income source this year is from paid youth work, both from schools and community projects such as Timsbury and Peasedown St John. These payments are intended to directly cover the staffing costs of the projects, with LUX providing management oversight and staff training as part of our team. Such income was increased from £54k to £84k since last year.
Grant income forms a large proportion of our income in recent years but can be highly variable and tends to focus on the start-up phase/early years of new projects, rather than providing ongoing sustainable support. This year grant income significantly increased from £19k to £74k, due mainly to the £56k for the Roundhill refurbishment.
As always, I’d like to thank all those who contributed towards the success of LUX over the past year, donating financially and/or by giving their time and expertise.
Rosalind Croucher Hon Treasurer
