ANNUAL REPORT 2016
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ANNUAL REPORT 2016 UK Education & Faith Foundation UKEFF present their annual report and financial statement for the year ended 31 st December 2016. Reference and Administrative Information Charity Name United Kingdom Education & Faith Foundation Charity Registration Number 1150921 Charity Principal Office Address 15 Queen Street, Oldham, OL4 1RD Ukeff registered as a charity with the Charities Commission on 7 th January 2013. Aims and Objectives Our aims The charity s aim is to create a cohesive society, who come together to serve humanity. We aim to fundraise for the needy and those affected by poverty, regardless of colour, creed or background. Our objective The income and property of the charity will all be applied solely towards the promotion of our aims. 3 P age
Foreword Chairs Report I feel honoured and indebted to have served as chair person of UKeff over the last year. Its felt a challenge, as the role is very demanding and full of surprises. I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with so many committed and dedicated volunteers and partners, in particular the Oldham Unitarian Chapel. Over the last 12 months we have worked with some very vulnerable and needy individuals and families who each have their own complexities. With a good team of volunteers with diverse skill sets we have been able to meet their needs or in some cases signpost them to other agencies. The committee have been meeting regularly to plan and deliver some important activities and fundraising events which have contributed to the delivery of our work. Changes in the Welfare system and benefits sanctions being handed out like hot cakes has pressured UKeff in providing food parcels and hot meals to the needy. Cuts in Legal Aid funding have increased financial strain on refugees arriving in Oldham. Without any legal aid firms locally, refugees are travelling out of town for legal advice and representation, or having to pay private fees locally. This has meant they have to prioritise between food or legal bills. Ukeff has seen a sharp increase in use of the Food Hub by Asylum seekers as a result of these changes. I am very grateful to the trustees, volunteers and partners who have always been working hard to improve the facilities, activities and services to our much needed service users. They have made the Oldham Food Hub a reality. Finally my thanks go to every volunteer, trustee and general member who has contributed to the work of UKeff. Nasim Ashraf Chairperson 4 P age
Projects Oldham Food Aid Hub Since April 27th 2015, UK Education and Faith Foundation (UKeff) partnership with the Oldham Unitarian Chapel continues to offer the Oldham Food Aid Hub services to those who are affected by low income and poverty. Our weekly service is as busy as ever consisting, of a hot meal, a food parcel as well as an advice, support and sign posting service; all of which attempts to break the cycle of poverty. The Oldham Unitarian Chapel under the Ministry of Reverend Bob Pounder, still provides breakfast to over 35 service users including snacks, teas and coffees. UKeff follows breakfast with 100 hot meals a week kindly prepared and donated by a local businessman Mr Naeem Bhatti. In addition we have on average 60 to 70 food parcels taken away each week serving families, children, single men & women. Our support/signposting service currently has 10-20 service users each week. The food hub cost the charity 12,092 to run during 2016. Support Services Ukeff has made links with agencies supporting those who are left without any kind of income or even temporary homelessness. Referrals from social services, agencies dealing with victims of domestic violence, as well as schools, womens groups, refuges and childrens centres. During 2016 the financial support given to our users amounted to 17,019. Fundraising As a self-sustaining charity we cannot function without regular fundraisers. We held various events throughout the year to fundraise for Ukeff. These included a fund day, weight loss challenge, market stalls, car wash together with sales of cakes, cupcakes and Eid sweets, our Ramadan Zakat Campaign, our annual Snowdon trek, Qurbani appeal, a ladies charity dinner finishing on our winter 5 P age
and Christmas hamper appeals and Christmas dinner for the homeless and needy. The monthly standing orders have increased this year especially for expenses, which have covered most of the administration costs of the charity. This has enabled us to better manage our expenses throughout the year to distribute to eligible families. Supporting Other Charities We have supported the Oldham Unity Project for the past 8 years providing for the destitute asylum seeker community in Oldham. We have in the last year distributed halal chicken/meat weekly to over 40 users each week, which has cost us 3574. The Qurbani appeal in September 2016 allowed us to keep meat donations local and distribute this to the needy at the project. This year over 120 kilos was distributed to needy families and the destitute at the project. In addition haqeeqah meat has been donated by families and benefited the destitute service users, throughout the year. Support for Ukeff Ukeff has seen an increasing level of support from individuals and organisations. UKeff and our service users are very grateful for the weekly Bread and produce donations from our two main Tesco s stores. We have forged fantastic links with Fare Share, who take surplus food and re-distributes it around the country, it is used by partner charities to help feed those who need it. UKeff were the nominated charity for Oldham Food Drive again this year. A total of 10 mosques came together to provide an amazing 1.62 tonnes of food to our service users. In addition we have the support of the Greengrocers from High Street, Lees who provide regular fruit and vegetable donations for needy families with children. Naeem Bhatti is also a great supporter of UKeff who without fail provides hot food, desserts and fruit every Monday. UKeff is hugely overwhelmed by the fantastic support of such wonderful people living in Oldham. We would like to thank all our supporters, partners and donors for their much valued contributions.your help has been much appreciated and we look forward to your support in the coming year. Supporting Clients Our service users come from a vast background and have differing needs. Our work has not been limited to the food hub and has included helping to: reinstate benefit payments 6 P age
help children register for school and college places Assist families to communicate with the local housing authority to carry out much needed repairs and make housing applications and help with bidding Ukeff has also supported refugee families, EU Migrants and some victims of domestic violence who have had to set up home again, with carpets, furniture, clothing, moving house and other household utensils and crockery. Volunteer Support for Ukeff Our charity consists of 38 volunteers and we are constantly looking for new volunteers to join our team. Our volunteers are an important and integral part of our team. They work tirelessly in trying to reach these vulnerable people through our projects, as well as volunteering in many of our other activities. They are greatly valued Planning for the year ahead Ukeff has grown rapidly in use and we are continually looking at ways to improve. The Oldham Food Hub is one of our biggest expenses and one of the ways we can meet the needs of the community is partnering with other organisations, who are willing to offer a food hub type service. We plan on expanding our offices to include a charity shop which will enable us to channel our regular donations currently sold cheapily at market stalls, to a broader market. This will be a fantastic marketing as well as income stream for the charity. With the recruitment of our new administrative and fundraising officer we are now able to expand our services. We are looking at employing 2 more people this year for marketing/fundraising as well as provide support services. Financial Review Charity trustees shall comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act 2011. Financial Summary for the year ended 31 December 2016: Receipts 51,928 Payments 44,673 Balance 7,255 7 P age