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SAN Annual Report: July 2008
SCHOOL AID NETWORK
Care, Share, Learn
Charity Reference Number; 1115537 (Registered July, 2006)
ANNUAL REPORT
July, 2008
Charitable Aims
· To assist Youth Organisations (particularly Educational) and Individuals to support Communities caught up in major disasters and help with their on-going needs.
· To provide a free website to give a forum for these users and Charities to support each other.
· For these users to send funds directly to the Charities they are supporting
· To act as a free linking organisation for sharing fund raising events, resources and volunteering opportunities.
· To increase access to Education, Health and Security across the world.
· To promote understanding of other cultures
The Annual General Meeting was held at f1 Group on the 10th July, 2008
Present: Cheryle Berry, Alan Dennis, Barbara Peck, Helen Fearn, Margaret Dennis, Jim Hudson and David Manby
Apologies: Mike Pickwell, Dawn Howell
Cheryle welcomed Jim Hudson and David Manby to the meeting.
The Chariman’s Annual Report was presented by Cheryle
Annual Report
Welcome to our second Annual General Meeting.
It is my pleasure to report another very busy and successful year for School Aid Network, with several significant new developments.
My sincere congratulations and thanks go to all our Trustees, who have worked enthusiastically and tirelessly to achieve this progress and to our very generous sponsor, f1 Group, without whom we could not communicate effectively with all our SAN members around the world. Congratulations also to all our SAN members who are making a real difference to the lives of others less fortunate than themselves.
This year, with the requirements of the New Charities Act, Trustees are required to include a brief summary in their Annual Report of the main activities undertaken in order to carry out the Charity’s aims for the Public Benefit. In the Annual Report I will be giving a much fuller account of all we have done in this respect throughout the last year.
We are delighted that some of our
local Primary Schools are leading the way with fund raising initiatives to support our Mini Enterprises and larger projects.
Trustees have been into the schools, taking Assemblies and helping with classroom activities.
For example, in September 2007 Spilsby Primary School raised £100 for ABS UK Mini Enterprises in Bangladesh.
In October 2007, Spilsby, Caistor C of E and Methodist Primary School and Barnetby School raised the magnificent sum of £870
which went to improve the lives of 15 families and 85 individuals in Bangladesh. May 2008, saw Reepham C of E Primary School pupils holding events, car washing and stalls to raise an excellent £250 for Red Cross and ABS UK Mini Enterprises.
Also Reepham have set up the first
SCHOOL
AID NETWORK CLUB, which we hope will be a model for other schools across the UK.
Recently ,
in June 2008, Caistor C of E and Methodist Primary School have had a Mini Enterprise Concert, raising an amazing £300.
Do go onto our website (
www.schoolaidnetwork.co.uk
) and listen to some of their music.
At a National Level , in line with our Charity Aims, we have worked with colleagues from the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) to promote major fundraising campaigns on our SAN website. Darfur, Mynamar (Burma) Cyclone, China Earthquake and Bangladesh Cyclone. Aslo, working with one of our SAN Charity Members, Children’s Links, in September 2007, we helped to promote the National “ Dare to Care Campaign” to eliminate child poverty.
In January, 2008, at their own expense, a group of Trustees visited Bangladesh with colleagues from ABS UK, another SAN charity member organisation. We saw at first hand the marvellous work there, in the remote village of Fatehpur, one mile from the border with India.
We were the first Europeans to visit the area since 1947 and received a tremendous welcome from everyone.
The Mini Enterprises there are making
real improvements
to the Education, Health and wellbeing of the families.
In November 2009 we hope to visit again.
Also in January, 2008, returning from Bangladesh we went straight to the British Education and Training Technology Exhibition (BETT) at Olympia in London. Our sponsor, f1 Group, designed and provided a wonderful stand for School Aid Network to promote our work to thousands of national and international delegates.
There have been several significant developments this year, working with some of our partner National Charities.
BRITISH RED CROSS (SAN Registered Charity Member. August, 2007)
Patricia Dillon, their Fundraising Co-ordinator, has put Volunteering Opportunities, Mini-Enterprises and larger projects on our website. She has also worked with us to produce a promotional leaflet for Red Cross and School Aid Network working together. There will be 15,000 of these leaflets going to Red Cross Fundraisers and representatives who go into schools and Youth Groups throughout the UK. Many thanks to Patricia Dillon for arranging this superb promotional opportunity.
ST. JOHN AMBULANCE
This year we have been working with Wendy Human, their Youth Strategy Manager, and we are in the process of joining all their 1,570 Youth Groups, which involve 27,000 Young People, as School Aid Network members. The potential for future National and International work with these groups is very exciting. St. John Ambulance colleagues also very kindly took School Aid Network promotional material to the Extended Schools Conference, on 25th and 26th June, 2008.
OPERATION FLORIAN(SAN Registered Charity Member, March 2008)
Mike Thomas, Chief Fire Officer for Lincolnshire and Chair of Operation Florian, has promoted the work of SAN with his colleagues in the Emergency Services across the UK. Lancashire Fire and Rescue Officers have collected medical equipment, which we are arranging to ship to Bangladesh. This includes 2 ECG machines, Heart Monitors, Respiratory Kits, Medical trolleys, Ambulance stretchers, Bandages and First Aid kits. We are truly delighted that they will continue to work with us to get medical equipment.
EDUCATION FOR ALL (SAN Registered Charity Member March, 2008)
We visited the headquarters of Education for All and saw the wonderful range and amount of educational furniture and equipment they are re-cycling from School Improvement Programmes. They are helping us to transport the medical equipment to Bangladesh and also giving us Educational equipment and furniture to send. If we can keep raising funds for transporting 40ft. Containers, they will fill them and they can go to many other parts of the world. On average, such a container provides Educational facilities for 500 children. Simon Devine, their International Programme Manager, has been so helpful and really encouraged us to develop further.
TEACH A MAN TO FISH (SAN Registered Charity Member April, 2008)
Nick Kafka (Chief Executive) and Jim Stephenson (International Programme Manager) work with young people in over 15 countries, in Asia, Africa and South America. Their aim is self-sustainable schools and they have put Mini Enterprises and larger projects on our website. We hope that we can work further with them to twin schools with our UK schools and promote Social Enterprise and Sustainability Curriculum materials.
To promote the work of SAN, we have produced posters, (thanks to Simon Lowis), stickers showing equipment donated by SAN and partners, placed advertisements in a Student Planner, submitted an article for ESPRIT (Lincolnshire Co-op Newsletter) and given talks to local Schools and other Organisations
In the future we believe that the work of School Aid Network fits very well with the Sustainable Schools Initiative from the DCSF. In particular the “Global Dimension” and “Local Well-being” elements could be facilitated by young people joining as SAN members, either as individuals or as part of a School Aid Network Club.
“By 2020, The Government would like all schools to be models of good global citizenship, enriching their educational mission with activities that improve the lives of people living in other parts of the world.”
“By 2020, The Government would like all schools to be models of good corporate citizenship within their local areas, enriching their educational mission with activities that improve the environment and quality of life of local people.”
Cheryle was thanked for her report and on the proposition of Margaret Dennis, seconded by Alan Dennis, the report was unanimously accepted.
Trustees
Margaret Dennis and Helen Fearn were officially welcomed as Trustees and thanked for their work for SAN.
It was proposed by Alan Dennis, seconded by Margaret Dennis that Jim Hudson and David Manby become Trustees of SAN. This was unanimously agreed.
Election of Officers
Chairman – Cheryle Berry (Proposed by Alan Dennis, seconded by Helen Fearn and agreed unanimously.)
Vice Chairman – Alan Dennis (Proposed by Barbara Peck, seconded by Cheryle Berry and agreed unanimously.)
Secretary and Treasurer – Mike Pickwell (Proposed by Margaret Dennis, seconded by Alan Dennis and agreed unanimously.)
Jim Hudson is to act as Assistant Treasurer, if necessary.
Margaret Dennis is to act as Assistant Secretary, if necessary.
