ABOUT OUR GROUP

Brighton, Hove & West Sussex Deaf Children's Society was formed 14 years ago by a group of parents who realised the need for a group in this area. The group has gone from strength to strength and now has over 150+ members - some professional but mostly families.


The committee of eight is run by parents of deaf children who meet every six weeks to discuss the future of the group and to plan events for the children and their families.


Many of the children either attend schools far away from their home and therefore after school contact with their peers is very difficult or are in mainstream schools where they have no contact with other deaf/hearing impaired children. We help support groups such as a Youth Club for deaf children in Crawley and the very successful pre-school groups Springboard in the North and South of the county.


The past year alone some of the events we have organised include trips to Laserhub, Banger Racing, Quad Biking, The Spectrum at Guildford, our AGM at Fishers Farm, Annual Party, Panto trip, Bluebell Railway and a Group holiday, all of which we always pay for the deaf children and subsidise the cost to family members.


We rely entirely on donations and the generosity of people wishing to support us and with their kindness we are able to fulfil our QUEST.

If you would like more information about our group please leave a message on 07717 223362 or email us at bhwsdcsoc@btinternet.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Sunday, 15 July 2012

AGM - Minutes


ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
BRIGHTON, HOVE & WEST SUSSEX
DEAF CHILDREN’S SOCIETY
THE TOP HOUSE PUB
10TH JULY 2012


Present:          Kim Thompson
                        Peter Phillips
                        Louise Simpson
                        June Garner
                        Gill Davison
                        Bella Austen
                        Anna-Marie Bennett
                        Julie Phillips
                        Carolyn McCabe
                        Wilf Bridges
                        Tina Bridges
                        Richard Austen
                        Jan & Paul Penkert
                        Seamus Nugent

Welcome by Kim –

Welcome

Thank you for coming along to our 16th Annual General Meeting, good to see you.

As we stated in our invite we had decided to the cost to keep the AGM small this year due to financial costs so hopefully we won’t keep you too long.

I don’t need to introduce the Committee to you as you are all aware who we are!
This has been my second year as Chair and it has been another successful year.
Since last April through to this April we have once again tried to organise events that cater to all ages, not always an easy task.  But we I think we managed it with some being firm favourites such as the Spectrum, holiday and Chuckle Bros and a very popular trip to see The Lion King in London.
As always we are still on the lookout for more committee members, so if any of you fancy rejoining the Committee we would love to have you back!
Finally I would just like to say a big thank you to the rest of the committee who have helped me keep my head above the water and for their time, hard work and support over the past year.

Treasurer

Treasurer’s Report
Our charity is run solely by volunteers, who give up a tremendous amount of time from their busy home and working lives. They organise, as you have heard, a wide range of activities. The funding of these activities is raised mainly from special fundraising events at various times of year.

After the success of the signed song performances in the spring we decided to try it again. It proved to be another success raising people’s awareness, whilst raising £544.

The London 10k run has grown in popularity with 25,000 entrants and more than 30,000 spectators. Our team for this year was Bev Benfell, Nichola France, Jackie Denyer, Dan Simpson, Paul Simmonds, Carl Phillips, and trying to keep up, me! The Team of seven managed to raise a fantastic £1741. Which was a great achievement as it was definitely a first for some. A special thank you to Jackie Denyer - she stepped in at the last minute, after Sarah Maynard had had to drop out through injury.

Sarah determined to do her bit for the Group ran The Great South Run in October and raised £197 for us.

The final fundraising event of the year is a fantastic opportunity for many of our members to get involved and join in the Christmas spirit with the Xmas Carol Signing. This has been a great success as it gives members the opportunity to join in locally with other members, have fun, raise money, and sometimes to freeze for a great cause. Their great efforts raised £878 this year.

We have also received many kind donations from businesses and private individuals over the course of the year. These are all very much appreciated as they do help us to offer a wide range of activities and help to our members.

The fundraising and donations totalled just under £5500. This is a fantastic effort by the few people who put themselves out to give something back to the Group. As the membership increases it is all the more important that members make the effort to support us so we can continue to subsidise and organise events, and offer support where we can. So it just remains to say a big thank you from the Group for the efforts made in the past and for continuing to volunteer and support us in the future.

THANK YOU
Peter Phillips

ELECTION OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Kim seconded by Carolyn McCabe
Peter seconded by Tina Bridges
Louise seconded by Julie Phillips

Rest of the committee agreed to stay.  

Louise asked if anyone interested in joining.  The committee emphasised the need for new members to the committee.

AOB

  • Anna-Marie hopes to hold a ‘cream tea’ to raise funds for the group later in the year.

  • Julie suggested holding a meeting to welcome new members into the group.  

  • Kim suggested approaching Springboard to get new members involved and maybe a committee member or member to go along once a term.   There was then much conversation about how to reach other families with deaf children in West Sussex.

  • Jan Penkert suggested a 100 Club.

  • Possible trip - Go-Karting at Deers Leap, East Grinstead




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