Me Unltd Community Interest Company Report 2010

What’s Been Happening with
Me Unltd?
Annual Community Interest Company Report
For Registrar of Companies/Community Interest Company
Regulator
Financial year 1st April 2009 – 31st March 2010
Unit 23 The Commons
Bellanaleck
Co. Fermanagh
N.Ireland BT92 2BD
m: 07795096861
e: info@meunltd.org
Annual Community Interest Company Report
Financial year 1st April 2009 – 31st March 2010
Me Unltd Community Interest Company
Introduction
Me Unltd exists to inspire unpaid carers - male, female, young carers - carers of children with disabilities,
carers of the sick, frail or elderly, and anyone, anywhere in a caring role – to believe they have the right
to create for themselves a great and fulfilling life.
We offer a range of unique Personal Development Programmes that aim to provide all the practical
resources and support necessary to help women carers realise their true potential, and any profits from
our work helps to fund other initiatives for carers in greatest need.
At Me Unltd, we are grateful for the privilege of doing the work we do. We are people potential driven
not profit hungry. Our dream is to build a major social enterprise inspiring carers everywhere to invest in
their own human potential – empowering them to promote positive change in their lives, and in turn
contribute to creating a healthy global society.
Being a Community Interest Company means we must adhere to the regulations laid down by the
Community Interest Company Regulator in terms of satisfying our Community Interest Test, involving
stakeholders in our activities and ensuring remuneration/dividends paid to any directors is transparent,
fair, and well documented. This report is delivered in accordance with Section 34 of the Companies
(Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004 and contains the information required by Part 7
of the Regulator’s information and guidance notes.
Me Unltd’s – Community Interest Test
As determined in Me Unltd’s Community Interest Statement, the company is set up specifically to develop
& implement projects and initiatives tailored to meet the social, economic and welfare needs of women
carers of children with learning disabilities i.e. their personal development, as a basis for improving the
quality of life for these women and their families.
In meeting this aim specifically over the period 1st April 2009 – 31st March 2010, Me Unlimited Community
Interest Company:
•
Delivered a total of 7 personal development training programmes (It’s All About Me, Reach Me
and More About Me) to a total of 79 women carers of children with learning disabilities, providing
mentoring support and information and access to services
•
Delivered 1 male carers personal development programme providing services to a total of 20 male
carers of children with learning disabilities
•
Delivered 1 Its All About Me Sibs Programme involving 26 young carers who help to look after their
brothers and sisters who have learning disabilities
•
Delivered two further Its All About Me Personal Development Programmes involving a further 24
carers drawn from a variety of care sectors and provided mentoring support and information and
access to services to all these women
•
Delivered 11 personal development programmes in total to 149 male, female and young carers
•
Evaluated the success of each of the 11 programmes through Evaluation Questionnaires
completed by each participant
•
Provided access to a wide range of health, fitness and well-being services through the Company’s
Give-a-Care Scheme for which Me Unltd secured pro-bono services support over the period of
£48,884 to assist carers realise their potential
•
Helped set up four support networks for carers with a sustained programme of activities for each
across Northern Ireland including a Male Carers Group in Fermanagh, SABU (Sisters and Brother
Unite) Sib Group, a women carers group in Omagh and a women carers group in Derry/L’Derry
•
Supported the work of the local Escapist Group of women carers of children with learning
disabilities through workshops, advice and practical support
•
Worked with a range of voluntary, community, statutory and private sector organisations to
ensure effective delivery of services and developed 3 Directory of Services for carers in 3
geographical regions in Northern Ireland
The services delivered have undoubtedly provided new opportunities for women carers of children with
learning disabilities, and a range of other carers including males and young carers, and carers in other
caring roles, to engage in new and exciting social activities, enhance their physical and mental wellbeing, and/or avail of training /retraining /employment & educational opportunities. Our programmes
have allowed them to establish priorities outside of their often stressful caring roles.
The profit for the year end 31st March 2010 was £8,457 and these funds were carried over to be reinvested
in on-going activities to fund tailored personal development programmes for carers in the new financial
year.
Table 1 overleaf gives a detailed overview of what Me Unltd Community Interest Company has done to
benefit the community i.e. carers over the period 1st April 2009 – 31st March 2010.
Table 1
Summary of Carers Supported through Me Unltd’s Personal Development Programmes
1st April 2009 – 31st March 2010
Personal Development Programme – Women Carers
Description
Dates
Geographical
Location
Number of
Carers
Third Programme to run in Fermanagh Co-funded with Positive Futures
April – May 2009
Fermanagh
8 Carers
Fourth Programme to run in Fermanagh Co-funded with Positive
Futures
Nov. 2009 – Jan. 2010
Fermanagh
9 Carers
First Programme to run in Lisburn Co-funded with Positive Futures
Oct. – Dec. 2009
Lisburn County
Antrim
10 Carers
First Programme to run in Derry/L’Derry Co-funded with WHSCT
March/April 2010
Derry/L’Derry
11 Carers
First Programme to run in Omagh County Tyrone Co-funded with
WHSCT
Feb/March 2010
Omagh, County
Tyrone
11 Carers
Sub-Total It’s All About Me
April ’09- March’10
All Areas
49 Carers
Description
Dates
Geographical
Location
Number of
Carers
Second Programme to run in Fermanagh funded by Positive Futures
April/May 2009
Fermanagh
4 Carers
Third Programme to run in Fermanagh funded by Positive Futures
November 2009 –
February 2010
Fermanagh
7 Carers
Sub-Total Reach Me
April ’09- March’10
Fermanagh
11 Carers
One-to-One Mentoring Programme - Women Carers
Advanced Personal Development Programme – Women Carers
First Programme to run in Fermanagh co-funded with Positive Futures
March/April 2009
Fermanagh
15 Carers
Second Programme to Run in Fermanagh co-funded with Positive
Futures
March/April 2010
Fermanagh
26 Carers
Sub-Total More About Me
April ’09- March’10
Fermanagh
41 Carers
First Programme to run in Fermanagh funded by Positive Futures
Feb – March 2010
Fermanagh
20 Male
carers
Sub-Total What About Me
April ’09- March’10
Fermanagh
20 Carers
First Programme to run in Fermanagh funded by Positive Futures
8 – 12 years & 12 – 15 years
Oct 2009 – March 2010
Fermanagh
26 Sibs
Sub-Total It’s All About Me Sibs
April ’09- April10
Fermanagh
26 Carers
GRAND TOTAL ALL 11 PROGRAMMES
April ’09- March’10
ALL AREAS
149 Carers
Personal Development Programme – Male Carers
-Personal Development Programme – Young Carers/Sibs
Total Women Carers of Children with Learning Disabilities
Supported
Total Male Carers of Children with Learning Disabilities
Supported
Total Young Carers (Sibs) of Children with Learning
Disabilities
Total other Carers support across a range of sectors
79 Females
20 Males
26 Sibs
24 Others
149 Carers
Engaging Stakeholders
The company’s stakeholders are carers of children with learning disabilities and other carers who avail of
our personal development services and who participate on our programmes. Evaluation of the work we do
represents a big part of our on-going strategy to monitor changing trends in the sector and identify wider
issues affecting carers, their changing needs and any suggestions they have to improve on the work we do.
We ensure that at the end of our Programmes, each carer fills out a detailed Programme Evaluation form.
These are analysed and we take on board the views of carers and where possible add to or amend our
programmes accordingly.
Over the period 1st April – 31st March 2010, Me Unltd also carried out two strategic research projects in
partnership with Positive Futures a charity who work with families who have children with learning
disabilities to specifically identify the personal development needs of Male Carers living in Fermanagh and
young carers who have brothers/sisters with learning disabilities, also living in Fermanagh. 20 male
carers and 15 sibs were consulted during both key pieces of research which were instrumental in
informing local and regional statutory agencies and client groups on the emotional, mental, physical and
holistic needs of those involved and the personal development challenges they face.
It is also of note that two of our Company Directors are carers who have been through our Programmes
i.e. Mary Cassidy and Jennifer Bullock and they make a huge contribution to informing the direction of our
work and issues affecting carers.
Other stakeholders include organisations who have a remit to work with carers and in particular carers of
children with learning disabilities and over the period 1st April 2009 – 31st march 2010, presentations about
the work of Me Unltd were made to the Carer Co-ordinators in the Western Health and Social Care Trust,
South Eastern and Southern Health and Social Care Trusts, Carers NI, Autism NI, the National Autism
Society, Cause (Mental health Group based in Derry), and two Mental Health Groups in Fermanagh and
Omagh.
Me Unltd also presented at the Arc Conference in Downpatrick where a number of key
stakeholders working with carers were participating and were informed about the findings from our work
and the impact it is having on carers in Northern Ireland.
Remuneration of Directors
The Directors are totally committed to meeting the constitutional aims and objectives of Me Unltd
Community Interest Company and in particular in satisfying the Community Interest Test.
Noreen Kettyles, the founder of the company and Me Unltd’s Inspiration Director used a personal award of
£19,500 she received from Unltd (the foundation for social entrepreneurs), to finance the majority of the
running costs of Me Unltd for the financial year up to December 2009. This kept the running costs of the
company for its first year of operation to a minimum, and enabled the company to get off to a good start.
The total amount of running costs she covered personally over this period amounted to £13,142.43 and
included postage, stationery, phone (mobile & domestic), overhead, and travel expenses. The balance of
the award £6,357.57 she used to cover her own personal living expenses. There was no fee paid to her
personally, even though she worked full-time for the company during its first year of operation.
Once the Unltd award ran out in December 2009, a management fee for overseeing the full-time
management of Me Unltd and its many programmes, supporting the carers involved and delivery of the
varied and unique range of programmes was agreed by the Board. This fee was set at £2,500 per month,
of which Noreen Kettyles donates £1,250 of this fee as a contribution in kind each month. The Accounts
for the year 1st April 2009 – 31st March 2010, show remuneration to Noreen Kettyles under the term
“Management Expenses” of £3,750 covering the period January – March 2010 i.e. £1,250 per month.
All of the other Director’s involved attend bi-monthly Board meetings, and contribute their time pro-bono
for the benefit of the company, on a regular basis. No fee is paid to any other Director apart from a small
administration fee to Green Hat of which Bryony Flanagan Me Unltd’s Chair & Creative Director, is the
Managing Director. £144 was paid to Green Hat for admin services for the year.
No dividends on shares and or performance related interest was paid to any Director involved in the
company.
There was no transfer of assets to another asset locked body i.e. Positive Futures or otherwise. A
charitable donation of £2,000 was made to Positive Futures, to invest in an initiative to support 8
children/adults with learning disabilities to attain their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.