Maidstone and Mid-Kent Mind 2018 AGM Minutes
Minutes of the Maidstone and Mid-Kent Mind Annual General Meeting held from 12 noonon Friday 6th July 2018 at The Town Hall,High Street, Maidstone
Present: Susan Grigg (Chairman), Tim Arnold, Philip Fuller, Hazel Webb and James Woods (Trustees)Julie Blackmore, Nikki Brooker,Heidi Bunting, Ashlea Clarke, Sam Curran,Tom Fishenden, Kim Harris, Yvonne Irivin,Josie Ledger, Kelly Lee, Suzanne Middleton, Ron Reeder and James Walker (Staff)
Forty Nine other people were in attendance including services users, local organisationsand local partners.
Apologies: Richard Harvey, Jennifer Parris, Donal Watkins and Dr Neil Sinclair
Welcome & Introduction
Susan Grigg welcomed everyone and explained that it had been an exciting year for her as the new chairman, learning the role and meeting local people.
She was pleased to announce another very stable financial year thanks to the efforts of
Julie Blackmore and her staff who had increased the scale of delivery of MMK Mind this year
and secured the extension of the building in College road.
She wanted to personally thank all of the staff and volunteers for their efforts.
Minutes of the 2017 AGM
Julie Blackmore explained that the minutes of the 2017 meeting were contained within the annual report and there were no action points for consideration. It was agreed that these were a true and accurate record of the meeting and were signed by the Chairman.
Election of Trustees & Appointment of Auditors
James Walker explained that all nine of the current trustees wished to be reconsidered for election and asked for a proposal from the floor that they be elected en-bloc to serve for an additional year and a vote was held.
It was also proposed that Wiggins & Co chartered Accountants be appointed as auditors for an additional year.
It was agreed that:
Tim Arnold, Philip Fuller, Susan Grigg, Richard Harvey, Jennifer Parris, Dr Neil Sinclair, Donal Watkins, Hazel Webb and James Wood be elected as Trustees of Maidstone and Mid-Kent Mind.
Wiggins & Co Chartered Accountants be appointed as the auditors for Maidstone and Mid-Kent Mind.
Chairman’s Report
Susan Grigg presented her reported stating that this had been the most successful year in the charity’s history with expansion in number of services and geographic coverage on offer. There had been a large number of grants secured throughout the year along with a successful tender to Kent county council for delivery of a Kent wide HeadStart training programme.
Chief Exec’s Report
Julie Blackmore presented her report drawing attention to some of the successes from the year including; the expansion of services on offer to local schools, the continued delivery of Kent Police Control Room support and a Wellbeing Café for Ashford, as well as the creation of a new Crisis Café in Maidstone.
She added that there continued to be a consistent growth in the number of people accessing community services with much of this being due to the increased marketing reach provided in the year by Tom.
Looking ahead Julie was keen to see the extension of the college road building take place and also for the IAPT and Low Cost Counselling services to grow in size to meet the local needs. Another target was also to get more staff trained as MHFA Instructors as this was a area of consistent growth.
Julie thanked the board members for their dedication and the volunteers for the difference they made to the charity. She also thanked all the staff for their continuing efforts and flexibility.
Treasures Report
Hazel Webb presented the financial report for 2017/18 showing a surplus of £119,569, however she explained that £50k of this a grant received towards the building extension works. The end year balance as at 31 March 2017 was £373,101 following a significant investment in IT equipment for staff.
Youth Services
Nikki Brooker stated that in the past year there had been a 200% increase in young people accessing our services with 359 engaging in courses and peer support groups. A short film about the youth service was shown.
Café Services
James Walker explained that there continued to be large demand for the wellbeing café in Ashford and that several service users and volunteers had raised additional funding for equipment to be used at the café. He added that a new Crisis café provision had been commissioned for Maidstone and whilst this provided a very different service specification it was already seeing significant attendances.
Social media and marketing
Tom Fishenden explained that he had spent this year learning and developing his new role and loved doing it. He had expanded the reach of the MMK Mind social media and branding and presented a short film about our services.
Volunteers
Suzanne Middleton introduced herself to everyone as someone that came into contact with MMK Mind services following the loss of her son to suicide in 2016. She undertook some courses and started to volunteer with the charity whilst looking to recover from the bereavement. Eventually she reached the point where she wanted to work and is now delivering community services for MMK Mind which she loves.
Therapeutic Drumming
Nicky Underwood explained that she was introduced to MMK Mind via a friend and together they made a grant application to pilot drumming sessions as a way for people to improve their wellbeing. This proved highly successful with several people undertaking public performances of the skills they learned. These sessions are designed for complete novices to have fun whilst supporting their mental wellbeing and she was keen to see this service expand to even more people.
Questions from the floor
In response to questions from the floor Julie Blackmore explained that the Maidstone Café would not become wellbeing based as it was not what the CCG has commissioned, and the new extension would hopefully be completed by October with a 2 week shut down of services for connection breakthrough works.
Closing Remarks from Chairman
Susan Grigg thanked everyone for attending and sharing some of the achievements from this year and was looking forward to another successful year. She invited everyone to take refreshments and network with each other.
