DRS AGM 2021
This year’s AGM was well attended despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Steve made the report more accessible to asylum seeker and refugee volunteers by offering translations at key moments and by a short English lesson preceding the meeting which covered the main ideas.
A text copy of the report follows; it doesn’t really do justice to the original, which is very colourful and full of pictures!
Annual Report 2021 - Ta dah!!!
DRS ….. Uniquely colourful community collaboration at home and abroad.
Our objectives
1. The relief and assistance of refugees and those seeking asylum in any part of the world who are the victims of war or natural disaster, trouble, or catastrophe in particular by the supply of aid to such persons through providing: grants, items and services to charities and other organisations with similar objectives.
How has this objective been achieved?
Aid trips to Refugee camps
⦁ 3 vans to Calais
⦁ 1st van load to Lebanon
⦁ 2 van loads to Shareware Nottingham
Donations to Refugee support groups
DRS gave £9374 to other charities during the year including Care4Calais,Muslims In Need, Medical Aid for Pakestine, Sea Watch Rescue, RNLI and Pallet Aid. £1400 was spent on delivering aid to Calais.
Fundraising
⦁ Dent in the Rent …… now stands at £349 per month
⦁ Joan’s masks
⦁ Charlie’s 10mile sponsored run with 10 refugees
⦁ Kims’ corridor shop… and Kims’ front garden shop.
⦁ Belper sales stall and Vegan revelation cafe
⦁ Shena Lawrence selling clothes
⦁ Warm Welcome for Refugees Appeal
⦁ Volunteers raising money through Facebook and ebay
⦁ Donations: Several individual one off donations, birthdays
⦁ New selling arrangements in warehouse
⦁ 2021 Calendar
⦁ Savanah recycling clothes sales £2400
⦁ £16000 grants for bikes
⦁ Grants for sports equipment including footballs, goalposts, football kit, tug of war rope and much more.
⦁ £750 of sports equipment from DRS success in the Beat the Street event..... some of which was donated to Migrant help for Laverstoke residents.
2. The relief and assistance of asylum seekers and refugees and their dependents living (temporarily or permanently) in Derby and Derbyshire by providing items, services and practical support.
How has this objective been achieved?
Activities in Derbyshire
Regular Samba teaching and other music sessions
⦁ St Annes activities include Music , Art, Sewing, Gardening, Woodworking
⦁ DRS Library established at St Anne’s
⦁ Regular volunteer numbers around 40 – 50 including 30+ local refugee/asylum seeker community.
⦁ New twice weekly sorting clothes for aid trips or selling for funds at home and abroad.
⦁ Wild things visit to Shining Cliffs and Cromford
⦁ Bike maintenance: City and Guilds courses for Volunteers
⦁ Donation of bike repair workshop equipment.
⦁ Bike workshop kitchen continues at DRS with Bikeback charity.
⦁ Escorted bike rides with 5 bike ride leaders trained with funding from Cycling UK
⦁ New sports equipment for regular sport on the park
⦁ Derby County Community Trust donations of football kit
⦁ Monthly football started at Willows …. 1st session 30+
⦁ Garden refurbished to include vegetable plot and flower beds and space for outside English lessons
⦁ “Beat the Street” - with three awards!
⦁ Sports day. Open day
⦁ Trips to Pride Park, Derby Theatre, Peace week, Derby Museum and Art Gallery
⦁ Safeguarding training
⦁ “Signposting” folder established
Provision of aid in Derbyshire
⦁ Regular donations to refugees in St Anne’s with new arrangements to make distribution fairer and more dignified
⦁ New Storeroom team of four – all asylum seekers; huge improvement in storeroom organisation
⦁ Hardship fund used to help individual asylum seekers
⦁ Support for 7 accommodation hotels, especially Holiday Inn, Derby, Best Western Appleby Magna and Newton Solney, Risley Hall, Burrows Court, Nottingham and Laverstoke court. Whatsapp groups to facilitate distribution
⦁ Support for Afghan families in acute phase of relocation to UK
⦁ 70 bikes repaired ,serviced and given out to provide transport
⦁ £2000 funding for bikes from Coop community fund
⦁ £14000 council funding for 40 bikes , lights, locks, helmets and C&G training.
Working with other organisations in Derbyshire and beyond.
⦁ Regular updates and liaison with DRAC , Migrant Help , Red Cross, City of Sanctuary
⦁ Liaison with Serco, Upbeat Communities, Migrant Help and local community representatives to assist asylum seekers in hotels
⦁ Ongoing links with Mothers’ Union, Inner Wheels, Nottinghamshire refugee groups, Wild Things, Bikeback
⦁ New links with Garden to Wellbeing, The Freeshop, Lebanon, Scarthin Books, Wirksworth and Techrecycle in Borrowash.
3. To advance the education of the public in general about issues relating to refugees and those seeking asylum by promoting and providing activities which foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds.
How has this objective been achieved?
⦁ Presentations to Inner Wheels, Mothers Union , Schools , Chesterfield Labour Party, Erewash Labour Party
⦁ Radio Derby interviews, BBC East Midlands news, Channel 4 news.
National Refugee Week activities
⦁ Radio Free Matlock
⦁ Virtual parkrun ‘Run with Refugees’
⦁ Charlie’s 10 mile sponsored run
⦁ Claire and Nader’s zoom meeting with Chaucer School
⦁ Visit of Mugginton school
⦁ Open Day
4. To empower refugees and asylum seekers in Derby by offering English conversation and/or grammar sessions, thereby increasing confidence, integration and employability.
How has this objective been achieved?
⦁ Twice weekly English sessions
⦁ Increased team of tutors. There are now 26 in the team
⦁ National Lottery Funding to purchase 7 laptops and to pay a volunteer to set them up ready for classes.
⦁ Online lessons provided during the pandemic
⦁ Bank of resources in our googledrive, including resources for online and in person teaching
⦁ Education “office” created on the stage, with storage for laptops, materials, games etc
⦁ Classroom created in garden
⦁ Investment in resources and teaching aids, eg mobile whiteboard, mini whiteboards
⦁ Help provided with CV writing, application forms, role-play interviews etc
Finally and most importantly a massive THANK YOU to all our volunteers through the year without whom this long list of achievements would not have been possible
