Baah Humbug!
Gavin Crocker
Chair of Trustees
For those of you who were not at the AGM I was honoured to be asked to take over as Chair of the Samson Centre from Robin Kendall and so I thought it appropriate to send Christmas wishes, convey a few thank yous and give everyone an outline of our plans for the next couple of years.
Firstly, I would like to thank Robin and John Hambly for their outstanding work as Chair and Vice Chair. John served as Vice Chair until July when David Kitching took over. Both Robin and John are remaining as trustees and given the season it is tempting to refer to these changes as a game of musical chairs! Robin and John did an outstanding job during their tenure, particularly in leading us through the COVID crisis, obtaining a special dispensation to remain open for essential services in the second lockdown. Their prudent financial stewardship enabled us to repay the outstanding loan following the construction of the Bradbury Annexe and we now have reassuring reserves in the bank account.
We are all suffering from spiralling costs and the Samson Centre is no exception. We are keeping a tight rein on spending because the reserves that have been accumulated are from generous donations and one-off legacies. These are for capital projects to increase the scope or improve existing services rather than to plug holes in our finances. We may also be hit by a reduction in income if people can no longer afford to make regular donations to the Centre. I am sure that such donations will be as a result of people digging deep and so we owe it to them to make sure that they are properly spent.
Our priority is to maintain the essential services that the Centre currently provides so that it remains a welcoming refuge where members and their carers can come and escape the pressures of the outside world. It is also important to remember that staff and volunteers are finding the economic situation tough and so we must take care of them as well. Without their dedication and enthusiasm, the Centre cannot function. I would like to say a particular thank you to them because their kindness and professionalism makes a real difference to the well-being of our members.
As I may be dubbed the new Chief Scrooge rather than Chair of the trustees, I am pleased to offset this gloom by saying that Jackie has just announced a counselling service for members and carers that will be starting in January. We are also looking forward to the refurbishment of the gym with new equipment arriving from February.
We will not be wasting the next twelve months with inaction. We are going to use this time to identify new areas in which the Centre can offer more. We will be drawing up detailed plans so that as soon as we think it is safe to loosen the purse strings we will put these in place. If you have any ideas that you think would benefit the Centre, please let Jackie or me know.
We will be keeping the heating on at the Centre both before and after Christmas so please come in up to Fri 16 Dec or from Tues 3 Jan and enjoy a warm welcome rather than being chilly or on your own at home!
On behalf of the Samson Centre I would like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a healthy and exciting New Year.