UMEED PARTNERSHIP (UK)

Committee Meeting: 9th September 2009

Present:    John Perkins (Chair), Clive Southerton, Geraldine Sanders, Riffat Rizvi, Stuart Elliott, Neil Evans, Ruth Goggin (Secretary)

Apologies:    Jessica Clapham, Mieko Yamaguchi, Renee Taylor

1.    MINUTES

[1]    The minutes of the meeting held on 1st July 2009 were confirmed.

[2]    With reference to Minute 1 (Welcome):  It was reported that Alys Hughes was currently living in Japan but she had still expressed an interest in being involved with Umeed.

[3]    With reference to Minute 3 (Chairman’s Report):  The £500.00 from Bangor Rotary Club had now been received.

[4]    With reference to Minute 5 (Financial Report): John & Riffat had met with Ged and all Treasurer responsibilities were transferred.  The Chair on behalf of the Committee expressed his sincere gratitude to Riffat for her due diligence as Treasurer since 2004.

2.    CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

[1]    John thanked Clive and all his helpers for organising the ScalaGala event which had been a     great success.
[2]    John also thanked Stuart for his work on the website.  There had been a considerable increase in traffic with this new development.  Stuart reported that he needed to register the Charity formally with PayPal to enable people to make a donation.  To do this he required a recent bank statement.
It was agreed that Ged would either scan the statement and send to Stuart, or send to Ruth     to scan.
The information required from the Charity Commissioners could be found on their     website.
Action: SE/GS/RG

3.    FINANCIAL REPORT

[1]    It was reported that the ScalaGala event had succeeded with a net profit of £2031.31.  Expenses for the event totalled £1,078.77.

[2]    It was agreed that a total of £3.5k be transferred to the Project in Pakistan as soon as possible.  This included £2k to be used for general Umeed activities and £1k to be spent on activities relating to the “Open Every Door Project”.  Clive reported that Yousuf desperately needed a new lap top for the OED Project, and it was further agreed that Yousuf should purchase this from the £1k.
Action: JP/RG

[3]    In order to start preparations for the OED Project Clive would be visiting Pakistan in October.  It was agreed that money raised for the project should be used to cover the cost of his full fare to Pakistan.
Action: GS

4.    UMEED BANK ACCOUNT

[1]    Due to the change in Treasurer it was agreed that the signatories for the Umeed Partnership HSBC bank account should be changed to allow for Ged, as the new Treasurer, to sign cheques. Riffat (the past Treasurer) would cease to be a signatory.

[2]    Members discussed in some detail the financial arrangements for the ‘Open Every Door’ initiative, and it was agreed that a separate bank account for this be opened in the HSBC Bank in Prestatyn, with signatories being designated as Ged (Treasurer), Clive (Vice-Chair) and John (Chair).
Action: GS

[3]    It was further agreed that the £1,101.33 in the general account raised from the ScalaGala event be transferred to the new account once opened.
Action: JP/GS

5.    REPORT FROM SCALAGALA AND OTHER FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES

Clive reported that the ScalaGala had been a great success with 180 people attending.  It was unfortunate that the costs had been so high in relation to running the event, but everyone was happy with the profit made.

It was agreed that Clive would send pictures from the event to Stuart for inclusion on the website.
Action: CS

Future fundraising activities:

[1]    Hairdressing Show, based on the Musical Hairspray to be held on September 21st at the ScalaGala.  Young people from both Prestatyn High School and Rhyl High School have helped organise this event.

[2]    By-gones at Bodrhyddyn Hall.  This would be held on Monday 28th September,             7.00 pm; tickets £10.00 and include delicious desserts.
Tickets were available from Clive, Ruth and Stuart.

[3]    Open Every Door Project – Clive up-dated members on plans to date.  It was agreed by all that the additional visit to Singapore would be an unnecessary trip for the young people from Pakistan since it would be unlikely to be cost effective for    the Umeed Project.

‘FAIRGROUNDS’

Stuart reported that he had made contact with an on-line company that specialises in ethically sourced goods from overseas. They currently did not have any goods from Pakistan and were interested in receiving some samples of the Umeed products. Clive agreed to bring back both some embroidery (scarves, small bags etc.) and woodwork (magnets, light pulls etc.) which could be sent to the company.
Action: CS

7.    DATE OF NEXT MEETING

18th November 2009, 7.30 pm at 58, Upper Garth Road, Bangor