ADCA chairman's report

It was Audlem District Community Action's (ADCA) annual general meeting on Friday. This is what chairman Roger Millns reported to the meeting:

Our third year of operation has been a very busy one. We have continued to expand our services and the number of older people and their carers who we have helped has increased to over 80.

We have also been fortunate in recruiting new volunteers to work alongside our longstanding and loyal ones which takes the total number of ADCA volunteers to nearly 40. We couldn't run our services without them, so many thanks to them.

A key theme, nationally, throughout the last year has been the emphasis in the health service, in social care and in the media of the importance of tackling loneliness and social isolation. We are told that the positive impact on people's health and well being of being able to have regular social contact and activity is very high and can help prevent heart disease and depression.

Of course, ADCA members, staff and volunteers see on a weekly basis the very positive impact which our services have on people's overall wellbeing and this has been endorsed by Audlem Medical Practice, South Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Cheshire East Council – all of who continue to support our work in this respect.

Another key theme in the last year has been the continuing expansion of our partnership working. The successful move of the Day Club to Hankelow Chapel was made possible by the very active support of Hankelow Methodists and the local minister.

Wulvern Housing provided a disabled ramp into the Methodist Hall there and Cheshire East Council, through its community grants fund, provided an additional storage shed and access for ADCA so as to make the use of Hankelow Chapel practical.

This successful partnership led to the Methodist Circuit asking ADCA to help support its community mission on a wider basis and this has led to the establishment of a coffee club at Broad Lane Chapel in Nantwich which is now successfully operating with new volunteers and members.

We also worked with Audlem & District Amenities Society who asked us to take over their longstanding Hospital Car Scheme. This was successfully undertaken in April this year. We were also fortunate in being offered office accommodation by Graham Tressider in his Nantwich Funeral Services shop on the Square in Audlem which is now open on two mornings each week staffed by volunteers.

Allan and Jo Brown at the Lord Combermere continue to provide us with accommodation for the Coffee Club and have also now provided accommodation for the twice monthly Carers' Support Group.

None of this would be possible without the continued funding support from Cheshire East Council who have now renewed our main contract for the next three years to provide our day and coffee clubs along with befriending, magazine swop and voluntary car services.

Cheshire East have also awarded ADCA two new, one year contracts for the expansion of rural community transport to include the hospital car scheme and to provide support to the local carer's group including local carers' breaks.

We continue to be actively supported by Audlem Parish Council, ASET, Audlem Medical Practice, Cheshire East CVS and Bradshaw's Accountants and by the Public Hall Committee, with whom we are working on the planned Public Hall Annex which will provide the future accommodation for ADCA and many other local groups. So a big thank you to all our partners, supporters and funders.

Last but by no means least; I must thank our hard working Coordinator, Veronica Briggs for her enthusiasm and imagination. Ronni is now ably assisted by Lynn Morear who commenced as Assistant Coordinator in January this year.

And finally, it's important to say that it is the people who use our services, the members and their family carers, who contribute so much by their kindness, humour, determination, poetry, reminiscences and support.

Roger Millns – Chairman

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