APPOINTING a manager to seek out new sources of funding will be one of the main tasks in the coming year for a group which provides a lifeline service for older folk in the dale.
The Association of Teesdale Day Clubs, which has been providing weekly lunches in villages across the dale for the past 25 years, has enough funding to keep it running for another 18 months – but new sources of cash are needed to keep it afloat.
The day clubs’ annual meeting heard how it was becoming more and more difficult to secure funding.
Chairman Dr Peter Wood said although Big Lottery funding had provided £750,000 during the past ten years, it would be unlikely that funding of this level would be available in the future.
Dr Wood said: “We are in the last year of Big Lottery funding and we need to keep actively looking at grant funding opportunities as it is getting more and more difficult.
“We also need to raise the profile of the organisation wherever we can and we need to think about what we can do to promote the club.
“Wherever possible we need to let people know about the clubs and try to encourage more volunteers to come on board. The clubs are a lifeline for some people.”
Figures revealed the day clubs had to cover costs of £130,000 last year against an income of about £123,000.
The biggest sources of income were the Big Lottery, which provided £84,000 in 2018, with £17,258 from members fees and £5,960 from Teesdale Action Partnership (TAP).
A consultancy impact survey carried out by Durham Sparks found that the management structure needed to change, with more time needed to be spent on sourcing funding.
Dr Wood added: “The most important area we need to address is developing and implementing a funding strategy, which is key to our future.
“The key activity will be to look at getting funding.”
As part of this he said appointing a strategic manager to the organisation was necessary.
This would be someone with the relevant experience in grant applications who would help “to work out how we look at surviving financially” .
He said the organisation would be advertising the post, which will be a part time position, and there were already five candidates ready to be interviewed.
Dr Wood explained membership was slightly down in 2018 with 215 members compared to 231 in 2017 and it was important to get the message out about the availability of lunch clubs to residents of the dale.
There are ten lunch clubs across Teesdale which provide elderly people with freshly prepared meals. The service has been lauded for tackling rural social isolation with some members saying it can be the only human contact they get in the week.
Dr Wood explained 23 sessions had to be cancelled in 2018, which was mainly due The Beast from the East in the early part of the year.
Four members were taken into care and Dr Wood said though it was a high number it reflected the reality that the membership were becoming more frail.
A total of 8,088 meals were served during the year. Ninety eight per cent of members agreed that the clubs are an important part of their week. He added 99 per cent of members agreed the meals were good quality, which Dr Wood said spoke volumes for the chefs and volunteers.
Dr Wood, who has been chairman of the day clubs for eight years, thanked all the volunteers, staff and businesses that had helped during 2018 and said their support was invaluable.
He said it would be his final year in the position, but wanted to ensure they got through the year and were able to get through the difficult financial time.
Madeleine Walton, community worker for the day clubs, gave thanks to Dr Wood.
“I know just how much effort Peter has put in to keep us going,” she said.
“When we have had some difficult times he has never let us down and he will try his level best to sort things out.”
