Genesis AGM Happened In September But What Does It Take To Make Genesis Tick?
Last month Genesis Trust had their Annual General Meeting at St Michael's Church, Twerton. Katie Collier of Genesis tells us why this Bath charity which helps the homeless and needy continues to need our support.
Read her fascinating 'Q &A' about new Project Steering Groups, the clients they help and recent memorable moments!
(PICTURES: THE RECENT GENESIS CANAL CHALLENGE)
How has the past 12 months been for Genesis Trust?
The end of 2011 was a tough one financially but the year is now looking brilliantly promising. We have achieved so much already this year, and our Project Managers continue to work to capacity to bring out the best in our clients and give them the best opportunities.
On Genesis website you are advertising help needed for Project Steering Groups…who can volunteer to do this?
We are ideally looking for people to contribute voluntarily on a long-term basis to shape the direction of the project they’re interested in/have skills for. We are looking for anyone who might have skills in business management/finance or specialisms related to our projects such as mental health, homelessness, education etc. If you are interested please contact Paul Solly, our Director, on 07793 726105.
Does it indicate that the Genesis projects are growing and increasing numbers of clients are benefitting from them?
We are seeing an increased numbers of people receiving help from our Lifeline Centre and clients continue to flourish in our projects such as Life Skills and Wood Works. However, the impact of the recession also means that prices at our Furniture Project are still too steep for some, and it’s about trying to find the right balance of helping as much as we can but still being effectively sustainable as a charity and business for some of our projects.
What have been the best moments or most memorable for Genesis in the past year?
We’ve had lots of fantastic moments such as the fantastic response of our April appeal receiving £50,000 from local supporters, becoming Charity of the Year for the Business Women’s Association, being the sole collecting charity at Bath International Music Festival’s Party in the City, generally seeing our clients develop and grow in confidence and new partnerships we’re making across the city.
You have had the canal challenge!.. What did you expect the day to be like? How much money do you hope to raise?
We hope it will be a really relaxed, fun day out for everyone to get involved as much or as little as possible. We have had lots of people interested in trying our canoeing as you can hire canoes from Dundas for the day, so it may look different this year! We would love to raise in the thousands but we realise September is a competitive month for sponsored challenges.
How much money do Genesis need to raise to operate annually? Is this all from voluntary contributions?
We need approx £300,000 a year to operate on an annual basis, although this is modest considering that we run 9 projects across the city. As we do not rely on any government contracts, we rely on individual and church support to run, as well as from Trusts so any community fundraising events are more than welcome!
Please look out also for St Andrews Community Church’s charity clothes swap on 14th September which is raising money for us and A21. Doors open at 7.30pm and swapping starts at 8pm. Entry is £3 and bring 3 items (min) of good quality clothing/shoes/handbags or some delicious finger food. We’re asking for a donation of 50p per item that people take home with them (which is a bargain!) Items can be delivered from 11am-1pm on Thursday 13th if that helps or they can be bought on the night.
How has God moved in the everyday runnings of Genesis this year?
God continues to provide opportunities – we have had an increase in people wanting to offer their skills in a voluntary way recently and our Life Skills courses for example have had some fantastic opportunities to partner with other organisations. For example, already in April, we worked with Bath Spa student Nina in an upcycling workshop who runs www.sohouseproud.com blog, in May and June our clients were involved in Bath Soup Company’s pilot of the Bath Soup School and they are currently working with Creativity Works in Radstock to produce digital anthologies.
Do you have a project this Autumn? This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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October 2012