At the AGM held at the Isle of Wight College on Friday 23th April 2010, voted onto committee were:
Tim Smith chairman
Jane Dollery Secretary/transport/membership
Grace Hearne treasurer
Fay Smith Social secretary
Lezley Nicol News letter Editor
General committee
Daphne Lock
John Crawford
Elizabeth Riddett
Sue Smith
Peter Lano

Notes on Committee Meeting held 10th June 2010.

Welfare.
It was reported that the three welfare grants that were considered at he last meeting were approved. Again, at this meeting, it was clear the amount of consideration that goes into making a grant. A great deal of effort is made to maximise the value for money before the society make a grant. The three grants were - two to help with mobility and one for respite care.

Finance.
Many donations were received after the sad death of Hilda Young. Members of the Friday Club also made a collection in her memory. This collection was given directly to the Island branch.

Fundraising
Several schemes were discussed. Provisional plans were put in place to hold a fashion show with stock from the shop as the items to be paraded. There is such a wide range of fashions and wide age range of clothing donated to the shop, it as felt that, as well as fund raising, it would increase public awareness of the shop.
We discussed the fact that some mobility aids, scooters, chairs etc., that are purchased under the welfare grants, are very high value items. When they were no longer required, for whatever reason, in the past they were lost to the society. This largely came about, as we had nowhere to store large items. We now have the facility to accept second hand items, which may be used by members or sold to put a little back into the funds. It was suggested that when a grant is made for, shall we say, an expensive electric scooter/wheelchair, the recipient understands that it will be returned to the society when it is of no further use.

Social Report
Fay is still doing an amazing job in organising the monthly meal/social. Her options are limited as costs increase to the society. It was agreed that the membership should be asked to ensure that they contact Fay at least a week before to book places for the social and, when appropriate, let her know their menu choice. It was pointed out that it is important that people are not late for the meals as this caused problems for the caterers and delays for the majority of diners.

Transport
Transport is a very significant proportion of the Island branch spending. Everyone who uses organised transport is able to claim the mobility element of DLA so we agreed to put a collecting tin in the bus to accept voluntary donations towards the running costs. This is an interim measure while the committee review the cost of transport for the members. It was agreed that some form of 'charge' must made toward the cost of transport. It is hoped that the voluntary contributions will help for the moment

Newsletter
The first edition of the newsletter is almost ready for the press. The committee thanked Lezley for her efforts in taking on such a demanding office.

Shop & Therapy Charges
The shop takings are being maintained at the high level experienced in the first few weeks. The chairman thanked most sincerely, the people who work so hard to make it so successful.
We made provisional plans for the official opening of the 'Centre' including the therapy room. A 'Grand Opening' would give us maximum potential to make people aware of what's on offer at the centre.
We discussed general charges for the therapy room and agreed that a price list would be published. MS sufferers and their carers would be able to use the facility at half the published price. Other people and members of the public would be able to use the facility on a first come first served basis. It was hoped the membership would make the most of the excellent facilities that are being put in place. The committee would be delighted if the system is booked fully by MS sufferers and their carers.

A.O.B.
It was reported that the investigation into finding a venue for The Friday Club was ongoing and some progress is being made. Two members of the committee are to visit a suggested venue within the next few days. It was felt that the club is being missed very much.

Notes from Committee Meeting held Thursday 6th May 2010.

Welfare

We discussed three welfare awards. As a new committee member I was impressed at the thorough way each case was considered. The main considerations being the how much the award would help the claimant. A welfare sub committee was elected. It is not appropriate to disclose individual cases on this site but we were asked to consider grants for transport, wheelchairs and respite care.

Fundraising

Sue was elected as fundraising officer. We discussed several schemes to raise funds. We agreed to ask the membership through the medium of the newsletter and this site for any ideas you may have, please contact any committee member.

Membership

Jane reported that we have in excess of 180 members here on the Island.

Social Report

The Monthly Lunches were discussed and it was agreed that they offer much benefit to the membership. Fay was congratulated on her organising ability. We discussed the price of the meals and how much the society subsidises the meals. It was agreed that they always represent very good value. They have always cost the society approximately £10 - which we subsidise £4 to make the cost £6 to members. It has become increasingly difficult to find venues with the correct facilities offering meals at £10. It was suggested that the cost to members is increased to £7 per head. This still represents extremely good value for money and allows Fay a little more scope in choosing venues.
It was reported that some members enjoy visiting different venues. However, it is difficult to keep finding suitable ones. It was suggested that the committee look into selecting a handful of venues that are good value and suitable from an access point of view, and then visiting each on a rota. This would ensure that we are always happy with the event. Keeping the venue central on the Island was also discussed.

Transport

With the demise of the Friday club, the mini bus is being used less now. It was agreed that it is a valuable asset for the society and much appreciated by the members. The cost of transport was brought up. Typically a taxi to accommodate a wheel chair cost £21 each way. This means that for one person to go to the monthly social cost the society £42 in taxi fares and £4 subsidy for the meal. Forty six pounds for one social meal is not sustainable so the committee have been requested to look into charging some small amount toward the transport. This is a very difficult subject and I can assure you that the committee are giving it the most serious consideration.

Finance

John handed over the reins of treasurer to Grace, along with a skip load of paper work. John reported the balance of the accounts before handing over. Quite a large expenditure this month, mostly setting up the new shop. It was pointed out that the costs were to cover six months in advanc so will even out over that time. John was thanked for his commitment to his role as treasurer.

Newsletter

Lezley was appointed news letter editor. She showed a copy of the proposed layout which looked great. It was emphasised that the newsletter is for the benefit of the members and will rely on material from them to make it work. The first issue will be very important as it will set out what it intends to achieve and how it intends to do that. It seemed that everything we discussed, we asked Lesley to put it in the newsletter. She was thanked for her work so far.

Shop

The shop has been very very successful. It has all the necessary certificates to trade and has been approved by MS headquarters. It is taking more per week than it took in a couple of months in the old shop. There were no concerns at all about the profit the shop will produce. The treatment room was discussed and it was agreed to ask the membership what they want from this excellent facility. We discussed how the society would subsidise the treatments for members. Jane and her team were thanked for their splendid efforts getting this off the ground.

AOB

The Friday club was discussed at length. It was decided that the committee would do as much as possible to find a venue and that if the club had somewhere to meet that it could again become a self running group within the society. It was suggested that some members of the old Friday club got together to share ideas and share them with the committee. They would have the assurance of the committee that they would do whatever they can to help.

Notes from Committee Meeting held Monday 19th July 2010.

Welfare

We have been offered several items to help people with mobility problems. These include various walking aids, three electric vehicles and a vertical, through the floor lift. We considered means of storing the items until a suitable user is found for them. However, the lift could be a problem. If someone has a need for such a piece of equipment, they need to contact the committee ASAP.

Fundraising

We agreed to three new fundraising schemes and would start organising them immediately
1) Fashion Show
3) Cream Tea
2) Home Collecting Boxes (See below)
Items 1 & 2 are detailed elsewhere on this site. (See Newsletters/News)

Membership

Jane reported that we have two new members since our last meeting.

Social Report

The Friday club was discussed and it was agreed to rename the group to encourage new members. The new club/group being so different than the old Friday club, it was felt it needed a new identity. It was reported that the group held their first social on 16th July and that it was a great success and very much appreciated by the attendees. The MS committee will support the new group however they can, including the use of the mini bus.

Transport

Cost of transport is still a matter to be resolved. Until it is, the committee would ask the membership to help in whatever way they can. Offering lifts, car sharing, sharing a taxi or asking family or friends for lifts. While the matter is being sorted, we have put a collecting box in the mini bus for passengers to make voluntary contributions.

Newsletter

Lezley was congratulated on the first issue of the newsletter. It was pointed out that she has now set the standard so has lots of hard work in front of her. It seemed that all through the meeting members were saying, "Lezley, that will have to go in the newsletter!"

Shop

The shop has been very successful. It has been necessary to apply to the planning department for change of use. This application is underway but until granted we are not able to use the therapy room. The Chairman thanked Jane for getting the matter in hand so quickly. It should only cause a very minor disruption.

At some point, every day, you empty your pockets before taking off your trousers. You put the car keys on the sideboard or hall table and chuck a handful of 'small change' into a pot, piggy bank or an old cup. I have a little tub on the sideboard where my wife rummages about looking for one pound coins of fifty pence pieces to pop to the corner shop with. I don't know what our female friends do. Do your purses get fat with coppers and those annoying little five pence things? (They used to be called shillings when I was a lad). I suspect they get put into charity boxes on the counters in shops, maybe.

Well - when some of the committee were sat around with blank minds, there was lots of empty space where ideas could germinate, - and one did!
If we asked every member to put all that old change in a box, in no time at all, there would be a reasonable sum in there. The cogs started working, slowly at first, then began to speed up. If every member put in just thirteen pence a day (on average), that would amount to £50 over a year. We have already agreed what a irritation the small change is, so - that nuisance would become SEVEN THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS if all our members used the little box idea.

The boxes will be included with your newsletter, and further supplies can be obtained from the MS shop or by asking at any of our socials.

How about asking visitors to empty their worthless change into your box, or better still get them to take a box home. They will appreciate it when their trouser pockets last longer!

PS. No committee member has yet been able to assemble the collecting boxes in less than 15 minutes, so please don' ask them to help!

Looking at the Branch’s finances for the twelve months we can summarise the results as follows -

Total income for the year was £33,206
Total expenditure for the year was £24,495
Excess of income over expenditure was £8,711

A breakdown of income and expenditure for the twelve months shows the following -

As you can see from the above statement we have kept to our policy of using our income to its fullest extent whilst at the same time maintaining a safe level of reserves, and we hope in the process that we have provided financial and emotional support where it was most needed.

My sincere thanks to everyone who has supported us in our work – I look forward to seeing you at our next social event.

Kind Regards – John Crawford (Treasurer)