HILLINGDON SHOPMOBILITYANNUAL REPORT

2014 – 2015

Company limited by Guarantee No 4572270Registered Charity No 1098143

HILLINGDON SHOPMOBILITY

ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015

Our customers this year have visited in total 4337 times between April 1st 2014 and 31st March 2015. We had a total of 231 new registrations bringing us up to 4930 customers.

Scooters and manual wheelchair holiday hire generated a total of £2,285 for the year.

The results from this year’s customer survey have been encouraging with a lot of positive feedback.

We are now producing a newsletter every three months (March, June, September and December) we no longer post them they are given to customers when they come to the office and we now are able to send to most of our customers using an email address.

The Christmas Shopping event followed the same format as last year with everyone enjoying the event. Volunteers from the locals colleges and schools helped to get all the guests round the shops for a bit of Christmas Shopping and then onto lunch at the Middlesex Suite in the Civic Centre, where carols sang by local school children and the Salvation Army played to entertain guests while they enjoyed a hot lunch supplied by the Middlesex Suite. Hampers were given to one guest from each bus by drawing names. The day ended with Father Christmas giving each guest a present, they were then escorted back to their mini buses and taken home.

We took part in the annual Auto show, organised by the Rotary Club of Uxbridge. Volunteers from 1083 squadron helped to take scooters to and from the showground from the Shopmobility office in the Chimes. The weather was good and everyone enjoyed a successful day.

Our dedicated volunteers helped with all the outside events without whom these events would not be possible. We would like to take this opportunity to

thank all our volunteers. Proceeds from the events will be doubled by Barclays for which we are very grateful.

RAISING MONEY

Over the last year we have wrapped presents on Valentine’s Day, and of course Christmas raising a total of just over £1,000 after doubling by Barclays.

There have been two quizzes, one at Easter and one in October raising a total £1,260.00.

At Easter and at Christmas we ran raffles and thanks to the generosity of David Lee who was a volunteer, he donated a television for the Christmas raffle. Combined the two raffles raised £645.

In June Derek and his son Rob completed the London to Brighton Cycle ride and raised £150

July saw the return of the Autoshow raising £800 for scooter hire and book sales

The Coach and Horses continues to raise money and supports us through a weekly quiz. Part of the money raised each Tuesday is given to Shopmobility and generates around £1,000 per year.

Our two collection days raised £355

The web-site has improved greatly over the last year, introducing a lot more information and an opportunity for Trustees to have their own page and keep up with what’s going on. We have a page of useful links to other organisations.

Keeping up with the times we now have a twitter account, and have 40 followers. Twitter@goshopmo.

We now also have a Facebook page with over 87 people reached and is proving popular and spreads the word.

STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS

There have been some changes to the staff and volunteer structure this year. Sue Johnson Operations Director, Shirley House Senior Administrator, Evelyn Constant Assistant and Alison Milne, our newest member of staff who replaced Christin Petanjek and is the Membership Co-ordinator.

We lost Steve and Karen two of our volunteers as they relocated down to Devon at the end of last year and have yet to replace them. We would like to thank Kate Payne, Kerry Margetts, Pat Mulchay and Derek Johnson for all their additional help over the last year.

TRUSTEESThanks go to the Trustees who served Shopmobility over the last year and are:

Nicholas Smith ChairpersonAaron Bayliss PavilionsSteve HattonKim HattonRosie Barker ‘intu’ UxbridgeMike CraneKevin MullallyKate Payne TreasurerPeter KempElizabeth Kemp

MOBILITY EQUIPMENT

Our stock of equipment is as follows:-

Two large four wheeled scootersSeven large three wheeled scootersSeven medium four wheeled scootersEight medium three wheeled scooters All electric scooters can be used with either left or right hand.

Two small manual wheelchairsSix medium manual wheelchairsTwo large manual wheelchairs

Fourteen manual wheelchairs which consist of a variety of small, medium and large for customers to use for weekend and holiday hire.Six electric power chairs, two left hands and four right hand.

Two four wheeled walkers

We also have available for customers convenience and comfort blankets, collapsible walking sticks, and bags, cushions and leg extenders which are to use with the manual wheelchairs.We re-structured the way customers pay their yearly fees and this has proved very successful in not only income but from the customers point of view as they get better value from the service.

CUSTOMERS USING OUR SERVICE

To register as a customer to use any type of equipment to access all of Uxbridge could not be easier. One proof of identification is all that is required (e.g. bank statement, utility bill, driving licence, or prescription) it needs to show your current name and address. Once the paperwork has been completed a suitable piece of equipment will be chosen and the customer will be trained. While the customer is enjoying themselves with their new found freedom and independence a customer pack which includes a registration card, survey, and a customer handbook will be ready for them when they return.

It costs £15 at the moment to register for a year to cover insurance costs. You can however register just for one visit which would cost £5. Customers are asked to make a donation each time they visit. The service is available to customers Monday - Saturday 9.15am – 4-30pm.

Customers who need to use equipment for a weekend or to take one on holiday can use our holiday hire service. We have nine manual wheelchairs and three electric scooters available. A manual wheelchair costs £10 for overnight and £20 for one week with a £20 returnable deposit when the

wheelchair is returned in good condition. A scooter is charged at £50 per week with a £150 deposit. We also have available two manual four wheeled walkers which cost £5 per week with a £10 deposit.

CUSTOMER EVALUATION OF THE SERVICE

Between 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2014 all Hillingdon Shopmobility customers who renewed their membership and paid theirannual registration/insurance fee, were given a questionnaire to complete, those who visit regularly are given an envelope without a stamp and for those who do not visit regularly are given a stamped addressed envelope to Hillingdon Shopmobility.

Customers are able to give their opinions on how they think we could improve our service to help them with some of their needs. Here are some of the questions asked from this year.

Powerchairs for taller people ie with longer leg and footrests and wing mirrors

Left hand control only, I find it difficult to use dual control as I have to press backwards to go forwards

Use of toilets Would like longer opening hours when shops are open late It would be nice if you could post my newsletters. I expect it would be too

expensive?

A total of 231 customers registered renewed their membership and paid their registration/insurance fee this year. 150 questionnaires were returned. Not all customers returned their questionnaires and some did not answer all the questions in the survey.

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Customers made additional comments on their form, these included: Brilliant service – can’t fault – highly recommend. Thanks. Using Shopmobility continues to give me independence, which I would

not now be able to have, so I cannot put a price on the value of your service. As my mobility has got worse I would like to thank Shirley for bringing the buggy to the car, always with a cheery smile. A set fee of £5 should be made – a very small price to pay and if a customer wants to give a donation on top even better.

CONCLUSION

It would seem that there are areas of the service which we need to publicise more widely – the goods and information we have available, our long-term hire scheme and our new website.

However this survey demonstrates that most customers are very happy with the service as provided by Hillingdon Shopmobility.

OUR SPONSORS

Hillingdon Shopmobility would like to thank the following for their support over the last year.

London Borough of Hillingdon who provide a grant, which is a contribution towards the salaries.

Direct sponsorship from the business sector and local trust funds, which pay for new mobility equipment and its maintenance.

Customer’s donations and fundraising events, which go towards maintenance of mobility equipment and some of the office costs.

‘intu’, who pay for the general running costs.

Barclays who double our many of our fundraising efforts

Our current sponsors are:

Barclays Bank plc

‘intu’ Merchants’ Association

Coach and Horses Public House, Ickenham

London Borough of Hillingdon

CAN YOU HELP US?Shopmobility relies on donations in order to provide its customers with mobility equipment that is regularly serviced, repaired and replaced. If you would like to make a donation towards the scheme, these are some of the things your money could buy.

£5 Could pay for a blanket £175 Could replace the batteries on a scooter or powerchair

£20 Could pay for a collapsible walking stick

£500 Could pay for a lightweight manual wheelchair

£75 Could pay for the servicing for a manual wheelchair

£2500

Could pay for an electric scooter

If you would like to make a donation to Shopmobility or are interested in becoming a volunteer, please fill in the slip below and return to:

Hillingdon ShopmobilityUnit 301‘intu’ UxbridgeThe Chimes Shopping CentreUxbridge Middx UB8 1GD

Name …………………………………………………………………………………..

Address………………………………………………………………………………..

Telephone Number …………………………………………………………………

I enclose a donation of £………………. (a receipt will be sent)

I am interested in becoming a volunteer, please send me some information.

WHAT’S NEXT

Next year we will be reviewing PQASSO (practical assurance system for small organisations) having completed all sections we now have to re-visit each criteria to make sure we are still meeting what is expected.

We will be hiring out scooters at the Autoshow which is set to go ahead in July. This gives people the independence to enjoy the show to its fullest and finding ways of raising awareness of the service.

We have already booked two collections days to raise money. We anticipate holding two quizzes, we will as always, be wrapping for Christmas. This year with the help of ‘intu’ and the Pavilions, we will be organising some promotion days, dates yet to be confirmed.

We will continue to sell small mobility items, books and bric a brac from the office raising much needed funds. We will welcome customers old and new with around 5000 visits expected, repair, service and replace mobility equipment as it becomes due, train staff and volunteers at our regular meetings, review policies and procedure, upload the latest information to our website, Facebook and Twitter account.

HILLINGDON SHOPMOBILITY WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR SUPPORT DURING THE

YEAR.

The Coach and Horses, Ickenham