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                                                       Kendall Community Op Shop Inc.

                                Annual General Meeting 

                               President’s Report 2023

 

Presented at the Annual General Meeting on

14th December 2023 

 

Good evening, everyone and welcome.

It gives me pleasure to present to you the President’s Report for 2023 on behalf of the Management Committee and myself.

I would like to thank everyone present for attending tonight’s Annual General Meeting and for showing such an interest in the activities of Kendall Community Op Shop.

 

Thank you, Allan, for your comprehensive Financial Report and all the information presented including how much has been earned and how it has been disbursed and information about the Grants Programme.

 

This evening, I would like to share with you the several different parts and aspects of the Op Shop and how it has functioned during the past year.

It has been said that it takes a whole village to raise a child, and it certainly takes many individuals working together to successfully create and maintain such a successful Op Shop.

 

Volunteers,

The Op Shop has been operating in its current premises for some years and with the additional extension added in 2018, continues to thrive and operate so successfully due to the diverse, talented, resilient, creative, and multi-skilled group of people who work there.

The Volunteers are really the Core of the Op Shop due to their willingness to take on new challenges, adapt to necessary changes and provide creative input to new ideas.

The Volunteers and Members and the work they achieve on a day-to-day basis is one of the most critical and important areas to the running of the Op Shop.

To all of them, we owe a huge thank you for all their hard work and the effort involved.

Thank you to each one of you in whatever capacity you assist in either the day-to-day functioning or other areas of the Op Shop.

 

Some Volunteer Statistics.

Elaine Browning, the Volunteer Coordinator, has provided me with some statistics about the volunteers for 2023.

There are 91 members who work at the Op Shop including several Committee Members who work either on a rostered shift or in an area which does not require regular shift involvement.

Philip Higgins continues as one of the Op Shops Publicity Officers and he also works on the Register when required.

Two volunteers also work at the Op Shop on alternate weeks to carry out electrical checks on donated appliances.

Col Parker is responsible for the Security Cameras together with Robyn Bate and Peter Friend.

Col is also responsible for Maintenance areas and assists in other areas as required. such as maintenance of the Pricing Guns.

Kon Kazoglou, a previous Secretary works on the Register when required, 

Charles Smith is responsible for DVDs CDs and Records, is also a Committee Member. 

In addition, there are members who aren’t rostered weekly at the Op Shop but are involved in assisting in other areas such as:

• One volunteer who does not work a regular shift but assists in the Craft area.

• ,One Member assists when required in the loading of the Bags for pickup by One Ten, which is the Re-cycled clothing and other goods initiative., 

• Another volunteer also undertakes this task of assisting with the loading of the One Ten bags as well as working a regular Saturday morning shift. and emptying the Saturday morning Donation Bin.

• Another member empties the recycled metal container.

• Bill Jones and Philip Higgins undertake the delivery of unusable Clothing cut ups which are sold to commercial outlets as cleaning rags.

• Robert Rule, a Committee Member assists the morning Shift volunteers to empty the Donation Bins twice weekly.

• Allan Phelps, another Committee Member as well as being Treasurer, also fills in for Register shifts and is actively involved on the Saturday morning shift.

• Sue Parkinson, Helen Brown, Margaret Phelps, and Allan Phelps.

(a Committee Member) are four volunteers who also work each first Sunday in the month when the Op Shop is open for Trading.

• Chris Fajks as well as working on the Register also undertakes any administrative typing, often coming in to work on additional occasions.

• All Committee Members do a Weekend Roster Security check on Saturdays, Sundays, and Public Holidays to check both for the overall security of the Op Shop and to see if any items are left outside the Op Shop.

 

The Ebb and Flow of Volunteers.

Like all organisations, we have an ebb and flow of volunteers with comings and goings.

We are fortunate that our numbers are replenished by new volunteers.

In 2023 there were 10 new volunteers commence at the Op Shop and 8 volunteers who left.

We welcome all the new volunteers and hope that their stay with the Op Shop will be interesting and rewarding.

 

Also notable are the Extra hours covered.by Volunteers.

There are 11 volunteers who do more than one (1) shift per week at the Op Shop

In 2023 there were over 160 weekly shifts covered by volunteers who were willing to do extras to their regular shift, filling in for those who were away. Most of these shifts filled were at the Front Counter on the Register.

 

Other areas.of Volunteer involvement.

Some volunteers were willing to be involved in the seasonal changing of clothing throughout the year from Summer to Winter and Winter to Summer.

Others were involved in the organization of the Christmas Stock during the year and at Christmas time. This usually takes place on Saturday afternoon after the close of Trading or sometimes these activities take place on Sundays.

Thank you to Ros Haddrick and her team for their hard work and congratulations on how beautiful the Christmas Display looked. 

Thank you also to all the volunteers who supported this activity.

 

Additional responsibilities

About 59 of the volunteers also have responsibility for different areas of the shop in addition to their regular sorting and pricing work in accordance with the Operational Sheet for the Op Shop. These areas include the toys, handbags, shoes, Jewelry, Linen, Antiques and Collectibles, the men’s Corner and specialized baby and children’s clothing to name only a few.

 

Shift Organiser position.

The initiative of the Shift Organiser position works well with one volunteer on each shift being responsible for that shift.

The role is that of Information Transfer from both the Op Shop Coordinator for Operational Areas and the Volunteer Coordinator for Volunteer related matters.

To enable communication flow, there were 4 Shift Organizer’s meetings held throughout the year to enable the Op Shop to process the transfer of information about any events, relevant procedures, processes, or activities.

Communication Processes for Information.

With so many volunteers the process of information is very important. The Op Shop continues with the practice of the use of the Volunteer Communication

Book to notify volunteers of any day-to-day events.

Any other important information is sent either by email or on occasions by mail.

 

Thank you to Volunteers Events.

In May, during National Volunteers Week, 44 volunteers enjoyed a “Thank You” High Tea which was catered for by Miss Nellie’s café, at Kendall.

It was a lovely occasion, and everyone enjoyed themselves. It was also a great opportunity to meet other volunteers from different shifts who they might not always see. This will continue to be a regular event.

 

 Christmas Luncheon.

The Christmas Luncheon is another yearly event in which the Volunteers can be thanked for all their hard work and involvement.

This was held recently on Friday 8th December 2023.

The lunch was attended by 84 volunteers and members. and was organized by Raylee Selway and Helena Kuster. Thank you to both.

Certificates of Appreciation and Volunteering Years of Service Badges. were presented to many volunteers and members.

At the Christmas Lunch, 5 long-term Members, who have all been instrumental previously in assisting the Op Shop in different ways. also received a Certificate of Appreciation,

They were Ray O’Neill, Barry Barr, Roger McCosker, Jenny Higgins, and 

Doug Pope 

Another mention is that present at the lunch were 6 volunteers and members who have been with the Op Shop for 25 years, a significant achievement.

These are Nita Dunn, Jan Manfield, Joan Barr, Pam McCleod, Ray On ‘Neill and Barry Barr. Thank you.to all of you for your assistance and commitment over such a long period of time.

 

Other Volunteers received Certificates of Appreciation and Volunteering Years of Service Badges. to acknowledge and show our appreciation for what they do for the Op Shop.

Breakdown:

There were 4 volunteers who had been with the Op Shop for 25 Years who received a Certificate of Appreciation and a GOLD Volunteering Years of Service Badge.

 

There were 2 volunteers who had been at the Op Shop for 20 Years who received a Certificate of Appreciation and a SILVER Volunteering Years of Service Badge.

There were 12 volunteers who had been at the Op Shop for 15 Years who received a Certificate of Appreciation and a WHITE Volunteering Years of Service Badge.

There were 26 volunteers who had been at the Op Shop for 10 years who also received a Certificate of Appreciation and a WHITE Volunteering Years of Service Badge.

These presentations will become an Annual Tradition recognising our volunteers as they reach milestones at the Op Shop.

Thank you to Elaine Browning, Sandra Richards and Gerda Ashford for the work involved in this area.

 

Day to Day Activities of the Op Shop.

Gerda Ashford, the Op Shop Coordinator has provided information about the day-to-day activities and functioning of the Op Shop.

The past year has seen consolidation of activities with some changes made.

The changed layout of the Op Shop has proved to be very useful with the new curation of areas gradually being fully operational with any areas requiring further movement occurring and now works very well.

All the new volunteers now have permanent shifts and have settled in well.

There has been a huge increase in donated items of all different types which has increased the workload, but this has meant that more items are for sale.

Volunteers all have different skill sets which has been beneficial in the organisation of work.

Gerda feels that “a lot of sales equals a happy shop.”

 

Additional Operational Areas of mention.

Other areas of volunteer involvement include orgainising selected items unsuitable for sale for a variety of reasons and forwarding them to individuals and groups who can use them. This not only re-cycles but is a method which enables other individuals and groups to re-purpose them.

One of the items includes wedding dresses which cannot be sold for a variety of reasons being given to the Mid North Coast Angel Gowns Group which are then remade into gowns for still born babies and ties which are made into vests for still born baby boys.

The Op Shop continues to re-cycle as many items as possible.

 

 

 

 

Display Area.

The display area at the front of the Op Shop has been very successful for Special Event Sales such as Australia Day, Father’s Day and Mother’s Day. and Christmas Day which take place during the year.

 

The Op Shop Website and Facebook Page.

This is continuing well with increased usage of the Facebook Page to advertise some of the special items on sale and other relevant activities and has proven to be very successful.

 

Other Operational Areas.

Robert Rule, Committee Member has indicated that the following areas and events have taken place.

There has been the addition of another Colour Bond Shed which has been dedicated to the storage of the Cut-Up Rags. In total there are now 3 Sheds at the back of the Op Shop. for storage of items including the Christmas Donations and Cut Up Rags waiting to be transferred for sale.

The Air Conditioning Units have all been serviced with maintenance carried out.

A new Automatic Glass Entrance Door has been installed which makes access easier for customers and assists Volunteers in the day-to-day functioning.in Retail Area 1.

 

Finance and Trading.

As Allan Phelps, Treasurer has presented in his Financial Report, the Op Shop continues to grow and improve on a regular basis.

Tonight, he has presented to you some financial details which were never imagined when the Op Shop was set up.

Thank you, Allan, for your continued organization and excellent management of the finances for the Op Shop.

 

Work Health and Safety.

Work Health and Safety is seen as a priority in the Op Shop.

Various initiatives are in place in this area to maintain the health and wellbeing of volunteers, with several Air Conditioning Units which are used both in Summer and Winter.

There is also a Work Health and Safety Representative to inform and assist volunteers in any related area.

The Work Health and Safety Policy in place informs and assists volunteers about issues relevant to Work Health and Safety.

 

Community Grants Scheme.

Kendall Community Op Shop is committed to raising funds by way of donations received and sold to assist local Community Based Groups and Organisations in their various endeavours and activities.

Once again money was allocated to various organisations, groups, and individuals under the Grants Programme for 2022.

This evening, Allan Phelps, Treasurer has given you a comprehensive breakdown of the information.

 

The Grants Sub Committee this year was Convened by Philip Higgins and comprised Robert Rule, Allan Phelps, Diane Pope, Kay Barry, and Joan Aiken.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all their commitment and work in this important area of the life of the Op Shop.

 

Award. 

One of our long-standing volunteers, Tin Hta Nu was recently nominated and awarded the local Senior Citizen Award for the Mid North Coast and reached the final for the Senior Award for New South Wales, one of 3 finalists for this Award.

Tin went to Government House for the Award Ceremony. The Governor, the Hon. Mrs. Margaret Beasley applauded all the finalists for their work in various fields in the Community.

It was a great achievement for Tin to reach this final stage and we congratulate her. 

Kendall Community Op Shop was one of her sponsors for her nomination and Tin has mentioned the Op Shop on many different occasions. 

Another Award.

By now, you are all aware that Kendall Community Op Shop was nominated and received the NSW Volunteer of the Year Award for Volunteer Team of the Year for the Mid North Coast Region. The ceremony was attended by Gerda Ashford, Robert Rule ,Allan Phelps, Denise McCosker, Helena Kuster and Philip Higgins in Port Macquarie.

On Thursday 7th December, Allan Phelps, Margaret Phelps and Elaine Browning represented the Op Shop at the 17th Annual NSW Volunteer of the Year Award Gala State Ceremony held in Sydney.

Allan Phelps will present an update from the event following my report 

Thank you, Allan.

 

Thank you,.for Donated Items  It would be remise of me not to mention all those wonderful individuals who have donated items for sale which we have been able to sell to raise money to be used in the Grants Programme

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who donated items and to those customers who purchased them Thank you all so much.

 

Management Committee

Thank you to all the members of the current Management Committee, Robert Rule, Charles, Smith Allan Phelps, Gerda Ashford, Elaine Browning and Sandra Richards for all your hard work, perseverance, and resilience during the past year.

Thank you to all the members and volunteers who allocate time in their busy lives to make Kendall Community Op Shop so successful.

 

It has been a privilege to serve on the Committee this year. Thank you.

 

 

Sheila Ayshford

President 

Kendall Community Op Shop 

14th December 2023