Supporting disabled children, young people and their families
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PURPOSE
Introduction
Time2Share is a registered charity set up to support disabled children and young people and their families by providing a range of short breaks.
In August 1997 Time2Share became a company limited by guarantee, as well as being a registered charity - number 1068862. Our Memorandum and Articles were updated in September 2013.
Structure and staffing
There are five specific groups involved in the running of Time2Share.
1. the Trustees;
2. the employees;
3. the volunteers;
4. the children and young people, who are the users of the services provided by Time2Share; and
5. the families of the children and young people.
The Parents / Carers, Young people aged over 18, Volunteers and Trustees constitute the Membership of the organisation.
1. Trustees
Time2Share is managed by voluntary Trustees who meet bi-monthly to make strategic decisions about the organisation on behalf of our members. Trustees are ultimately responsible
for the correct running of the charity and are the employers. Members elect the Trustees
at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). They can also be co-opted between AGMs. Any family member, volunteer or other interested person can apply to be elected as a Trustee.
Trustees are unpaid and must not gain any financial benefit from their association with the Charity unless specifically agreed by the Governing body (Trustees) and with the written agreement of the Charity Commission.
The Trustees have the power to co-opt sub-committees to perform specific tasks e.g. fund
raising or looking at personnel issues or to act as advisory or research bodies for the
Trustees. These groups may then be disbanded when their specific function has been
achieved. The people on these groups do not become Trustees and therefore have no
voting rights at meetings.
There are currently the following sub-committees:
Strategic Development
Finance
HR & Policies
Marketing & Communications
Fundraising
Health, Safety and Safeguarding
2. Employees
The day to day running of the organisation is carried out by the paid staff who are accountable to the Trustees. Currently the staff consists of:
· One Chief Executive Officer – 25 hours per week
· One Area Co-ordinator with responsibility for the Bristol area – 25 hours per week
· One Area Co-ordinator with responsibility for the North East Somerset area – 20 hours per week
· One Area Co-ordinator with responsibility for the Bath area – 20 hours per week
· One Operations and Development Officer - 22 hours per week
· One Group Co-ordinator – 16 hours per week
· An additional Group Co-ordinator is due to start in September - 24 hours per week
3. Volunteers
Volunteers provide the 1:1 befriending service and also help out at the group activities.
4. Disabled Children and their families
Time2Share is currently working with children and their families throughout the area of Bath and N E Somerset and Bristol. We support children with a range of different needs. The upper age limit varies, dependent on the conditions of the funding attached to individual projects, most of our services tend to have an upper age limit of 18 or 21 years old. Time2Share is committed to providing opportunities for young people to maintain established friendship groups and Trustees will take this into account when reviewing priorities and planning services.
Aims
By linking volunteers with disabled children / young people and providing group activities Time2Share aims to:
· enable disabled children and young people to participate in local community activities;
· lessen the social isolation experienced by disabled children and young people and their families;
· provide opportunities and support children and young people to develop a range of valued relationships with their choice of people from their community;
· enable disabled children and young people to develop their social skills, learn to make choices and gain independence;
· give family members a short break. This may include volunteers supporting siblings
if appropriate and if previously agreed;
· work within the Children's Act 1989 by supporting the child within their own home;
· raise awareness of disability issues in local communities.
What does Time2Share do?
1. Time2Share recruits, selects, checks, trains and links volunteers with disabled children using safer recruitment procedures. Most of the children and young people currently supported by Time2Share have learning difficulties and over half have an autistic spectrum condition.
2. supports both volunteer and family and regularly monitors and evaluates each link;
3. promotes the presence and interest of disabled children and young people in their local community;
4. addresses community groups about disability issues;
5. works with other organisations to try to offer flexible support to families;
6. works with volunteers who undertake various activities in accordance with their, and the child or young person’s, capabilities and needs;
7. identifies unmet needs; and
8. raises funds.
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