December Trustee meeting

We had an opportunity in our December trustee meeting to take a look back at what has been achieved over the last 12 months by Sherborne in the Community. I don't think anyone would have predicted the changes we've seen or the bright future ahead of us.

• We started the year trying to ensure the building remained secure. Evicting squatters and using the services of Live In Guardians occupied the closing months of 2015.
  
• Our next priority was to look at the future options for the building - should we find a new tenant(s); was selling the property an option to use the funds to achieve charitable objectives elsewhere; keeping the building maintained and secure. There was a great deal of discussion and we progressed every avenue.
  
• Our priority always has been to ensure we continue to offer opportunities and support for the young people of London as well as trying to preserve the history given to us for over 100 years. This meant that last Christmas was spent reviewing various proposals put forward by local and national charities to use the building to achieve these objectives. The quality of these assured us that there remained a viable option to lease the building and keep the history alive.
  
• Following various open days and meetings, the proposals were filtered down to a very small group. This allowed us to analyse these in real detail and meet the key people from the charities to understand their views on the future.
  
• While all of this was going on we continued to deal with the after effects of the closure of Kids Company. As trustees we've learned a lot but it's been an expensive process for a small charity such as us. Most of this work is now completed thanks to the great efforts of some of the trustees to achieve the best outcome for the charity.
  
• The Summer confirmed that our future should be with De Paul and the work on the lease continued at pace. Once all the paperwork was completed, we've seen real progress in the building work at the site and continue to work with De Paul on creating a positive outlook for our historic building in Bermondsey.
  

The final trustees meeting of 2016 also allowed us to think about what else beyond Decima Street we can offer as a charity. There will be more news to come in 2017 but we look forward to increasing our support for young people both near and far.

Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year from all at Sherborne in the Community!