Guild Care celebrated positive growth across all their services at the charity’s Annual General Meeting on Friday 13^th September. Members, staff and guests gathered at the charity’s Haviland House Day Services in Goring by Sea to hear about Guild Care’s progress and priorities in supporting the Worthing community which has spanned over 90 years.

Chair of the Board of Trustees, Peter Kinsey, opened the meeting saying “Guild Care is more than a well-led, efficient and effective organisation, it’s an incredibly caring charity where people belong - from service users, staff, volunteers and the wider community. There’s an incredible culture here and we are lucky to have such fantastic people including our amazing volunteers across the services making a valuable difference to the lives of people in our community, continuing the work that began when Guild Care was founded almost a century ago.”

Sean Duffy, Director of Finance presented a financial report revealing a turnaround in the charity’s finances to a position of strength which will enable Guild Care to reinvest in its services to reach more people in need of support and care.

Mr Duffy said, “This year, Guild Care is in a far more positive position having focused on delivering our high-quality services backed by a prudent financial strategy for sustainable growth. Our care home occupancy has increased significantly and is now back to pre-covid levels allowing us to deliver substantial charity benefit. We are so much stronger than before,” he continued. “This means we can now invest in and grow our services for the benefit of our community. We are not here to make money for shareholders, but to deliver public and charitable benefit – and we are committed to doing just that.”

Despite the many challenges of the financial crisis, energy crisis and recruitment difficulties as well as the delayed social care reform for the struggling public sector, Guild Care reported improved financial performance, compliance, less dependency on agency workers, happier, more engaged staff, and improved awareness and engagement with the charity’s services.

Every year Guild Care supports over 3,000 people through their diverse range of community services to support older people, people living with dementia, and children and adults with learning disabilities. As a charity Guild Care aims to reduce social isolation and social stigma to ensure that people feel loved, cared for, connected, and accepted for who they are.

All guests participated in an engaging interactive session on Makaton sign language, led by Darren Claydon, Activities Co-ordinator at Guild Cares Fitzalan Howard Day Services with clients Susie and Christine who entertained guests with Makaton and singing. Attendees enthusiastically joined in singing and signing along to two songs, "I’ve Got Sunshine" and "What a Wonderful World." This heartwarming activity highlighted the charity’s strong commitment to inclusivity and its dedication to supporting people with learning disabilities.

CEO, Warren Fabes then set out Guild Care’s priorities saying that the charity was to grow their community services, including Creating Connections, Haviland House Day Service and Guild Care’s Home care service. Mr Fabes said, “Guild Care continues to invest in its people, premises, systems and processes, whilst always prioritising its commitment to support older people, people living with dementia, and children & adults with learning disabilities”.

He continued “Our teams across the organisation are incredibly compassionate and caring, holding our organisational values dear to their heart. In all our change, which is about professionalising and modernising Guild Care so that we are the most effective organisation we can be for the people we support, we must keep our values, and particularly our loving value, as our moral compass. We’ve created a great strategy, and we have a great team. I’d like to thank our staff and volunteers, our board of trustees, members, patrons, partners and suppliers for all their unwavering and valued support.”

The audience was deeply moved by a heartfelt speech from Jenn, whose mother, Vicky, who lived with a rare form of dementia, told her story about how her mum was cared for at Guild Care’s Haviland House for six years. Jenn shared, "My mum was the most precious person to me, and I had to trust her to people I didn’t know during the most vulnerable time in my life." Reflecting on her experience, Jenn said, “What I loved about Haviland is that it’s a ‘Home for Life’ and it’s a family. I found the staff to be so loving, and my mum was incredibly happy there. The staff cared for me as much as they did for Mum.”

Jenn went on to describe a moment that will stay with her forever: “In Mum’s final weeks, when she couldn’t speak or walk, a carer brought in a guitar and played music to her. I don’t think you get that in any other care home. Thank you to everyone for making the worst part of Mum’s life the best it could have been.”

The AGM concluded with a vote of thanks from Warren Fabes, who acknowledged everyone involved in Guild Care’s success, from staff and volunteers to supporters and community partners. "We’ve built a great strategy and a great team. Together, we will continue to deliver vital services to those who need it most in our community."