FROM THE CHAIR

Down Syndrome Liverpool held its first AGM on Saturday 12th June 2004.

Colin Hill, our retiring chairperson, thanked everyone for attending and presented his report, a copy of which is contained in our newsletter from April 2004.

During the meeting, yours truly was elected to serve as chairperson for the next twelve months. I can assure you that I will serve the charity to the best of my ability during the next year and hope I can rely on everyone’s goodwill and support.

There are two people I would particularly like to thank. The first is Colin Hill who served as chairperson during our transition from DSA Liverpool Branch to Down Syndrome Liverpool. Colin put in a tremendous amount of work during this period dealing with all the forms, the DSA, the Charity Commissioners and others too numerous to mention. Without the time and effort Colin put in we would not be here today.

The second person I would like to thank is Pat Baxter who served as Treasurer during the same period. Pat was also our new parent contact and fulfilled that role in a knowledgeable, calm and reassuring manner. She has decided to stand down as Treasurer, Trustee and new parent contact. Pat will be greatly missed as will the wealth of knowledge she has gained over the last 11 years.

I would like to welcome our two new Trustees, Anne Wilde and Clare Fagan and hope that new blood will produce some new ideas.

It would appear that there is still some confusion surrounding our rules regarding membership. With this in mind, it has been decided to publish our rules in this edition of the newsletter (see below). Please take the time to read them carefully. Hopefully this will clarify the situation and remove any areas of doubt from peoples minds.

It has been pointed out that our newsletter may not be user friendly for all our readers; font too small, not enough pictures, articles too long or full of jargon. What do you think? Please let us know and we will try to put it right in future editions.

Tony Baxter
Chairperson DSL

Membership of Down Syndrome Liverpool falls into two distinct classes. The first class of membership is that of MEMBER. The second class of membership is that of ASSOCIATE.

To be a MEMBER of Down Syndrome Liverpool, a person must be either:-

1) A person, aged at least 18 years, who is the PARENT or LEGAL GUARDIAN of a person with Down syndrome, or
2) a person with Down syndrome who is aged at least 18 years.

And have completed the necessary application form.

MEMBERS are eligible to vote at General Meetings, and to serve as TRUSTEES.
 
 

Any other person who has an interest in Down syndrome may join the charity as an ASSOCIATE, again having completed the necessary application form.

N.B. ASSOCIATES will have the same benefits as MEMBERS with the exception that they are NOT eligible to vote at any meetings or serve as TRUSTEES.

To serve on the Committee, a MEMBER must sign a form agreeing to be a TRUSTEE of the charity. (For registration with the Charity Commissioners).

The TRUSTEES are able to co-opt up to five MEMBERS to the Committee to assist in meeting the ‘Objects’ of the charity. MEMBERS co-opted to the Committee are permitted to attend TRUSTEE meetings but are NOT permitted to vote at those meetings.

To be eligible for co-option, a person must be a MEMBER of the charity, as defined above.

PARENT - the biological or legal, adoptive parent of a person with Down syndrome.

LEGAL GUARDIAN - A person who has legal responsibility for a person with Down syndrome (Under the laws of England and Wales).

MEMBER - The Parent/Legal Guardian (aged at least 18 years) of a person with Down Syndrome, who has completed the necessary application form, OR, a person with Down Syndrome (aged at least 18 years) who has completed the necessary application form.
(Voting rights).
ASSOCIATE - Any other person who has an interest in Down syndrome, who has completed the necessary application form.
(No voting rights).

TRUSTEE - A MEMBER who has been elected, at an A.G.M. to serve on the Committee, and who has signed an agreement to serve as a Trustee of the charity (for registration with the Charity Commissioners).
N.B. To seve on the Committee, a MEMBER must be a TRUSTEE.

CO-OPTED MEMBER - A MEMBER who has been co-opted to the Committee, by the TRUSTEES, to assist in meeting the ‘Objects’ of the charity. (NOT permitted to vote at TRUSTEE meetings).

COMMITTEE - The TRUSTEES.
 
 

A MESSAGE FROM OUR OUTGOING CHAIRPERSON

Dear Members and Associates,

This last June my appointment as Chair of DSL came up for renewal (it is now a one-year post) and, after much deliberation, I decided I would not stand for re-election at the AGM.

Having served as chair of the DSA Liverpool Branch for several years and as the first chair of DSL, doing as much as I could to ensure a smooth transition from the now closed branch to a brand new charity, I felt that the time was right for a change. I am not completely out of the limelight as I have now been elected Treasurer of DSL for the next year.

I would like to thank the committee of trustees for all their hard work during my period of office and you, the members and associates, for the help and support you have given me during my time as Chair.

My special thanks go to Pat Baxter our outgoing Treasurer who, this year, decided not to stand for re-election as a trustee. She was a mine of information and will be sadly missed at meetings. I have enjoyed my time as Chair and will still remain active as a trustee as long as I am able (and wanted - I come up for re-election in 2006). My best wishes go to the new Chair, Tony Baxter, and I am sure that you will give him your full support as you did to me.

Colin Hill
Treasurer

JUST KIDS

Some of you will be familiar with the book Just Kids. It is one of the items included in the New Parent Pack which we issue to ‘new’ parents of children with Down syndrome.

Just Kids has been useful to many new parents who were, perhaps, feeling confused and unsure of what the future held for their baby. It is also a useful tool for educating the general public and professionals.

Mary Schultz has started thinking about bringing out a new book with more up to date pictures of our children/young adults. The timescale will probably be about two years because it takes so long to gather all the information, but she is starting to collect information now.

Mary writes: “If you would like your child to be featured in the next book, please start putting together a potted history of their lives with amusing anecdotes and success stories. This should only be 6 lines of A4 - a difficult task I know, but is is better if you condense what you want to say rather than myself or Deidre, as you may want to emphasise one particular aspect more than another. An up to date photo should also be included, preferably some sort of ‘action’ shot i.e. your child at play, riding a bike, at school with other classmates, swimming etc.
If you prefer to e-mail me a digital photo, my address is:

Mary29@blueyonder.co.uk

All posted photos will be returned once the book has been put together.

I am also very interested in hearing from parents of older people with Down syndrome or indeed from young adults themselves with information on achievements and skills they have gained like driving a car, passing GCSEs, going on to Higher Education, jobs they are in, marriage, having children themselves etc“.

Please send information over the next twelve months to:
Mary Schultz,
92 Longstomps Avenue
Chelmsford
Essex
CM2 9LB

Or telephone: 01245 259742 (evenings) for further information.

Website
www.downsyndromejustkids.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

If you would like to order a copy/copies of the book, please contact:
Diedre Clement on 01277 365618

click here to return to home page.

All views expressed in this newsletter are the personal views of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of  Down Syndrome Liverpool