I would like to present my second Treasurer’s Report by thanking my fellow committee members for their support and hard work in raising funds for the charity in a very difficult year. We also thank the many drivers and helpers without whom the outings would not be possible and also our many sponsors

We started the year with our famous Mad Hatter’s tea party at the Grosvenor House, which cost the fund nearly £4,000.  Due to the fact that the entertainers gave their time freely and the gifts and toys were donated, we managed to keep our expenses very low on this event.

Our first outing of the year was to Woburn Safari Park for 300 children and this outing cost the fund nearly £6,000, but when you see the smiling faces on these children it says it all – It was worth every penny ! Our annual outing to Southend-on-Sea was as usual a great success, even though it rained incessantly.  The outing’s expenditure was greater than usual due to the high cost of hiring the hall and catering needs and this was in excess of £12,000.

Other outings that the fund were involved in included taking children to see the show ‘Hairspray’ and taking part in the Lord Mayor’s Parade.  Our float was a huge taxi filled with children and included two cabs, one dressed as a pink fur Rabbit and the other as a Batmobile, which raised the fund’s profile to the many millions of people lining the streets and watching the show on TV.

Many grants were made to worthwhile causes; equipment was donated to the Kisharon ‘Special Needs’ School, the Police Summer Camp for underprivileged children (now known as ‘Giving a Child a Break’), special computer equipment for a disabled child and Christmas vouchers for children of taxi drivers who have passed away.  We also made a donation towards a Diabetes Machine in memory of the late Douglas Sherry, MBE, who was a major benefactor to the fund and to the whole taxi industry and he will be sadly missed by us all.

I am very proud of the fact that we have kept our expenditure down to a very respectable 1.7% and in layman’s terms for every pound we raised 97.3 pence went back in to helping disabled and underprivileged children.

Finally, I would like to thank those drivers who have taken a collection box to put in their taxis and if there are any other drivers who would like to help, please contact me on my mobile 07956 516325.

Simeos Demetrius Yiannikaris

(Hon. Treasurer to the Fund)

HON. TREASURER’S REPORT 2009