| Date | 30th January 2022 |
| Time | 12:35 – 14:07 |
| Location | Virtual (Zoom) |
| Chairing | Belinda Calaguas |
| Minutes | Ewa Nevisandeh |
Present
| Aileen Hamdan | chair, instructor | AH |
| Colin Bootle | secretary | CB |
| Ewa Nevisandah | treasurer | EN |
| Belinda Calaguas | director | BC |
| Sankofa Small | director | SS |
| Jason Monero | director | JM |
| Eileen Monero | student | EM |
| Ann Faal | student | AF |
| Aaron Whitaker | instructor | AW |
| Catherine Furlong | student | CF |
| Marilyn Moseley | student | MM |
| Yvonne Thomas | student | YT |
| Louise Holloway | student | LH |
| Anne Carpenter | student | AC |
Apologies received
| None |
Welcome and introduction
1 Acceptance of Minutes from last meeting
proposed by: CF
seconded by: AH
vote: passed
2 Updates on Matters arising and action points
2.1 Follow up Timber Lodge to get our deposit back
SS reported no outcome of taking action to recover £180
proposal: no further action to be taken
proposed by: SS
agreed unanimously
comments: AW suggested to carefully check conditions of deposits in the future
2.2 Follow up Qigong practice after end of Sport England project
Raised by: BC
- Dao Lu members – bringing Qigong as part of warm up – already in practice
- non-Dao Lu members – require more information for further discussion and details
Action points:
- To investigate people’s opinions and needs re Qigong classes and the proposed ideal charge of £7 at the CNY celebration on 12 Feb
- BC to report the results of the scheduled meeting with the residents of supported housing in Walthamstow Village
2.3 Monitor impact on attendance of shift to indoor venues
It has been noticed that fewer people attend new indoor venue for Sunday class due to longer travel times and less space (seasonal).
Action point: everyone to look for a venue close to Lloyds Park for winter
3 Business matters
3.1 DBS
DBS is paid by Dao Lu for volunteers who should join the update service.
Agreed on no list of students with workplace DBS, will ask when needed.
3.2 Mailchimp
CB explained the pros of using Mailchimp:
- professional
- free, up to 2000 contacts (currently Dao Lu has 141 people subscribed)
- no duplicates when contacting all the students
- members can unsubscribe
Action point: AH will send an email regarding the move to a new system to all students
4. Projects
4.1 Sport England Project – Report from BC
123 unique registrations in all courses
19 Dao Lu students attended all three courses,
while 25 attended at least 1 course
10 non-Dao Lu members took part in more than 1 Qigong course
Average of 63 enrolments per course across the courses
25- 28 attendee per session on average
The feedback from courses 1 and 2 shows the courses were rated generally very good or excellent, both in terms of organisation and instruction.
4.2 Paradox Community Centre – Report from SS
The Project funded by Peabody started in Nov 2021.
Led by Joe and aimed at beginners.
The participants are mainly from assisted housing and people with learning disabilities.
Recently 10 new attendees joined from public.
On average 11/12 people attend per class.
The highest number was 17.
Assessment will take place before April.
4.3 Fellowship Square – Report from AH
There are three rounds of Community in Fellowship Square Funding. We’ll apply in March for the second round. Funding of up to £1000 would be spent to organise and deliver 6-8 weeks courses in June-July.
Action point: AH to follow up on this
4.4 L&Q project – Report from AH
Application submission date is 5 Feb 2022, result published in March.
Classes would take place within the new Walthamstow Stadium Development.
Action point: AH to follow up on this
4.5 Contracts
Enfield Age UK – Meeting in next two weeks regarding new classes. Proposal of 3 sessions per week, £25 offered to pay for instructor. Final arrangements will be discussed in meeting.
St. Joseph’s Pastoral Centre in Hendon – sessions for people with learning disabilities led by Joe
Kew Gardens – the project will restart in March
AW mentioned that U3A Waltham Forest is interested in having Tai Chi classes
Action point: to get in touch with U3A
4.6 Sport England Platinum Jubilee funding
The aim of funding is to bring local communities together to target disadvantaged people, people who suffer from long Covid and focus on wellbeing. There is no deadline for application, the amount of funding is from £300-£10,000.
5 Events
5.1 Celebration on 12 Feb, end of Sport England Project & CNY
It will be one hour celebration after the last Qigong session which will include:
- sword performance
- AH and JJ dance performance
- AH class performance
- Performance by Keiko and instructors from British Health Qigong Association
5.2 World Tai Chi Day
Dao Lu has applied for funding Make it Happen.
If successful, we will carry out art and cultural programme between 1st March – 24th April including World Tai Chi Day. If we are not, World Tai Chi Day is still planned to take a place in Fellowship Square, but the board will need to discuss further details later.
Action point: SS to report the result
6 Training
6.1 Classes at Leyton Sixth Form College – Opening up to LSC interest
The classes are already opened to LSC staff, but it looks like the message hasn’t been circulated
Action point – AH to contact the initial contact from LSC
The sessions in LSC will take place indoors until the end of March with plans to continue sessions outdoors on the grass, bringing more interest to Tai Chi and possibly new students.
7. Finances
7.1 Financial report
a) Final Accounts Year ‘20/’21
b) Management report Nov’21-27 Jan’22
Presented by EN
Proposal: acceptance of the treasurer’s report
Vote: Passed
8 Media and communication
8.1 Report on board discussion on website & media proposal
Board discussions for a password-protected Student Resources section on the website, and for invigorating our social media were postponed until CB is able to participate.
CB continue to do routine work on website.
9 Any other business
9.1 Date & topic for next study group meeting
Next meeting will take place on 17 Feb 2022 at 11.00-12.00.
KS will present Neigong, the theories of Damo Mitchell
9.2 Taking up Sam Ma’s availability for Theory discussion
Agreed to try to arrange theory discussion on Saturday evening instead of Thursday midday, Sam Ma would then be able to give a talk on Yin Yang.
9.3. Feel Good Mark accreditation.
Updated BCCMA certificate and insurance policy has recently been sent.
10 Time minuted meeting ended
Meeting started at 12.35 and ended at 14.07
Summary of action points
- Everyone to investigate people’s opinions and needs re Qi Gong classes and the proposed ideal charge of £7 at the CNY celebration on 12 Feb
- BC to report the results of the scheduled meeting with the residents of housing establishment
- Everyone to look for a venue close to Lloyds Park for winter
- AH to send an email regarding the move to a new system (Mailchimp) to all students
- AH to follow up on Community in Fellowship Square Funding
- AH to follow up on L&Q project
- to get in touch with U3A
- SS to report the result of the application Make It Happen
- AH to contact the initial contact from LSC
Next meeting date
30th April 2022, 12.30 – 2pm, virtual (Zoom)
The meeting was followed by an informal discussion (non-minuted) with the following agenda:
1 Business planning for Dao Lu – purpose, process, involvement of students & other stakeholders – a small group of volunteers including BC, LH and YT will produce a proposal for process of business planning and present to the Board.