NABD Update

The Covid‐19 Coronavirus pandemic continues to adversely affect the work of the NABD.

Despite the current easing of the lockdown there seems little prospect of any substantial improvement to our situation over the next six months or possibly longer.

NABD Grants System Suspended: With the cancellation of the 29th You’ve Been Nabbed rally and the general reduction in the amount of donations received by the NABD as the Coronavirus pandemic has progressed have resulted in a significant reduction in the NABD funds.

As this situation shows every likelihood of continuing throughout the rest of 2020 and possibly on into 2021, the NABD Trustees have had no alternative but to suspend the grants system until further notice and to concentrate all of our efforts on ensuring that this Registered Charity survives the current crisis. This decision will be under constant review and the grants system will be reinstated the moment it is deemed financially safe to do so.

At the online National Committee meeting on Friday 29th May 2020 the last of the money in the sadly depleted Grant Fund was used to award grants for four more people with disabilities to have their motorcycles or trikes adapted to suit their needs.

We apologise to those who are currently awaiting grants to have machines adapted and to those who may be planning to apply for a grant in the near future. Grant applicants can rest‐assur ed that, once the grants scheme is reinstated, all applications will be dealt with in the order that they were received.

In the meantime the NABD will continue to offer all of its other services as best we can under the restrictions imposed by the current pandemic.

NABD AGM 2020 Postponed: The Trustees of the NABD have postponed this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was due to take place on 27th June 2020. With such a high proportion of the NABD’s membership and elected officials being in the highest risk Coronavirus categories, holding an AGM at this time, even with social‐distancing measures in place, would been directly in breach of our duty of care to members and elected officials. This decision will be under constant revue at the online National Committee meetings and a new date for the AGM will be announced when it is deemed safe for members and elected officials to attend.

NABD Nabdonia Rally (Going Virtual) 3rd & 4th July: The current situation has left us with no alternative but to cancel the Nabdonia rally, due to be held at Swallow Falls, Betws‐y‐Coed, 3r d ‐ 5th July 2020. However, due to the relative success of an impromptu ‘Virtual’ event put together at short notice over the weekend of the 29th You’ve Been Nabbed rally, we have decided to run a virtual Nabdonia rally on Facebook over the weekend of 3rd & 4th July 2020, with live broadcasts from a range of musicians on the evening of Friday 3rd July, hosted by NABD patron Stevie Simpson; then a live ‘Smacked Arse Comedy Show’ on the afternoon of Saturday 4th July and more live music broadcasts & banter throughout the evening of Saturday 4th hosted by NABD Chairman Rick Hulse.

The event will be hosted on the NABD Chairman’s personal Facebook page; www.facebook.com/rick.hulse/ which has full public access and facilities for people to donate directly to the NABD at the click of a mouse.

Each broadcast will also be accompanied by a ‘Donation Button’ for those who wish to donate towards the NABD survival fund. All of the entertainers involved will be giving their time and talent free‐of‐char ge in support of the NABD, as will our Webmaster, Simon Freedman, who has the unenviable task of making sure it all works.

There will be a special ‘one‐of f’ patch available to commemorate this Virtual Nabdonia and to raise much‐needed funds to ensure the survival of the NABD. Further details will be published on the NABD website; www.nabd.org.uk and the official NABD Facebook Group; www.facebook.com/groups/TheNABD/

NABD Office Staff: The issues of social‐distancing, shielding and the loss of this year’s You’ve Been Nabbed rally led us to the decision to furlough one of our two paid employees in April. While on furlough our Office Admin Assistant can do no work for the NABD, which means our Office Manager is having to cover all of the administrative duties. This will obviously lead to some delays in dealing with certain issues and we ask that people remain patient if waiting for merchandise, membership renewals etc.