Here you can keep up with the latest from Reading’s 900+ voluntary organisations and other voluntary sector news from around the area.
DEFRA coronavirus food charity grants – open until 6 July 2020
21 May 2020
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) have announced a £3.45 million Coronavirus Food Charities Grant Fund to help front-line food aid charities continue their work in providing food to vulnerable people during the current coronavirus crisis. If you run a front-line not-for-profit or charity that provides food, you may be eligible to ...
Meet the RVA Team – Herjeet Randhawa, Advice Worker
21 May 2020
Continuing our new series, in which we ask members of the Reading Voluntary Action team to tell us about their work, and reflect on how things have changed over the last few weeks. This week we meet Herjeet Randhawa who has been RVA’s Advice Worker for 4 years, supporting trustees and managers of Reading’s voluntary ...
NLCF Coronavirus Community Support Fund – open from Friday 22 May
21 May 2020
The Government’s new Coronavirus Community Support Fund will open on Friday 22 May at 10am. This is part of the funding announced by the Chancellor back in April. The £200 million funding pot will be administered through the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) and decisions will be made by a joint panel of NLCF and DCMS ...
Student Community Champions
20 May 2020
YUoR Community Champions is a new student volunteer scheme from the University of Reading, which matches student volunteers to local community organisations in Berkshire. Student volunteers will remotely support community organisations with their technical, digital or admin needs. For example, volunteers can: assist with online meeting platforms such as Skype and Zoom; write blogs and marketing material; help ...
RVA launches digital inclusion survey
20 May 2020
The Get Online Reading project has now been going for over five years. In that time we have seen over 5000 visitors at 1200+ drop-in sessions where we help people to get online using a computer, smartphone or tablet. With the current Covid-19 situation it has been necessary to discontinue drop-in sessions. Since this is likely ...
How to create a community business – RISC webinar on 2 June 2020
20 May 2020Zoom webinar with Michael Beavan from Our Community Enterprise CIC and Martin Large from Oakbrook Community Farm Community businesses make places better. The profits they make deliver a positive local impact, and they are accountable to the community for their actions. Does Reading need more community businesses? And should RISC become one of them? Join our webinar ...
Reading’s Local Transport Strategy – online Q&As on 26 May 2020
20 May 2020
Reading Borough Council will host a live online question and answer session at 6pm on Tuesday 26 May, as part of an ongoing consultation on its new Local Transport Strategy (LTS). Residents, businesses and organisations across Reading who hold an interest in the future of transport in the town and who have an opinion on how ...
The Co-op Foundation #IWill Fund – bereavement peer support
19 May 2020
Co-op Foundation has launched the latest round of its #iwill Fund They are offering grants of up to £10,000 to help young people support each other during bereavement. They expect to make about five grants to successful applicants from across the UK. Funding is for one year and successful organisations will be able to apply for additional grants in ...
Resources to help organisations plan for the road ahead
19 May 2020We have taken a closer look at the government’s recovery strategy and this article highlights some key things for your organisation to think about when planning your services for the coming months and links to some useful resources to help you assess risk. A phased recovery The government’s recovery strategy includes a phased approach to returning to life ...
New mental health support for young people in Reading
19 May 2020
No5 Young People is providing two new ways for young people to talk about their mental health worries and receive help during this difficult time. One is driven by their young ambassadors who have volunteered to answer mental health-related questions via video and the other is a new helpline offering support from a qualified counsellor. New ...
Applications now open for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme
14 May 2020
HM Treasury has announced that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) opened on 13 May: those eligible will receive government grant worth up to £7,500 money expected to be in bank accounts by 25 May, or within six days of a completed claim. Individuals are eligible if their business has been adversely affected by Coronavirus, they traded in ...
Government extends Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until 31 October
14 May 2020
Earlier this week the Chancellor announced the extension of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until the end of October 2020. Rishi Sunak announced that: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will continue until end of October. Furloughed workers across UK will continue to receive 80% of their current salary, up to £2,500. New flexibility will be introduced from August ...
Webinar workshops by Parenting Special Children
13 May 2020
Parenting Special Children are offering regular workshops on a variety of topics related to the wellbeing and care of children and young people with difficult early life experiences. These are delivered by in-house practitioners as well as visiting guest speakers, at a very low cost for parents and carers. Upcoming webinars Creating a ‘new normal’: Managing attachments ...
ESFA Community Training Grants – Rolling until end of 2020
13 May 2020
Grants of £5,000 – £20,000 are available for projects in the Thames Valley Berkshire area that help people improve their employment prospects by either moving them into employment or by establishing a route towards employment. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), and European Social Fund (ESF) are co-financing the grant scheme to help projects which ...
NCVO webinar recording: Involving volunteers during a pandemic
12 May 2020
If your charity is involving volunteers during the pandemic in coronavirus response activities, or through adapted services, you may find this webinar recording from NCVO helpful (recorded on 5 May). In particular it may be useful to Volunteer Managers in larger charities or Committee Members/Trustees, or anyone responsible for volunteers in smaller charities and community ...
NCVO webinar recording: Governing in a crisis
12 May 2020
Following on from this article summarising the key questions for trustees when planning in the mid-term, the NCVO webinar is now available to watch anytime on demand here. The webinar was originally broadcast on 30 April and includes: Meeting remotely, effectively and legally Key updates from the Charity Commission Working with the executive in the current environment Key things ...
Protecting your charity from fraud during the pandemic – free webinar
12 May 2020
The Charity Commission in partnership with the Charity Fraud Awareness Hub, the police and other third sector organisations has produced a free 45 minute webinar recording to assist charities to protect themselves against fraud during the Coronavirus pandemic. The topics include: Fraud during the Coronavirus crisis Common email frauds and how to spot them Risk associated with staff and ...
Government guidance: staying alert and safe social distancing and what this means for charities
12 May 2020
Following Sunday evening’s announcement from the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Office has produced its plan for recovery from lockdown and this shorter guide: Staying alert and safe (social distancing). To help charities to easily see what has changed and to identify the impact on their beneficiaries, services, staff and volunteers, we have produced this short summary ...
Accessible information about coronavirus from RBC
7 May 2020
British Sign Language information page There is a new BSL information page about the local response to coronavirus on the RBC website, with short translation and interpretation videos. Reading Deaf Centre and Total Communication (Interpreting Services) Ltd have worked in collaboration with the RBC Comms and the Public Health and Wellbeing Team to make this resource ...
Mental Health Awareness Week 18-24 May 2020
7 May 2020
Time to Change are encouraging workplaces to take part in Mental Health Awareness Week Mental Health Awareness Week takes place between 18-24 May 2020. It is an opportunity for all of us to raise awareness of mental health issues and advocate against social stigma. The event provides an opportunity for you and your organisation to add ...