Here you can keep up with the latest from Reading’s 900+ voluntary organisations and other voluntary sector news from around the area.
NESTA Future Ready youth funding – open for expressions of interest until 10 December 2018
1 November 2018The NESTA Future Ready Fund is a £250,000 fund to support high-potential, early-stage interventions to test and further develop interventions that promote wider skills in secondary-age (11-18) young people, focusing on social and emotional skills and resilience. They are looking to fund between 5 to 7 projects for between £35,000 to £50,000. They will also offer non-financial ...
Looking for funding? Workshop 7 Nov on Costing your Services
1 November 2018It’s that time of year when many of you will be working on a funding strategy or budget for the coming year, or you may already be involved in quite a few funding applications! If you need some assistance on working out how you will cost your services to accomplish full cost recovery in this changing ...
Winter watch – helping vulnerable families stay warm this winter
31 October 2018Winter Watch is run by Reading Borough Council and a number of local voluntary and health services to make sure that no-one suffers from cold in their homes during the winter months. Winter Watch is available to Reading residents who are on a low income and either over 60, have very young children, have a disability ...
Is your organisation worried about cyber crime? Free advice available
31 October 2018Cyber crime is generally where someone unauthorised has got access to a computer system – often by hacking into the system or spreading a virus to it. Examples affecting organisations are: Cyber criminals have accessed your network and stolen personal information about your customers and are demanding payment for its safe return. This is also known as ...
Cultural Commissioning Symposium
31 October 2018Reading, Place of Culture are holding a Cultural Commissioning Symposium on 29 November 2018, from 9.30am to 1pm, at Reading Town Hall The Reading Cultural Commissioning programme aims to mainstream the commissioning of cultural activities for social outcomes. This will be done in two ways: by making public service commissioners more aware of the potential for arts and cultural organisations to deliver effective interventions around their ...
Reading Family Aid’s Christmas Toys and Teens Appeal 2018
31 October 2018Reading Family Aid’s Christmas Toys and Teens Appeal is asking residents to donate new and ‘as new’ toys for 0-16 year old disadvantaged Reading children this Christmas. The donation points are open until Sunday 2 December, after which scores of volunteers will sort, pack and deliver the items to their grateful recipients. Donation points are located ...
RVA welcomes new team members
30 October 2018RVA has welcomed three new team members this month – find about more about their roles and the projects they will be working on below Rhiannon Stocking-Williams, Ready Friends Coordinator I am delighted to be the new Ready Friends Coordinator, developing the various projects that came out of the excellent work undertaken by Rachel Goater and Demelza ...
Responses to the government’s new loneliness strategy
30 October 2018The government launched a new strategy for tackling loneliness on 15 October 2018. While voluntary and community organisations may welcome the opportunity it brings to raise awareness of this important issue, a number of national charities have expressed concern and caution over what it will offer locally and on the ground. It is not clear, ...
Dingley’s Promise awarded RVA Safe + Sound
30 October 2018Dingley’s Promise were recently awarded RVA’s Safe + Sound governance mark. We spoke to Group Operations Manager, Aimee Knight, and Treasurer, Ian Mackinder, about the charity’s work and the process of applying for Safe + Sound. Tell us about the work of Dingley’s Promise Aimee: Dingley’s Promise is a specialist early years provider, working with children with ...
Vote for Get Online Reading in the Aviva Community Fund
24 October 2018Get Online Reading has made it through to the public voting stage of the Aviva Community Fund – vote today! Reading is a town of two halves when it comes to technology – on the one hand, there is a highly IT literate workforce, and on the other, there are areas of deprivation where there are ...
Meeting rooms for hire at Reading Community Learning Centre
24 October 2018Reading Community Learning Centre has meeting and social space for hire – in the holidays, after 3pm on weekdays, and at the weekends. There are three rooms for hire to voluntary and community groups, at subsidised rates. The rooms can also be hired at competitive rates by public bodies, private organisations and individuals, and are suitable ...
Launch of the Southcote Community Hub
24 October 2018The official launch of the newly refurbished Southcote Community Hub will take place on Tuesday 30 October at 11am. Following some significant enhancements to the community centre, including an extension to the building to incorporate the library, a new kitchen, and replacement flooring in the main hall, we are inviting the community to view the site and ...
Comic Relief ‘Power Up’ funding – stage 1 open until 7 December
15 October 2018Comic Relief has launched ‘Power Up: Resourcing Women’s and Girls Movements for Change’ This is an open funding programme to support women and girl’s movements in the UK and abroad. The aim is to support a wide range of women’s rights organisations to fight against systems that perpetuate the injustices they encounter in their daily lives. ...
Need furniture for your charity office?
15 October 2018If you are looking for some furnture for your charity’s office, Grant Thornton are having a clear out and have offered the following to charities and voluntary groups: Cork notice boards and white boards 1m80 x 1m20 and 1m20 x 90cm In trays – plastic (approx. 25) or metal (approx 10) Metal storage cupboards two different sizes: 1m ...
Incredible Years – Facilitator Training Programme
15 October 2018The Incredible Years School Age is a programme for parents with a child aged between 6 and 12 years, who have concerns about their child’s behaviour. Parents learn strategies for managing unwanted behaviours through group discussion, role play, homework and video clips. The programme aims to increase effective parenting strategies and ultimately to reduce anti-social or ...
Horticultural therapy in Reading – a feature on the Ridgeline Trust
11 October 2018On a sunny morning recently, RVA’s Community Journalist Simone Illger visited the Ridgeline Trust’s garden project The Ridgeline Trust offers horticultural therapy opportunities to people living with either physical or learning disabilities or a mental health issue. Situated just off Whiteknights Road, on the edge of the University campus, Reading residents may have walked, cycled or driven past ...
Reading Refocus entrepreneurial project for 19 to 25 year olds
10 October 2018Reading Refocus are running a 12-week business start-up course, led by professional mentors, where 19 to 25 year olds can learn how to set up and run their own business The course offers the opportunity to: Learn about different types of business opportunities and how to present yourself to prospective businesses or employers Receive advice and guidance from ...
Reading’s Health and Wellbeing Board – 12 October 2018
8 October 2018The next meeting of Reading’s Health and Wellbeing Board is on Friday 12 October at 2pm in the Council Chamber. The agenda includes: A report giving details of a Local System Review that the Reading health and social care system has been selected for by The Care Quality Commission. Your experiences as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender people accessing ...
Reading’s Living Advent Calendar – call for creatives!
5 October 2018Call for Performers, Artists, Creatives, and Events for Reading’s Living Advent Calendar Set aside the chocolate and take your Advent calendar experience to the next level with the super cool and quirky Reading Living Advent Calendar in support of local charities. Twenty four different events that truly represent Reading and its unique personality will entertain shoppers ...
Social action stories: Rachel Goater
3 October 2018Rachel Goater, our Community Involvement Development Officer, and organiser of Let’s Make Reading Friendlier, left us earlier this year to move to Scotland. Alongside her work for RVA, Rachel will be known by many in the community for her work with the Repair Café, Reading Green Fest, a pop-up Vegan restaurant, and Reading’s first Vegan ...