Here you can keep up with the latest from Reading’s 900+ voluntary organisations and other voluntary sector news from around the area.
What does the NHS Long Term Plan mean for the voluntary sector?
14 January 2019The long awaited NHS Long Term Plan was published last week. The document is 115 pages long (without appendices). This news article does not attempt to summarise the whole document. It highlights, from my perspective, some of the points that I think may be of particular interest to voluntary organisations supporting the health and wellbeing ...
Health and Wellbeing Board – Friday 18 January 2019
14 January 2019The next meeting of Reading’s Health and Wellbeing Board is on Friday 18 January 2019. The meeting is in the Council Chamber and starts at 2pm. Members of the public are welcome to listen to the discussions. The agenda includes: A report summarising progress made in delivering the SEND Strategy since July 2018, and the steps that ...
Reducing local loneliness
9 January 2019While there are many older people in Reading experiencing loneliness and social isolation, it’s important to remember that people of any age can be affected during their lifetime, particularly around significant life changes. In 2018, a host of local and national reports highlighted specific groups of people most likely to experience loneliness and social isolation: widowed ...
Befriending Forum on 19 February 2019 – booking now open
9 January 2019Following the success of the 2018 Let’s Make Reading Friendlier conference, RVA is pleased to announce the first Befriending Forum event of 2019, on Tuesday 19 February from 12.30 until 4.15pm at the third floor Community Hub in Reading Central Library. Lunch and networking at 12.30pm will be followed by: a presentation from The Jo Cox Foundation a ...
Funding available for youth violence intervention – until 29 January 2019
9 January 2019The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley was recently successful in a bid for the Home Office Early Intervention Youth Fund. Having identified key elements of delivery from our bid, we are now seeking providers for very specific interventions. The bid for Thames Valley included a number of tiers of intervention, ...
Vital for Berkshire funding – open until 25 January 2019
9 January 2019The second Vital for Berkshire funding round is now open for applications, with grants of up to £10,000 available Vital for Berkshire aims to increase support for people across Berkshire who are struggling to cope with a range of issues preventing them from having a safe home, good health and secure employment. Vital for Berkshire goes beyond ...
West Berkshire Joint Safeguarding – annual conference for practitioners
9 January 2019West Berkshire Joint Safeguarding’s annual conference for practitioners will take place on Wednesday 30 January 2019 at Easthampstead Park Conference Centre in Wokingham. The focus of this year’s conference is Prevention and Early Intervention. The conference will provide an opportunity for practitioners working across a range of services to come together to develop their skills ...
Berkshire CEO Forum
8 January 2019The Berkshire CEO Forum is for anyone with management responsibilities working for a not-for-profit organisation in Berkshire. The forum offers a fairly informal group providing peer support and information sharing. This session will include 2 briefings: A voluntary sector legal update – Nick Burrows, Blandy & Blandy Solicitors. An introduction to the Growth Hub and working with the ...
Spotlight on the Voluntary Sector – call for more articles
3 January 2019Thank you to all of you who have sent me ‘Spotlight on the Voluntary Sector’ articles for GP Headline News. This is a call for more articles if you would like to promote your services to GPs. A reminder for you…. We have the opportunity to promote voluntary sector services directly to Reading’s GPs via their weekly ...
Season’s Greetings from RVA
19 December 2018Season’s Greetings from the RVA team! The RVA office will be closed from 24 December 2018 until Wednesday 2 January 2019. We wish everyone happy holidays and look forward to working with you again in the New Year – in the meantime, take a look at our nine highlights of 2018.
RVA highlights of 2018
19 December 2018Here are some of the RVA team’s highlights from another busy year… 9: New look RVA News launched We launched a fresh new look for RVA News in October this year, making all the content we know you value even more accessible – including sector job vacancies, funding opportunities, events and training. With new Community Journalists joining ...
Improving wellbeing and mental health in Reading – Wellbeing Forum report
19 December 2018Our new Community Journalist, Zoe O’Kill, attended the Wellbeing Forum on 12 December 2018. She reflects on the voluntary sector’s commitment to improving wellbeing and mental health in Reading. Voluntary sector support for wellbeing and mental health in Reading When I attended the Wellbeing Forum, I was immediately impressed by an outstanding group of people who feel ...
Market your services to Brighter Futures for Children Reading
18 December 2018December has seen the launch of the new childrens’ services company for Reading – Brighter Futures for Children (BFFC). The company is wholly owned by, but independent from, Reading Borough Council. Voluntary organisations are invited to showcase their services and activities to the BFFC social care teams in order for us all to work together and ...
Voluntary Sector Market Place for Brighter Futures for Children [Readings’ childrens’ services]
18 December 2018Market Place opportunity for voluntary organisations providing support and activities in Reading for children, young people and /or their families. An early opportunity to market your organisation to the social care teams under the new governance of Brighter Futures for Children. If this is relevant for your organisation please book a table asap for the Victoria Hall ...
Befriending Forum 2019 – save the date
18 December 2018Following the success of the 2018 Let’s Make Reading Friendlier conference, RVA is pleased to announce the first Befriending Forum event of 2019, on Tuesday 19 February, from 12.30pm until 4.15pm, at the Third Floor Community Hub in Reading Central Library. With an agenda that includes: a presentation from The Jo Cox Foundation a workshop by The Jo ...
Paul Hamlyn Foundation Youth Fund – open for applications all year
14 December 2018The Paul Hamlyn Foundation Youth Fund supports organisations whose main purpose is helping young people (aged 14 to 25) in the most precarious positions, where making the transition to adult independence is most challenging. The Fund supports organisations which work with young people experiencing disadvantage in a way that recognises and builds on their strengths ...
Windrush Day Grants – open until 21 January 2019
14 December 2018The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is offering grants for charities and community groups to celebrate, commemorate and/or educate about the history of the Empire Windrush and the contribution of the Windrush Generation to British economic, social and cultural life. They are looking for innovative approaches, founded on active community engagement. They will fund projects and events that support the high-level objectives of the Windrush Day Grant, which are to celebrate, commemorate, ...
Heritage Lottery Young Roots Fund – open until 18 January 2019
14 December 2018The Heritage Lottery Fund’s Young Roots programme is designed for organisations that want to involve and work with young people aged 11 to 25, to encourage them to develop their own views about the culturally varied Heritage of the UK. Funding of £10,000 to £50,000 is available for projects lasting up to two years. Who can apply? Registered charities and trusts, community, voluntary and youth groups, community/Parish ...
Greggs Foundation Local Community Projects Fund – open until 28 February 2019
14 December 2018The Greggs Foundation Local Community Projects Fund is now open for applications from not-for-profit organisations with annual turnovers below £300,000. They are more likely to award grants – of up to £2,000 – to organisations who have a Greggs shop in their area. They are interested in projects that improve resilience within the community. This can ...
Comic Relief Children Survive and Thrive – opens January 2019
14 December 2018Comic Relief has announced the launch of a new funding initiative to develop child-centred approaches that address the comprehensive development needs of children during their early years, up to and including their transition to primary school. Who should apply Organisations that directly support families with young children. Organisations that have demonstrable experience in one of more of ...