Here you can keep up with the latest from Reading’s 1000+ voluntary organisations and other voluntary sector news from around the area.
Update from Brighter Futures for Children on the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
12 November 2021
Brighter Futures for Children had previously announced that we were making some changes to the allegations management service involving the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). Previously there was one LADO, with cover from colleagues on occasions. We have now extended this to a team of three; the team is now complete. The LADO service is ...
Meet Ruth Pearse, founder and CEO of Parenting Special Children
12 November 2021
Ruth Pearse is the founder and CEO of Parenting Special Children. Parenting Special Children is based in Reading but support families throughout Berkshire. Their Neurodiversity Conference – aimed at providing parents/carers and practitioners with a greater understanding of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities – takes place via Zoom on 18 November 2021. Tell us about Parenting ...
Reading School Streets
12 November 2021
School Streets give children the chance to walk, cycle or scoot to school safely in the street of the school without danger from traffic. This allows school children to get to know other children on their way to school, keep active and also help with social distancing during the pandemic. An organised School Street closes the ...
Mums’ Zone: free classes available
11 November 2021
At Get Berkshire Active we are excited to announce that our new Mums’ Zone free face-to-face and online classes are now underway as part of our pregnancy and postnatal free programme. Please see the attached leaflet for further details. Mums’ Zone is a holistic health and wellbeing intervention targeting prenatal and postnatal women. It aims to ...
Mental Health Sustainability Fund: Helplines funding – Deadline 3 December 2021
10 November 2021
Association of Mental Health Providers (AMHP) is pleased to announce the launch of the third round of grants: a Helplines Fund with Bupa Foundation.The fund will open to applications on Monday 15th November and closes on 3 December 2021. Amount of funding and who can apply: This fund will be used to provide grants of up to £5,000 to support ...
Vision for Volunteering: Younger People Leading Change workshops
10 November 2021
Vision for Volunteering is a collaboration across the voluntary and community sector, led by NAVCA, NCVO, Volunteering Matters, the Association of Volunteer Managers and Sport England. They are inviting people to get involved in workshops that will help inform England’s Vision for Volunteering; a cross-sector consultation designed to develop a shared, actions-focused ambition for volunteering. Two of ...
Highlights from Trustees’ Week 2021 and what’s coming up next
10 November 2021
We hope you had the chance to engage in some of the Trustees’ Week events last week. ICYMI here is our previous article on the topic. This article offers some highlights and details of future events for trustees: Recap of RVA Trustee Training We were delighted to be joined by trustees from 10 local charities and community groups ...
Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week – free online workshops
4 November 2021
As the days get colder and the heating is turned on, the potential risks of CO poisoning increase. The Gas Safe Charity is offering free carbon monoxide (CO) Zoom workshops in November and December to help launch Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week on 22 November. You may not really have thought about carbon monoxide (CO) risks in ...
Inclusive Training Opportunities at University Museum thanks to ground-breaking programme
4 November 2021The Museum of English Rural Life (The MERL) at the University of Reading is to provide training and mentoring opportunities for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people, as part of a new initiative that aims to transform the museum sector. The MERL is one of 20 organisations selected to participate in the Curating for Change project by ...
Compass Recovery College – Small Mental Health Grants for Community Groups – Deadline 5pm 3 January 2022
4 November 2021
Compass Recovery College is pleased to announce small grants for voluntary groups in Reading, who are embedded in and providing grass roots support to their communities. They are offering 3 grants of £1000 each. The aim of this funding is to support mental health and wellbeing in vulnerable groups in Reading, by enabling local voluntary ...
Blog: developing inclusion at Support U
3 November 2021
In this blog, Monique Boucaud shares her experiences of working as the Cultural Engagement Officer for Support U. In 2011, Support U launched a support service that specifically focuses on the inclusion of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) people. In June 2021, Support U were awarded funding with the People’s Health Trust to develop ...
Trustee tools: Improve your knowledge on pension schemes
3 November 2021
As part of Trustees’ Week 2021 we are sharing some helpful resources for you to improve your skills on your Board/Committee. The Pensions Regulator has put together free online learning programme, called the Trustee Toolkit, which is designed to help trustees better understand pension schemes. There are 11 learning modules: five core modules aimed at all trustees, ...
Free theatre tickets for young people
2 November 2021
RABBLE Theatre, a professional theatre company in Reading, are offering free tickets to their next production of Who Killed Alfred Oliver? to young people under the age of 25. The production runs from 4 to 20 November at Reading Minster in the centre of Reading. Our hope is to offer tickets to teenagers and young people ...
Consultation on Proposed Changes to Reading’s Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme – 2022/23
2 November 2021
What is the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme? Reading’s Local Council Tax Reduction (LCTR) Scheme began on 1 April 2013, when the Government abolished the national Council Tax Benefit Scheme. Our scheme helps “working age” people who have a low income, or no income, to pay their Council Tax. Pensioners are protected under separate legislation, and are not ...
Furniture available to collect from Egham
2 November 2021
A Good Thing, an organisation set up to help businesses reuse things they no longer need, has been in touch to let us know that there is some furniture available for collection in Egham. A list of all available items can be found here. If anything is of interest, please sign up and request the items ...
DBS Guide for voluntary and community groups – updated with local umbrella body information
28 October 2021
We have updated our DBS guide with details of local umbrella body, Barnabus Fellowship of Churches (BFOC) if your organisation prefers the paper-route as opposed to online providers. BFOC are currently working from home due to the pandemic but drop off/collection of forms can be arranged. See this guide at Part 6 – ‘Further Resources’ for ...
Trustees’ Week 1 – 5 November 2021 – Training and events for Trustees
27 October 2021
Trustees’ Week offers committees, Boards and charities the opportunity to reflect on the past year and look to the future, especially during current times where there has been so much uncertainty and change. It’s also a moment to pause and thank those who volunteer their time to lead charities. So here’s a BIG thank you ...
Free mental health workshops from Compass Recovery College
27 October 2021
Compass Recovery College offers free mental health and wellbeing workshops for everyone. Whether you’re looking to develop your understanding and skills in self-care and wellbeing, you are supporting someone with mental health-related challenges, or you work in mental health services, Compass would love to welcome you. We offer a wide range of workshops that are both ...
Reading SEND Local Offer – Annual Feedback Survey 2021
26 October 2021
The Family Information Service/SEND Local Offer need your help! Please could you spare a few minutes to complete our SEND Local Offer Survey, your help is appreciated. Let us know what you like, what you want improved, or just keep as it is! This will help us further improve the information, accessibility, usage and will assist us ...
National Lottery Community Fund – regular funding programmes
26 October 2021
The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) has has three rolling funding programmes: Awards for all (for applications under £10,000) Reaching Communities (for applications over £10,000) Partnerships (for applications over £10,000 for organisations that work together with a shared set of goals to help communities to thrive) The aim of the programmes is to support communities to thrive by funding ...