Here you can keep up with the latest from Reading’s 1000+ voluntary organisations and other voluntary sector news from around the area.
Ready Friends survey – have your say
28 March 2022
Ready Friends is 6 years old this year, and was born out of the need to support local action on loneliness and social isolation. The voluntary and community sector (VCS) is central to reducing loneliness in Reading and provides an enormous range of opportunities for people to be socially connected and participate in activities that are ...
Berkshire Women’s Aid launch two new programmes for children and young people in Reading
28 March 2022
Berkshire Women’s Aid (BWA) are excited to announce the launch of two new programmes in the Reading area for children and young people, and a new programme for perpetrators of domestic abuse. Expect Respect – referrals open now Expect Respect works with children aged 5-17 who have experienced domestic abuse delivering age appropriate activities that are designed ...
Debt Awareness Week 21–27 March 2022 – resources from RBC
25 March 2022
This week is Debt Awareness Week, a campaign run by StepChange, one of the largest debt advice charities in the UK. It is designed to promote conversation about debt and the advice and help available, which for the people of Reading includes assistance from the council. Reading Borough Council’s Money Matters website brings together a host of valuable ...
BBC Radio Berkshire Make a Difference awards – nominate by 29 April 2022
25 March 2022
Local BBC Radio across England wants to award great neighbours, key workers, volunteers and more Community heroes who make a difference where they live will be recognised in a new award scheme being run by every local BBC radio station in England. This year BBC Radio Berkshire wants to celebrate and say thank you to people ...
Chairperson appointed for BOB VCSE Health Alliance
18 March 2022
BOB VCSE Health Alliance was created to support Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector (VCSE) organisations in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire (BOB) to collaborate with the newly developing regional and local health systems. They have announced the appointment of William Butler as the first Chairperson to lead the VCSE Health Alliance. William became the Health ...
Building Berkshire Together – Royal Berkshire Hospital redevelopment
17 March 2022
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is undertaking a major modernisation of its services and buildings You can download the first Building Berkshire Together newsletter here or read more on the Building Berkshire Together website. There are also two events coming up: They have a specific event for community groups to come and find out more about the options for ...
Blog: how we treat refugees reflects who we are
17 March 2022
Image credit: Peace Hub A personal response to the war in Ukraine It has been 22 days since Russia invaded Ukraine and like so many of us, I have been taking the time to try and process all that is happening. The emotional response to war feels like going through different stages, akin to the stages of grief ...
Safer Beginnings Onwards Grants – deadline 24 March 2022
17 March 2022
Safer Beginnings is led by Best Beginnings and White Ribbon Alliance UK and is funded through the Department of Culture, Media and Sport through the Tampon Tax Fund. This fund primarily works to support women and girls across the UK. Grants are available for organisations working in England, Scotland and Wales with a specialist knowledge of ...
Impetus – Youth Employment and Race Equity Grant – deadline 27 March 2022
17 March 2022
The Youth Employment and Race Equality Grant is provided by Impetus, who work to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed in school, work and life. Impetus are looking to partner with four new organisations and are offering grant funding for two years and support from their investment team. The aim of the funding is ...
Social Prescribing Day 2022
10 March 2022
‘I am really happy to know you and your support, you make me feel better. Thank you for being there for me’ RVA’s Social Prescribing service links people aged 16 and over to the activities and support offered by Reading’s voluntary and community groups, empowering people to improve their health and wellbeing. On Social Prescribing Day 2022, ...
Free Easter Holiday Art Wellbeing Workshops for 13–18 year olds
10 March 2022
No5 will be running a series of free art workshops during the Easter Half Term for young people aged 13–18! There are 10 spaces available for the 4 workshop series which will be delivered face to face over two weeks and young people will be guided by Carla, a local artist, to create a mural using ...
Children and Young People Mental Wellbeing Project 2022
10 March 2022
RBC, in partnership with Artswork, are commissioning arts and cultural activities to improve wellbeing for children and young people up to age 25 from June to December 2022. They are currently seeking expressions of interest. They are looking for three organisations that could work with young people to design wellbeing activities that embed arts and culture. ...
Historic England Everyday Heritage Grants: Celebrating Working Class Histories- Deadline on 23 May 2022
8 March 2022
Historic England has announced its Everyday Heritage Grants: Celebrating Working Class Histories which will fund community-led and people-focused projects that aim to further the nation’s collective understanding of the past. The Everyday Heritage Grants of up to £25,000 will fund projects that aim to celebrate the built or historic environment of working class communities. These grants ...
Support for Ukraine – what you can do
3 March 2022
How charities and civil society can support Ukraine NCVO have published a blog on the devastating and urgent situation in Ukraine and what charities and civil society can do to help. Read it here: How charities and civil society can support Ukraine. Disasters Emergency Committee: Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal The Disasters Emergency Committee brings together 15 leading UK aid ...
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service consultation – open until 28 March 2022
3 March 2022
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service is asking people to consider how their fire and rescue service responds to emergencies across the County as part of a public consultation. The consultation will run until Monday, 28 March 2022 (running for 10 weeks in total) and focuses on how they respond to Automatic Fire Alarms in lower-risk, ...
Design a poster for Berkshire Archaeological Society
3 March 2022
Berkshire Archaeological Society Poster Competition The invitation is to design a poster that inspires and informs and shows your enthusiasm and interest for the archaeology of Berkshire. A selection of the entries will also be displayed by the Society at its events and meetings and used in its publicity material. The deadline is 30 April 2022. A ...
Free places for 8-16 year olds to join RABBLE Young Company
3 March 2022
RABBLE Theatre are a local theatre company which delivers high-quality professional theatre and provides an extensive range of outreach and educational work to young people and the community. RABBLE runs a Young Company for young people aged 8-16, which takes place every Saturday morning, term time. Our Young Company provides young people with the opportunity to: Engage ...
The UK Youth Fund: Thriving Minds – deadline 20 March 2022
2 March 2022
UK Youth and Julia and Hans Rausing are working in partnership to offer funding to youth organisations seeking to be better equipped to respond to and support young people’s mental health in their communities. Who can apply? To be eligible to apply your organisation must: Be based and operate in the UK, and have been operational for at ...
Thames Water x Backyard Nature Microgrants – deadline 8 March 2022
1 March 2022
Thames Water has launched a new community fund to support grassroots action in partnership with nature campaign This fund particularly is aimed at those supporting families in areas of high deprivation to reduce the barriers around spending time outside in nature. There is £12k funding available for community projects in areas serviced by Thames Water. What are ...
Reminder: Reading Covid Support Fund – deadline 5pm on 4 March 2022
28 February 2022
Reading Borough Council has allocated £220k for grants to the voluntary and community sector for the year 2021/22 from the ‘Reading Covid Support Fund’. The funding is available to support the infrastructure and/or additional capacity needed by voluntary and community organisations to expand existing services, deliver services in a different way or to develop new ...