Here you can keep up with the latest from Reading’s 900+ voluntary organisations and other voluntary sector news from around the area.
Deaf Awareness – how accessible are your services?
11 February 2016Reading Deaf Centre is planning a free mini conference (about 2 hours) on Deaf Awareness in May 2016 The Centre is seeking to attract local businesses, charities, service providers, etc to be able to come and get some tips on how you can be more accessible to the Deaf community, and perhaps even learn the British ...
Having your say about local health services
11 February 2016Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are responsible for planning and buying health services on behalf of local people. There are two CCGs covering Reading, North & West Reading CCG and South Reading CCG You can help improve the services and the quality of care you receive by getting involved. The CCGs are keen to hear from local ...
Capital grants deadline Monday 15 February 2016
10 February 2016Reading Borough Council are now inviting organisations to apply for a capital grant and the revised deadline for this is Monday 15 February. There is only £10,000 remaining in the Capital Grants budget for 2015/16, and groups will be expected to prioritise their expenditure if applying for more than £1,000. Applications should be accompanied by two ...
Berkshire Community Foundation is working with the NHS to deliver grants for carers
10 February 2016Eligibility The aim of the Fund is to make awards to registered charities and voluntary groups providing respite breaks for carers. Exclusions: Any group/project not meeting the above criteria; those groups whose beneficiaries are outside of Berkshire; groups promoting religious or political causes and/or those excluding beneficiaries from other sectors of society; overseas travel or expeditions for ...
Self Employment Business School
10 February 2016We’ve an exciting new project coming to Reading at the end of February, which might be of interest to clients – DWP, Reading Borough Council, Reading UK CIC and West Berks council have jointly funded the Pop Up Business School – coming to Reading and Newbury. Anyone considering self-employment, but not sure if it is for them ...
Local Church gives literacy charity a new home
10 February 2016Local Reading charity ABC to Read has been given a new lease of life thanks to The Church of St Mark in Reading. The charity were facing eviction from their current office at Bridge Hall in Reading due to council funding cuts. Rev Nicholas Cheeseman of The Church of St Mark said: “Having heard about the ...
It’s true – Volunteering is good for you!
5 February 2016Of course at Reading Voluntary Action we’ve always known this and have had lots of anecdotal feedback from users of our services that tells us so. Over the years there have been a range of studies looking into this and reviewing these recently we turned up the following of particular note. In 2013 Volunteering England commissioned ...
Big Lottery launches free ‘Strength Checker’ tool for charities
4 February 2016An online tool has been set up by the Big Lottery Fund to gauge the resilience of your charity in a number of areas. It’s a great opportunity to highlight areas to focus on improvements on and identify risk. The tool focusses on five key areas: Financial history, staff numbers and investment Managing finances The people in their organisation Programmes, partnerships ...
April Minimum Wage increase – are you paying under £7.20 an hour?
4 February 2016From 01 April a new tier will be added to the Minimum Wage. Adults aged 25 or over must be paid the ‘National Living Wage’ of £7.20 an hour. The Minimum Wage for those aged 21-24 remains at £6.70. It’s important to check that all hours that staff work are remunerated at the correct rate as there ...
Social Prescribing – a real success story
2 February 2016Sheffield Hallam University has recently published the annual evaluation of the Social Prescribing Service (SPS) delivered by Voluntary Action Rotherham. The two year pilot project started in 2012, was funded by the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). It has now been re-commissioned for a further three years through the Better Care Fund. The Rotherham SPS “aims ...
Charities warned about financial controls
1 February 2016The Charity Commission has warned trustees about financial controls and managing budgets. Following a number of high profile collapses in the sector and reports of fraud affecting some charities, the Commission has issued a reminder that all trustees are responsible for the financial health of their charities through ensuring financial safeguards are in place and scrutinising ...
Improved services for families living with autism
1 February 2016Autism Berkshire is now delivering an improved range of services to support children and young people living with autism and their parents, carers and families as a result of a new partnership with the county’s NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups. The partnership with the Berkshire West and Berkshire East CCG federations is part of the CAHMS Transformation ...
3rd Wellbeing Forum for Reading’s Voluntary Sector
1 February 2016
We were pleased to welcomed nearly 40 people to the Wellbeing Forum on 28th January. The presentations and discussions focussed on Reading’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and the draft Adult Wellbeing Position Statement Kim Wilkins from Reading’s Public Health team told us that the JSNA: is the means by which we assess the health, care and ...
Reading CCG Governing Body meetings in public
1 February 2016Every three months, each of the four Berkshire West CCGs holds a governing body meeting in public, where developments in the local NHS are discussed. The next Reading meetings are listed below; to attend, please click the date link and register your details on the Eventbrite page. North and West Reading CCG Tuesday 16 February 2016, from ...
Research into Arts and Cultural Activities in Reading
27 January 2016Could you contribute to a programme of research being conducted into arts and cultural activities in Reading? Are you active in artistic and cultural activities and yet have little engagement with the arts sector? Do you provide services in the Voluntary and Community Sector that uses the arts and culture? Are you an active member of a community ...
Adult Wellbeing Position Statement 2016-17 – Consultation
26 January 2016Reading Borough Council is consulting on a draft Adult Wellbeing Position Statement. The Care Act gives the Council new responsibilities towards those who may need care or support, and the Adult Wellbeing Position Statement describes how they will fulfil these new responsibilities. Individual wellbeing is affected by a range of factors, and this statement recognises the ...
Direct Payments Workshop – Thursday 10th March
25 January 2016As we know, adults who are over 18 years, live within Reading Borough and are having difficulties managing day-to-day tasks because of a disability or long-term illness, may be eligible for ongoing care and support services to help them continue living at home. If, after assessment, a person is eligible for this support from the Council, ...
New Palmer Park Carers’ and Disability Walks every Wednesday
21 January 2016These walks are open to all carers and their clients, carers with relatives, people with disabilities and anyone who would like to participate in a gentle walk of this kind around Palmer Park. Please come and join us, as walking is known to relieve stress, is energizing and a welcome distraction from the the problems of ...
Charities targeted by fraudsters in sophisticated scams
18 January 2016The Charity Commission has released a warning concerning fraudsters targeting the voluntary sector. Requests are being sent that appear to be from legitimate suppliers that the charity has had dealings with, asking charities to change the payment account details. The emails often appear to come from the correct email addresses. Should you ever get such a request it’s ...
Reading’s Health and Wellbeing Board – 22nd January
18 January 2016The next meeting of Reading’s Health and Wellbeing Board will be held in the Council Chamber on Friday 22nd January from 2 – 4pm. On the agenda: Local Safeguarding Adults Board and Local Safeguarding Children Board annual reports Update on Tackling Female Genital Mutilation Commissioning intentions 2016/17 (Berkshire West CCGs, Adult Social Care, Children’s Services and Public Health) Berkshire West ...