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A school in East Reading is hoping to promote walking and cycling to school, and clean air for everyone, by starting a School Streets scheme. A School Street is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. The restriction applies to school traffic and through traffic. The result is a safer, healthier and pleasant environment for everyone. Continue reading Would you be interested in supporting a School Streets scheme?→

The census is a once-in-a-decade survey that gives us the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in England and Wales. It has been carried out every decade since 1801, with the exception of 1941. It will be the first time the census has been run predominantly online, with households receiving a letter with a unique access code, allowing them to complete the questionnaire on their computers, phones or tablets. Continue reading Get ready for Census 2021!→

We would like to pay tribute to one of Reading’s community champions, Phillip Edmond Kallay, who passed away after a short illness on 5 January 2021. Philip moved with his family to the Hexham area in 2010 and became an active member of the Hexham Community Association after making friends with the then Chair, Surjit “Ken” Kainth. Together they negotiated a new lease for the Hexham Community Centre, secured funding for centre improvements and supported the Whitley Big Local project. Continue reading Tribute to Philip Kallay→

The government has launched a new website aimed at stopping the spread of false information. It encourages people to use the SHARE checklist before liking, commenting or sharing content online, with the aim of stopping the spread of false and harmful information about medical advice, vaccines, and technology scares. Read more on the SHARE checklist website (https://sharechecklist.gov.uk). Continue reading The SHARE checklist – Tackling misinformation→

With school closures, a lot of ABC to Read’s volunteers paused their usual face-to-face support in primary schools. Our mission to help children access good literacy skills continues and there has never been a more important time for our work so we have adapted our support to offering virtual reading sessions so that we can still be here for children both in schools and at home. These sessions are held via Zoom and all safeguarding measures are strictly adhered to. Continue reading How ABC to Read is supporting children with their reading during the Covid-19 pandemic→

The council property 2–4 Darwin Close, Reading, RG2 0RB is now on the market. The formal bidding process through the open market and the third sector process has now commenced and local voluntary organisations are invited to submit their proposals by 12:00 on Friday 2 April 2021. The property, which comprises office and warehouse space, is being advertised by Haslams. For information and advice on the third sector bidding process contact RVA’s Advice Service Manager, Herjeet Randhawa by emailing herjeet.randhawa@rva.org.uk. Continue reading Freehold disposal of 2–4 Darwin Close – bidding open until 2 April 2021→

News from: Reading Voluntary Action – There have been reports of a new scam where a person receives a text saying they need to book a vaccination appointment and it takes them to a fake NHS form which then asks for their bank details to prove their identity. The NHS will never ask for banking information. There is a texting scam leaflet from the Government Counter Fraud Function which lists the top four Covid-19 text message scams as:- Continue reading Warning about Covid-19 text message scams→

After a successful pilot across West Berkshire and responding to best meet the needs of the local community, Berkshire Youth are delighted to announce the next evolution of the West Berkshire Youth Hub. Their award-winning hub has now been extended across the whole of Berkshire. They hope that the renamed ‘Berkshire Youth Hubs’ will prove just as popular and beneficial for those in the rest of the county. Continue reading Berkshire Youth Hubs – virtual and telephone-based support platform→

Seven voluntary and community organisations are to share a £20,000 NHS England grant aimed at supporting the mental health of people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and Refugee communities over the winter. Berkshire West CCG secured the funding and has worked closely with key partners to devise the best ways of allocating the money. Reading Voluntary Action, Involve (Wokingham) and Volunteer Centre West Berkshire have administered and will host the grant. Continue reading Winter mental health support for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and Refugee communities→