Training

35-39 London Street, Reading RG1 4PS

Do you work with a local neighbourhood group, or are you thinking of starting one or organising local activities? Help promote your activities and news with our series of free 'Grow your Image' workshops.

The first of these workshops is led by Alan Bunce, local journalist, PR consultant, and former Getreading community news editor. We'll be discussing ideas for gathering your local news and creating great articles for your community newsletter.

Click here to register - it's free!

35-39 London Street, Reading RG1 4PS

Do you work with a local neighbourhood group, or are you thinking of starting one or organising local activities? Help promote your activities and news with our series of free 'Grow your Image' workshops.

The second workshop in the series will cover the basics of designing and laying out a newsletter for paper and online formats, and give an introduction to using desktop publishing software such as Microsoft Publisher and Scribus. This workshop is led by David Neale, RNN's news editor and webmaster with more than 20 years' experience of producing community newsletters.

Click here to register - it's free!

35-39 London Street, Reading RG1 4PS

Do you work with a local neighbourhood group, or are you thinking of starting one or organising local activities? Help promote your activities and news with our series of free 'Grow your Image' workshops.

The third workshop in the series will help you take great photos for your newsletter, website and social media feeds. You don't need an expensive camera, just the right angle and arrangement! This workshop is led by Lynda Bowyer, a well-known local photographer who specialises in press and commercial work.

Click here to register - it's free!

35-39 London Street, Reading RG1 4PS

Do you work with a local neighbourhood group, or are you thinking of starting one or organising local activities? Help promote your activities and news with our series of free 'Grow your Image' workshops.

The fourth workshop in the series is led by Rob Davies from the Museum of English Rural Life, and will focus on getting more from social media. Social media plays a significant role in many people’s lives. Organisations both large and small are using social media to their advantage, whether it’s promoting their work, sharing ideas or showing support. With so many different platforms and approaches, it can be difficult to know where to begin and how to go about it. This session will provide you with an overview of all social media platforms, how you can use them to your advantage and why your organisation should be using social media.

Click here to register - it's free!

University of Reading, Redlands Road, Reading RG1 5EX

Do you work with a local neighbourhood group, or are you thinking of starting one or organising local activities? Help get more people involved with our series of free 'Grow your Numbers' workshops.

This session will explore how to encourage members of your community to volunteer and support your organisation. This could be through formal volunteering roles but also supporting your organisation in various ways. Through a series of activities we will discuss what would be best for your organisation and how to create a volunteer strategy. With Rob Davies, Volunteer Coordinator for the Museum of English Rural Life.

Click here to register - it's free!

University of Reading, Redlands Road, Reading RG1 5EX

Do you work with a local neighbourhood group, or are you thinking of starting one or organising local activities? Help get more people involved with our series of free 'Grow your Numbers' workshops.

This session will explore how to retain community volunteers and keep the momentum going, identifying risks and managing expectations. With Rob Davies, Volunteer Coordinator for the Museum of English Rural Life.

UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE HAD TO POSTPONE THIS EVENT - WE WILL REARRANGE IT AS SOON AS WE CAN. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Abbey Square, Reading RG1 3BQ

The Ready Friends project at RVA is delighted to be partnering with Samaritans Reading to host free Listening Skills Workshops this September. The workshops are open to all, but may be of particular interest to volunteer befrienders, or people interested in becoming befrienders.

Based on the Samaritans' 'Listening Wheel', each workshop will cover:

• Empathic listening
• The differences between empathy and sympathy
• Barriers to effective communication
• Verbal and non-verbal signs someone needs support
• Self-care for listeners

These fun and interactive workshops last for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Spaces are limited to ensure a small group, so book now at www.eventbrite.co.uk.

Third Floor, Abbey Square, Reading RG1 3BQ

Aim: To help you develop the knowledge and skills to work well with your local media at a time of austerity and rapidly-changing media.

Learning outcomes

The workshop will help you to:

• Understand how local media works (local press emphasis)
• Identify elements of a good story
• Write a strong press release
• Effectively approach journalists.
• Get your stories and pictures picked up by the media
• Use local media to help boost your web traffic

Who it’s aimed at: People who work within the local voluntary sector (charities, community groups) who want to use the power of local media to help them raise their profile, fund-raise, campaign and increase volunteer numbers.

Trainers

Sofija Opacic has over 20 years experience working in the Third Sector and for the last five years she has been running Creative Public Affairs which helps people work with the media more effectively to create social good.

Alan Bunce has been a local journalist for 21 years including as the Business Editor for the Reading Chronicle and Community Editor for the Reading Post. He is currently freelancing in PR and journalism.

Cost: £30 or free for RNN members using the usual promotional code - please contact us if you need this.

Click here to register

Abbey Square, Reading RG1 3BQ

The Ready Friends project at RVA is delighted to be partnering with Samaritans Reading to host free Listening Skills Workshops this September. The workshops are open to all, but may be of particular interest to volunteer befrienders, or people interested in becoming befrienders.

These fun and interactive workshops last for 1 hour and 15 minutes, topics covered are:

• Empathic listening
• The differences between empathy and sympathy
• Barriers to effective communication
• Verbal and non-verbal signs someone needs support
• Self-care for listeners

Spaces are limited, so book now at www.eventbrite.co.uk.

233 Kings Road, Reading RG1 4LS

A Renters Rising workshop for Reading and the Southeast held by ACORN Reading.

These workshops are at the heart of our plan to build a renters’ union – enabling you to meet like-minded folks, learn about renters’ rights and the small skills we can use to build a BIG movement. It’ll be a day of training in the skills needed to build a large, powerful movement to ensure that renters and the communities in which we live, are able to have a say in guaranteeing that the private rental sector is fit for standard.

Renters pay the most to live in the worst conditions with the least security. This will give people the tools to change that.We’ll be focused on the methods used to build a movement, looking at Community Organising methods.

We’ll discuss some of the issues facing renters and look into what can be done to improve the situation. We’ll also look at the organisation ACORN are setting up to fight for these improvements, and finally we’ll decide how we in Reading want to move forward with this campaign.

Find out more at www.rentersrising.org.uk/renters_rising_reading or email reading@acorncommunities.org.uk for more information.

Third Floor, Reading Central Library (rear doors), Abbey Square, Reading RG1 3BQ

RVA and RCVYS are working in partnership to deliver safeguarding training specifically aimed at Trustees and those running unincorporated groups and community associations.

Trustees (also sometimes known as the Management Committee) hold the overall responsibility for the actions of their groups and it is essential to know your safeguarding responsibilities to give you the confidence to run your group effectively. By the end of the session you will be able to:

-Demonstrate an awareness of the safeguarding issues that could emerge in your organisation.
-Describe key principles and best practice in terms of your responsibilities to safeguard individuals involved with your organisation.
-Identify resources to help you and your staff/volunteers to safeguard effectively.
-Identify next steps for yourselves and your organisation in terms of meeting your safeguarding responsibilities.

You will also have the opportunity to meet fellow trustees and managers from the local voluntary sector and share your best practice.

The training is free but please register at www.eventbrite.co.uk to book your place.

Click here to register - it's free!

Third Floor, Reading Central Library, Abbey Square, Reading RG1 3BQ

If you are new to the role of treasurer, have done it for a while but would like to be sure you’re doing the right thing, or would like to find out more about being a treasurer this course is for you. If you aren’t yet volunteering as a treasurer but would like to, RVA can then help place you with an organisation to put your new skills into practice.

Aims of the workshop
-To build understanding of the role of a treasurer in a small voluntary organisation.
-To ensure the ability to deal with the specifics of the finances of a small voluntary organisation.
-To leave the workshop confident about the issues that are likely to face the treasurer of a small organisation.
Learning outcomes
The content covered will be tailored depending on the needs of delegates on the day. However typically attendees will:
-Understand their financial responsibilities as trustees.
-Understand the particular requirements for the accounts of a small voluntary organisation.
-Be aware of corporate governance issues facing small voluntary organisations.
-Be ready to resolve issues with record keeping and know where to get help if they need it.
-Be able to determine if the organisation they volunteer with needs an audit or independent examination of their accounts.
Target audience
The workshop will be open to up to 12 delegates. It will be aimed primarily at new volunteers who wish to act as treasurers in Reading’s voluntary sector, but will also be suitable for volunteers who are stepping up to the role of treasurer.
Post course support
Each delegate will be entitled to up to one hour’s post course email support to follow up issues covered on the course.
Cost
The training is at RVA's reduced rate of £30. FREE places are available for RNN members using the usual promotional code. RNN members should have received their discount code already by email - please contact us if you need it.

Register online at www.eventbrite.co.uk.

The course will be delivered by Rachel Eden, ACMA Director