Community groups in Reading receive post pandemic cash boost

A refugee football club, community cafes, and hot meals for homeless are just a few of the fantastic projects that will re-open after winning funding aimed at helping Reading bounce back from Covid.

Local organisations in Reading will received up to £10,000 each from a pot of funding to support people with mental health and poverty.

Small grants fund

Most of the funding (£100,000) comes from Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) Small Grants Fund, a yearly fund which seeks to help local community groups make a difference.

Grants of up to £5,000 or £10,000 for joint bids have been awarded by the council to 22 organisations.

The projects include:

Additional capacity for a mentoring programme for boys growing up without a father (Chapter2)

New extra-curricular clubs, lessons and activities for disadvantaged and vulnerable children (Churchend School)

Providing support with essential items such cots, prams, clothing and laptops to 109 children living poverty or whose families are experiencing financial hardship (First Days Children’s Charity)

A new Saturday club for 15 young people with learning disabilities, to help them become more independent (Reading Mencap)

Increase access to free music youth club focused on vulnerable and disadvantaged children (Readipop)

Youth Café Bus for young people in Whitley and south Reading (Shift Youth + Community)

Starting Point and Real-time Video (Action Media) received the largest amount of funding (the maximum of £10,000) for their joint project giving young people in need the opportunity to work on real-world creative media projects.

Councillor Jason Brock, leader of RBC, said:

“It is vital that as a council we open doors for the many small community groups across Reading who want to deliver projects which benefit local communities in the town.

“This will create opportunities for those groups to progress small local projects which will make a big difference, but which they might otherwise not be able to.”

For the 2021-22 round, the funding is for “community-led activities that support thriving communities, addressing the impact of poverty and supporting mental well-being in Reading’s most deprived neighbourhoods and communities”.

Covid funding

The council has also allocated funds to 27 organisations for another grant, the Government’s ‘Covid-19 start-up/re-start grants for community groups (2021/22)’.

This funding of £44,248 is focused on helping people to regain community connections.

Much of the funding will go towards re-starting face-to-face clubs which had to stop due to the pandemic, such as Support U for the LGBT community and The Jamaica Society and Friends’ activities for elderly people.

The projects include:

Tai chi, badminton and singing classes for older people (Age UK Berkshire)

Increasing number of sessions available (physiotherapy, oxygen treatment and counselling) for people with Multiple Sclerosis

Re-open Caversham drop-in service, providing hot meals and support for homeless, which was forced to close due to covid-19 pandemic (Christian Community Action)

Re-start community café and activities for older people in east Reading (Cofffee and Craft)

New wellbeing group for vulnerable women (Parents And Children Together)

Restarting a football club that had 40 players, half refugees and half non-refugees, before the pandemic (Reading Refugee Support Group)

Re-opening community café (Whitley Community Development Association)

Full list of organisations and the amount of funding they have received

Reading Borough Council Small Grants Fund (2021/22)

Baker Street Area Neighbourhood Association (BSANA) (£5,000)

Centre Skills Sports CIC (£5,000)

Chapter2 (£5,000)

Christian Community Action (£5,000)

Churchend School PTA (£5,000)

Fellowship Educational Society (£5,000)

First Days Children’s Charity (£5,000)

Greater Reading Nepalese Community Association (£2,000)

Green Health Thames Valley (£4,114)

Me2 Club (£5,000)

No5 Young People and Reside Dance (£4,114)

Parents And Children Together (£3,000)

Reading Community Learning Centre (£1,470)

Reading Mencap (£5,000)

Readipop (£5,000)

Sadaka (£4,114)

Shift Youth + Community (£5,000)

Smart Works Reading (£1,260)

Sport In Mind (£5,000)

Starting Point and Real-time Video (Action Media) (£10,000)

Utulivu Women’s Group (£5,000)

World Education Berkshire (RISC – Food4Families)

Covid-19 start-up/re-start grants for community groups (2021/22)

Age UK Berkshire (£3,000)

Age UK Reading (£4,000)

Al Majid Centre (£3,000)

Berkshire MS Therapy Centre (£1,000)

Christian Community Action (£1,000)

Club F.O.D (£1,000)

Coffee and Craft (£2,000)

Fight Against Aids Society (£1,000)

Fifi’s Vision (£4,000)

Grace Church Caversham (£1,000)

Integrated Research and Development Centre, Berkshire (£1,000)

Jelly (£3,000)

Parents and Children Together (£408)

Reading Association for the Blind (£1,000)

Reading Mencap (£2,000)

Reading Refugee Support Group (£3,000)

Readipop (£2,840)

Redlands Parish Church (£1,000)

Sadaka (£1,000)

Support U (£1,000)

Thames Valley Positive Support (£1,000)

The Globe Community Mission Project Luncheon Club for the Elderly (£1,000)

The Jamaica Society and Friends Reading (£1,000)

Weller Centre (£1,000)

West Reading Together (£1,000)

Whitley Community Development Association (£1,000)

Whitley Wood Community Centre (£1,000)