By Cllr Jason Brock
One of the most rewarding aspects of my role as the Leader of the Council is seeing the impact in our neighbourhoods of the incredible work that many community and voluntary groups do.
As a Council, Reading continues to do all it can to support the town’s amazing voluntary sector. I’m thrilled to be able to say that this week another 20 groups were informed they had been successful in bidding for a share of a £100,000 funding pot as part of the first phase of our ever-popular Small Grants Fund.
These small funding pots – of between £5,000 and £10,000 – are set aside by the Council to help tackle areas of inequality which we know exist in the town and break down barriers which prevent people and communities from enjoying the same opportunities as many of us do.
Reading is a thriving place to live, work and visit. Our economy continues to grow and perform well. People want to live here, and we remain hugely attractive to businesses who want to benefit from our enviable location and our talent pool.
We also know people who live in some parts of town are being left behind through no fault of their own. That can be for a variety of reasons, whether economic, physical or because of trauma they have previously suffered.
We know the voluntary and charity sector is even more squeezed than usual at the moment while, at the same time, the cost of living crisis means more and more people are struggling to access new opportunities. This area of Council work has never been more important.
I was delighted to see a significant rise in the number of applications we have received this year and, indeed, the variety of them. There were almost 100 applications received by the Council this year – a third higher than last year.
Among them were familiar community groups and organisations who have worked with the Council previously. But this time around there were bids directly related to the cost of living crisis, as well as new hyperlocal charities.
Successful groups and organisations have links with the people who need the assistance, the confidence of the community they work with and in, and the right volunteers and trained staff to help. This all means we are helping people who may not know how to ask for help, or sometimes even know they need a bit of assistance.
This year our focus is on giving residents the skills they need to get into education, add to their skill set, or get into voluntary roles or paid employment.
Sometimes this is even an aspiration. Because of circumstances, some people might have extremely low self-esteem, confidence, and self-worth. Building on these is the key to the next steps of getting volunteer work, creating a CV, or applying for a course. But each will give them the skills to get to enable them to take the next steps for them.
We want everyone to have the chance and choice to succeed, and that is a mission which will take time. As such, we remain committed to the Small Grants Fund, and I would also remind any organisation which was not successful in this round that new criteria and applications will be open again this coming autumn.
Cllr Jason Brock is the leader of Reading Borough Council and ward member for Southcote
