The true good that a community coming together can achieve was evident when the Swings & Smiles charity was invited to Reading College’s The Kitchen restaurant to receive a cheque for £7,000.
The money was partly a £4,000 donation from the Pride of Reading Awards plus £3,000 from the auction at the awards lunch last year of a piece of artwork by hairdressing guru and Reading artist Mark Woolley. The winning bid was by Paul Foley, professional catering instructor at The Kitchen.
Paul had been at the awards event in October last year where he was delighted and surprised to find out student-run The Kitchen had won the Hospitality Award.
Swings & Smiles, a charity supporting disabled children and families, were also at the Pride of Reading Awards where guests heard they were the chosen charity of Chris Tarrant, long-time supporter of the annual event.
At a reunion lunch provided by students at the college on Wednesday last week the charity’s chief executive Rhonda Nicklin and trustee Tor Sanders were delighted to receive the cheque.
Rhonda said after the lunch the donation was “incredibly important. The money absolutely goes to the heart of the work that we do.”
She added: “The charity world at the moment is really struggling. When we apply for grants, they’ve had a 300 per cent increase in applicants, and so getting those grants are really hard.”
Swings & Smiles supports disabled children and those with special needs and their families mainly through play, with a large body of work around respite support and access in the community.
Rhonda said of the donation: “What we choose is to spend that on really experienced staff, who can give the very best experiences to families.”
She said the Pride of Reading Awards had given the charity the chance to work with Reading College.
“We didn’t have that relationship before, and they are just really keen to work alongside us.”
She added they were looking at opportunities for their families to experience the fine dining experience at The Kitchen.
“But also, they [The Kitchen] want to come along and do work at the centre and be involved in fundraising with us. So, this is just such a wonderful opportunity to have that relationship with Paul Foley and his team,” she added.
“We’re really grateful for that, and we wouldn’t have had that if it wasn’t for Pride of Reading. That’s perfect!”
Nominations for the Pride of Reading Awards 2025 open on Friday, May 16 via the website www.porawards.co.uk. For more info email info@porawards.co.uk
Artist celebrates history and culture of Reading
Artist Mark Woolley’s creation aims to celebrate the culture, people, achievements, landmarks and history of Reading.
Mark, who owns Electric Hair in Kings Road plus salons in London and Brighton, donated a rare version of the series of prints for auction by the Pride of Reading Awards, one of three which bear unique lion emblems setting them apart from the rest of the run.
He said his artwork was reflected by the awards “celebrating people who have done all kinds of extraordinary things.
“The artwork celebrates a lot of that. There’s accomplishments, there’s people, there’s places, there’s inspiring companies that have been founded here.
“I think the Pride of Reading Awards are probably the epitome of that coming together.”
He said he was pleased the artwork had been bought by the college because he had built his business of solid education of staff.
“You’ve got a great learning facility,” he said of the college. “You can see the investment being put into the place itself.”
‘The Pride of Reading experience is fantastic for the college’
Paul Foley, who helps train the team of students who run The Kitchen restaurant, said of winning the Hospitality Award: “The Pride of Reading experience is fantastic for the college.
“It’s really nice that it’s actually been recognised for all the students’ hard work, what they put in, what they take away.”
The restaurant in Kings Road, open to the public, helps culinary arts students to sharpen their skills, equipping them for successful careers in the hospitality industry.
Paul said he was inspired to bid for the artwork, a collage of characters and memorable places and businesses around Reading, because he liked it but also “because we won [the award] I thought it’d be something nice to have put up in the restaurant”.
Guests enjoyed a three-course lunch designed by Em Pontet, a Professional Culinary Arts Level 2 student. Michelle Parks, Group Director of Reading College, dropped by to welcome the visitors to the college and talk about future collaboration.
The Kitchen is open to the public during term time on Wednesdays and Thursdays for lunch and Thursday evenings for dinner service.
The cheque was handed over in a presentation in front of the artwork by Helen Waring of design firm Cream, and Lucy Daniel, both Pride of Reading Awards board members.
Helen’s company Cream sponsors the Hospitality Award, inspired by and in memory of food journalist Hilary Scott, former deputy editor of the Reading Post and a founder of the awards who sadly died in 2022.
It recognises excellence in the hospitality industry, either an individual or business that has shown resilience, outstanding dedication to their customers and a strong commitment to Reading.
Helen said after the event: “It’s wonderful to see the awards uniting people in celebration of our town and to witness the practical good that comes from them as we have seen here.”
