READING Buses has named its charity of the year for the 2026/2027 period.
Berkshire Search and Rescue Dogs has been chosen as the recipient of Reading Buses’s fundraising efforts through the year.
The partnership was announced last week at their Great Knollys Street depot which saw the unveiling of a bus with adverts for the charity on both sides and rear of the bus.
The charity brought along some of their volunteers, both of the two and four-legged variety, posing for photos in front of the bus.
There was even a chance for Otto and Chester to see themselves as the dogs taking pride of place on the adverts.
It comes after the charity won two-thirds of an employee vote against two other charities that had been shortlisted from more the 50 charities who had applied.
The charity is a fully qualified Lowland Rescue team of volunteers on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to support the police search for, locate and reunite high risk vulnerable missing people with their loved ones.
The charity is constantly training to make sure the dogs, and their handlers, are at the peak of their powers and able to undertake complex searches.
Robert Williams, Reading Buses Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are obviously thrilled to be able to announce our new charity partnership for the coming year.
“Berkshire Search and Rescue Dogs clearly struck a chord with our employees who voted for them in their droves.
“I think it is safe to say that the charity is a lesser known one but vital in the area–we hope that the partnership this year not only raises a huge amount of money for them, but also increases their profile to elicit more donations from further afield.”
Peter Duke, Fundraising Officer for Berkshire Search and Rescue Dogs, said: “It is amazing to have been voted as Reading Buses’ Charity of the Year.
“As a smaller charity, getting recognition and raising awareness is a huge deal for us.
“We are thankful to Reading Buses and their employees for giving us this chance to help continue our vital work helping locate vulnerable people when they go missing.”
More information about Berkshire Search and Rescue and the work it carries out is available via: bsard.org.uk
