Together in Mission Anniversary

Together in Mission invite you to the 1st Anniversary celebration of TiM Friends: Mortimer & Burghfield Area Befriending Service, at Café B, Methodist Hall, Reading Road, Burghfield Common, RG7 3QA on Saturday 14th June 2014.

Join us for coffee & cake from 11:30, speeches 11:45, close 1:30pm

Please join us, Civic Dignitaries, Local Community Representatives, Parish Councillors, TiM Friends Volunteers, Members of Together in Mission & Local Churches.

RSVP by Friday 6th June 2014 To Sian Laflin:
sian@togetherinmission.org.uk
Phone:0777 89 111 84

Finally: a cure for the minibus law headache.

Understanding how to operate and drive a minibus is going to become a lot more easier.

The Minibus Website, a source of minibus information, is going to host a “How to legally operate and drive a minibus” seminar - aimed at simplifying the complicated laws associated with operating and driving a minibus.

Steven Caulston who created the minibus website and the seminar explains, “Minibus laws and regulations can apply to individual organisations in different ways – and that's why there's so much confusion. The seminar will explain why and offer a simple solution to help organisations follow the right set of regulations that apply.”

The seminar will demonstrate how a simple 'colour coded' solution eliminates the confusion and guesswork by separating and identifying the exact set of regulations individual organisations need to follow in order to stay within the law.

Other topics covered within the seminar also include: Hire and reward and Not for profit, Permits and operator licensing, who can legally drive a minibus and how to keep up to date with any relevant future changes.

A place on the seminar is FREE to anyone who operates or manages a minibus within; schools, voluntary organisations, hotels, care homes, child care and any other new or existing group or business. The event will take place in Reading, Berkshire on the 30th July 2014.

For more information or to book a place on this seminar visit www.minibuswebsite.com/htm/e/events.html

Sovereign Berkshire Regional Panel Fund

Every year Sovereign give the Berkshire Regional Panel a pot of funding to support local voluntary organisations, charities and initiatives that have a positive impact on the people and communities we work with. This year the fund is a total of £41,700 that will be split up into smaller grants for each successful project. 

Which areas does the Berkshire fund cover?

Bracknell, Crowthorne, Hungerford, Lambourn, Maidenhead, Newbury, Reading, Slough, Thatcham, Wokingham and any small villages or rural communities around these areas.

If you are unsure about whether your area falls within our Berkshire region please contact us.  

Who can apply?

Anyone can apply on behalf of a project, group or charitable organisation. However, we do recommend that if you are not directly involved you work with them to submit an application. 

When is the application deadline?

The application window opens on 1 May 2014 and closes on 27 June 2014. 

What are the panel looking for?

Projects, groups and organisations that make a positive difference to Sovereign residents and communities across Berkshire. Imaginative suggestions are always welcome! Here are some examples of where the money went last year:

• Clay Hill Residents Association
• Eight Bells for Mental Health
• Slough Furniture Project
• Assisting Berkshire Children to Read
• All2getherWest Berkshire (support for victims of hate crime)

The panel will give priority to projects and organisations working to support groups of people who are in need. This could include:

• People with disabilities
• Carers
• Young people
• Families in need
• People with money worries
• People affected by the floods

They will also prioritise any initiative that aims to help people into employment and training or projects that reduce anti-social behaviour (ASB).

Unfortunately the Berkshire Regional Panel cannot support applications that bid for funding to cover salary costs. 

How can I apply or find out more?

This year we are working in partnership with Greenham Common Trust’s ‘Find me a Grant’ to help us improve the process and attract new applicants.  This also means that successful applicants may receive additional funding or investment from the Greenham Common Trust.

To apply you will need to create an account and apply at: http://www.findmeagrant.org/wberks/
Please mention that you are applying for the Sovereign Regional Panel Funding in your application.

Alternatively, you can call us on 0800 587 2325 or email berkshire@sovereign.org.uk to discuss how you can apply another way. 

What happens next?

The Berkshire Regional Panel will review and shortlist applications in early July. 

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an event on Saturday 19 July, where panel members will chat to attendees about their project or group to find out more. We are unable to change this date so please keep your diary free or make sure someone can attend. 

Successful applicants will be confirmed by the end of July 2014. 

£700,000 loan fund for rural community buildings

The Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund plays a crucial role in helping community groups renovate and refurbish buildings such as village halls, church halls and community centres. It encourages communities to raise funds, knowing a loan could be available to help them meet their target and win funding from other sources.

The fund is managed by ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England), the national voice for England’s network of 38 rural community councils, on behalf of Defra. The Community Council for Berkshire, a member of the ACRE Network, provides a dedicated advice service for the volunteers who run village halls and similar community buildings.

Wendy Dacey, Community Buildings Advisor at CCB, can use her in-depth knowledge of supporting community buildings to help guide and support applicants. 

The average loan taken out by village hall committees is around £15,000, but larger loans are considered. Around 40 loans are live at any one time and ACRE makes around 10 to 14 new loans every year. The interest charged on the loan is returned to the Government, but capital is put back into the fund to support other community buildings.

For details of the loan fund and for help to apply, contact Wendy on 0118 961 2000 or by email at wendy.dacey@ccberks.org.uk

VACANCY - Yattendon Parish Council requires a clerk

A vacancy has occurred for a Clerk to Yattendon Parish Council.  This is a salaried position and if anyone is interested in learning more about what the position of Clerk entails please contact the existing clerk, Doreen Davies, who will be happy to give you more details:

Doreen Davies
01635 202284
kenmee@btinternet.com 

Alternatively you can contact the Chairman:
Dr Gordon Robertson
01635  201311
garobertson@tiscali.co.uk

DIY PR on a shoestring budget

Come along to this fun and interactive workshop and learn tips to raise your organisation’s profile with the media and in your community.

Focusing on public relations, this workshop will cover engaging your local media, creating news stories, writing press releases, and promoting events to your local community. You will leave with lots of practical ideas for getting free publicity.

This workshop will be delivered by Avril Chaffey, of Avril Chaffey PR.  Avril has extensive experience of working in business as well as working alongside a number of not for profit organisations and charities. 

When & Where?
Monday 16th June, 6.30pm – 8.30pm, Elm Farm Organic Research Centre, Hamstead Marshall, Newbury, RG20 0HR.

Who should attend?
The information covered applies to any voluntary or community group wishing to gain positive publicity and promote their organisation or events.

How to book?
Please click here to complete the online booking form. Alternatively contact Helen Dean on 0118 961 2000, or email helen.dean@ccberks.org.uk

This session is facilitated by CCB, and funded by West Berkshire Council Adult and Community Learning Fund.

Woodlands St Mary join CCB Oil Club

We are pleased to report that Woodlands St Mary Village Hall have joined the CCB Oil Club for a second year of membership. We spoke to Steve Tresadern, Treasurer of the hall to find out why they joined and what he feels the benefits of membership are. 

Steve values the advice of Wendy Dacey, the CCB Community Buildings Adviser, who assisted with raising funds for a refurbishment of the village hall and has put them in touch with the ACRE legal team. Through Wendy, Steve became aware of the other services offered by CCB and joined the Oil Club as a private member. He was pleased with the service and recommended that the Village Hall join as an organisation.

Steve said "The benefits of the CCB Oil Club are cheaper oil and regular communications which remind me to check oil levels and place an order if I need to. It means we never run out of oil!"

Village Halls can join the Oil Club for an organisation membership rate of £36 per year. Individuals can join for £24 per year and more information about the CCB Oil Club can be found on the Oil Club section of our website. Alternatively please call Marion Lather on 01993 225011 or email her at marion@ofps.org.uk. OFPS administer the oil club on our behalf.

West Berkshire Learner Achievement Awards

The annual West Berkshire Learner Achievement Awards 2014 are now open to celebrate adult and family learning across the district.

All types of training and education are considered from professional qualifications to apprenticeships, vocational training, family learning and courses to encourage personal and community development.  

The  Awards are sponsored by local organisations and cover a range of categories:

A. Outstanding Achievement                             F. Older Learner                                             
B. Determination                                              G. Most Committed Volunteer to Learning  

C. Employee In Learning                                   H. Group Learners

D. Inspiring Others                                           I.  Teacher, Tutor and Trainer

E. Returning To Learning                                  J.  Most Committed Organisation to Learning     


For more information on the awards go to www.westberks.gov.uk/laa2014 and to nominate someone on-line go to www.westberks.gov.uk/LAAForm

Successful winners receive a certificate and £100 award (£250 for group awards). They are also invited, with their nominator, to the Learner Achievement Awards Ceremony at 5:30pm on Friday 13th June at Shaw House, Newbury.

Please note the deadline for nominations is 5pm on Friday, 23rd May.

The Big Ask: collectively helping our children to be happy, healthy, safe and to achieve

Do you work with or for children, young people and families  in West Berkshire?  If yes then this event is a great chance for you to influence decisions about future service design and delivery.

On behalf of Public Health and  Wellbeing and Children’s Commissioning,  with the support of Empowering West Berkshire and Children's Centres, we would like to invite you to this important event:

"The Big Ask: collectively helping our children to be happy, healthy, safe and to achieve"  

4th June 10:30am to 6:30pm at Thatcham and Area Children’s Centre,  Park Lane Site, Thatcham 

An event to explore together how we can continue to deliver great services for children and families in West Berkshire, in a context of changes to the way services are run and shrinking public funding. 

The Big Ask Event is an excellent opportunity to build on current work by looking at the ways we work in partnership and the pathways that will improve outcomes for children, young people and families. We will consider what is working well, what is not working quite so well, what the gaps are and how they can be filled. 

From April 2015, responsibility for commissioning Health Visitor and Family Nurse Partnership services transfers to local authorities.  We want to use this event  to look at services as a whole and undertake a collaborative review of under-5s services. This is just one of the many topics for discussion.

Refreshments will be provided and the format is drop-in with an option to book into structured sessions repeated through the day.

For further information please contact Fatima Ndanusa, Senior Programme Officer, Public Health and Wellbeing West Berkshire Council on 01635 503437 or fndanusa@westberks.gov.uk