Since our beginnings in 1973, Connecting Communities in Berkshire has been at the heart of community life across Berkshire. For more than 50 years, we have worked alongside residents, volunteers, community groups and local partners to strengthen communities, champion local voices and help people respond to changing challenges and opportunities.

From our early work supporting rural communities to the wide range of projects and services we deliver today, our commitment has remained the same: helping communities thrive.

Over the decades, we have been proud to:

• Support Berkshire’s 103 village halls through over 30 years of specialist advice and guidance.
• Invest in community spaces and opportunities, helping to improve local facilities, establish community orchards and create opportunities for learning, volunteering and connection.
• Champion local priorities by supporting the development of 48 Parish Plans across Berkshire.
• Help communities deliver affordable housing, contributing to projects that have created 40 affordable homes in Wargrave, Chaddleworth, Hungerford and Woolhampton.
• Improve skills, confidence and opportunities through adult learning programmes that have supported thousands of people.
• Strengthen rural resilience through community safety initiatives, emergency planning and local resilience projects.
• Tackle fuel poverty through expert energy advice and initiatives such as our Oil Buying Group, which has saved members more than £56,000 over the past five years.
• Innovate in community development through digital training, mobile learning hubs and events that connect and support local organisations.
• Reduce isolation and improve wellbeing through friendship clubs, community activities and support for under-represented groups.
• Support local democracy by providing advice, guidance and training to town and parish councils across Berkshire.

Today, we continue to build on this legacy, working with communities across Berkshire to create lasting positive change and ensure that local people remain at the centre of shaping their future.