The Community Champion Awards are an opportunity to say thank you to individuals who have done something special for their local community and to honour those individuals and community groups who have gone above and beyond to support residents throughout West Berkshire over the past year.

Winners and highly commended nominees joined West Berkshire Council in March at Shaw House to receive their awards and celebrate their achievements.

Many congratulations to all the winners, and thank you for all that you do for our West Berkshire communities.

• Volunteer of the Year: Kerry Bird
• Community Group of the Year: Lambourn Junction Community Interest Company
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Paul Cooke

The judges were impressed with the quality of nominations.

We’d also like to give a personal shout-out to one of our wonderful Trustees, Pamela Beddoes, who received recognition under the Lifetime Achievement Award and was Highly Commended.

Pamela’s impact on her local community can be felt through the variety of positions she holds, as well as her role as one of our volunteer Trustees and chief cake baker. Pamela is a Councillor of the Purley on Thames Parish Council, a Goosecroft Barn Committee Member, a member of Project Purley, and a Member of the Management Team for Pangbourne Volunteers. Pamela has been active in supporting Purley since 1978, helping organise numerous events, including the Annual Summer BBQ.

To read more about the winners, please click here.

We were thrilled to be part of #VillageHallsWeek last week!

This annual campaign, led by Action with Communities in Rural England, celebrates the invaluable contribution of over 10,000 village halls across the UK and their vital role in strengthening communities.

Throughout the week, we focused on celebrating and supporting the incredible volunteers who ensure village halls continue to serve as hubs for community activity across Berkshire and England.

As part of our contribution, we hosted an online session for new and potential village hall Trustees, providing insight into the important responsibilities involved in managing a community building. Many local halls are run by dedicated volunteers, whose passion and commitment ensure these vital community spaces remain safe, accessible, and open for all.

On Thursday, we followed this with a highly informative session delivered by HugoFox.com, the UK’s leading community website provider. They guided Trustees through the key elements of building an effective website and provided invaluable hands-on support for those looking to develop a digital presence for their village halls.

The week concluded with a delightful afternoon tea at the Victory Room, Farley Hill with catering provided by Riseley Tea Rooms, another village hall success story. This provided an opportunity to express our gratitude to the volunteers who run these spaces, while they enjoyed a selection of finger sandwiches, scones, and cakes in the company of fellow Trustees on a beautiful Spring afternoon.

While hashtag#VillageHallsWeek has come to a close, our commitment to supporting volunteers and those managing community buildings remains ongoing. At the heart of our work is the belief that these valuable community assets must be preserved and enhanced for the future. We continue to offer advice, training, and support to help ensure that village halls remain open, vibrant, and sustainable for generations to come.

We’re thrilled to say that, for the first time ever, we realised we should have booked a bigger space for our AGM in January!

The turnout was fantastic, and despite the packed room, the sun was shining, the company was great, and your good humor made it an enjoyable and productive event—everyone was literally rubbing along happily shoulder to shoulder!

The session saw impressive attendance, with 37 delegates from across Berkshire.

A big thank you to the Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service for delivering an excellent, in-depth presentation on Fire Safety in Community Buildings. The session covered essential topics, including:

• How to assess and mitigate fire risks (fire officers will expect to see this in the event of an incident).
• The importance of regularly checking fire safety equipment (again, fire officers will expect to see this).
• When and how to conduct safety checks (in case of an incident, fire officers will expect to see this).
• Best practices for evacuation procedures.

Following this, Kate Meads and David Jennings led a highly interactive group work session focusing on other Charity Risks, including:

• People
• Law & Governance
• Money
• Property
• Reputation

Thank you again to all who attended and contributed and a big thanks to West Berkshire Council Adult Community Learning who supported this session. We look forward to more insightful sessions with you all in the future!