This June, you can help New Beginnings Reading to win a donation for free - just by voting in the Discount Promo Codes charity poll!

That’s right, we are participating in a charity poll run by the money saving website Discount Promo Codes, where the public vote for the charity they want to see win a donation.

Every month Discount Promo Codes donates 20% of their profits to charity. To help them decide who to donate to, they host a charity poll where the public can vote from a choice of 3 charities.

This month, New Beginnings Reading is one of the lucky charities chosen to be part of the poll, and we need your help to win!

By voting for us in the poll, you can help us provide essential support to people in financial hardship and poverty in Reading and Greater Berkshire.

Voting is 100% free, there is no need to sign up or enter details to vote and everyone gets 1 vote.

How Do I Vote for New Beginnings Reading?

Voting for us in the charity poll is super simple and only takes 2 clicks of a mouse.

1. Head over to the Discount Promo Codes homepage
2. Scroll down until you see the charity poll on the right hand side of the page*
3. Vote for New Beginnings Reading!

*Please note that the poll may appear at the bottom of the screen on mobile devices.

Who Are Discount Promo Codes?

Discount Promo Codes are money saving experts who offer visitors to their site the chance to save on their online shop. This is in the form of online voucher codes and deals, which are 100% free to use and available on a huge range of top retailers. Every time you use a voucher, you will also be helping to raise money for a good cause.

So far they have donated over £64,000 to charity!

If you have a few seconds to spare and want to help New Beginnings Reading to get a donation, we would greatly appreciate you voting for us in the Discount Promo Codes poll.

Thank you for all of your support!

A charity is launching Reading’s first Warm Bank as the cost of living crisis engulfs the UK.

New Beginnings Reading, based in Great Knollys Street, will keep its heating on around the clock throughout the winter to provide a warm safe haven for anybody struggling with their heating bills.

The charity normally looks after some of Reading’s most vulnerable but expects to help people from all walks of life as millions face the choice of heating or eating.

Anyone struggling to stay warm because of astronomical energy bills and inflation will be welcome to head to the Queens Arms pub to sit in the warm during the day and enjoy a hot drink and soup for free. Vice Chair of New Beginnings Reading Sophie Kimber said: “We know how scared people are about the winter ahead and we knew we had to act to help where we can.

“Historically we’ve provided a warm space, bed and food for Reading’s homeless community but we know things are going to be different over the next few months. Many people in our community will not be able to pay the cost of their energy bill and face the appalling choice of heating or eating.

“It’s extraordinary in 21st century Britain that we have to do this but we want people to know that this winter, there is a safe, warm and welcoming place for them to come to. Please don’t sit at home in the freezing cold because you can’t afford heating when this is a place all are welcome.”

Trustee of New Beginnings Reading and junior doctor, Dr Jamie Carruthers said: "The cost of living crisis poses significant risks to the physical and mental health of people across the UK. New Beginnings Reading is here to support our local community during this difficult time. Nobody should suffer through this crisis in silence; we are here to help."

New Beginnings Reading currently runs an All Day Cafe on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 4pm and a Community Fridge on Tuesdays and Fridays 6-7pm and Wednesdays 12-1pm. The Warm Bank will launch when the temperature drops in October.

With the huge spike in energy costs the charity will be no exception in facing spiralling costs and expects its bills to surge over the winter. To meet these costs it is launching an appeal to raise £100,000 and is urging anyone who would like to support the Warm Bank to donate.

New Beginnings Reading is set to relaunch the All Night Cafe on 3rd December and it needs YOU to volunteer for this fantastic service.

The All Night Cafe is Reading’s only instant access night shelter and offers a hot dinner and a safe place to sleep for those who have nowhere else to go. If you share the aims of New Beginnings Reading to prevent poverty and help serve the community then consider volunteering for us.

The All Night Cafe will run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from 8.30pm to 9.30am the next morning. The session is split into three shifts and volunteers are only expected to sign up to the time that they can spare.

For those who are new to volunteering, want to find our more or need a refresher ahead of the reopening, volunteer training days will be taking place at the Queens Arms on Monday 8th November from 6.30pm to 9.30pm and Saturday 13th November from 9.30am to 12.30pm. Please contact us to sign up to either of these sessions where we will run through:

• Volunteer roles

• What to expect at the All Night Cafe

• Safeguarding

• Personal boundaries

• Confidentiality

• Procedure and policies

Volunteers will be asked to fill out an online application form. We are recruiting to fill a number of roles and need people with a range of skills to help deliver this invaluable service for the town’s homeless community. These include:

All Night Café Team Leader (20:30 – 23:00) responsible for:

• Opening

• Registering volunteers

• Registering guests

• Health and safety checks

• Supervise team

• Hand over to night shift

• Record and report incidents

• Welcome guests overseeing smooth running of the evening

Welcomers (20:30 – 23:00) responsible for:

• Setting up tables, chairs, drinks

• Welcome guests

• Talking, listening, sign posting if necessary

• Serving and dinner, cleaning up after dinner (cook dinner if needed)

• Cleaning up after dinner

• Put out sleeping mats and guests sleeping bags

Cooks (20:30 – 23:00) responsible for:

• Cook and serve dinner

• Health and safety kitchen check

• Clean up after dinner

Night team (23:00 – 07:00) responsible for:

• Liaise with team leader for hand over

• 2/3 to stay over, night team may sleep in shifts

• Be alert and ready to act on incidents in accordance with procedures

• Hand over to morning shift

• Report and record any incidents

Morning shift (07:00 – 09:30) responsible for:

• Read evenings report

• Supervise guests putting away sleeping mats/beds

• Put up tables and chairs for breakfast

• Prepare and serve breakfast

• Sign guests out

• Complete morning report and health and safety check

• Lock up.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The All Night Cafe will be reopening its doors again on Friday 3rd December.

Reading’s only instant access night shelter will be running on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights for those who have nowhere safe, warm and dry to sleep.

Before the valuable service had to close in response to the pandemic in March 2020, the All Night Cafe offered hot food, a warm place to sleep and breakfast to anyone who needed a bed for the night.

Run wholly by volunteers, New Beginnings Reading is looking for dedicated and passionate people who can volunteer their time to deliver this much-needed service.

If that sounds like you then please fill out the volunteer application form.

If there is some other way you would like to support then please get in touch.

It is with great sadness that we announce that the founder of New Beginnings Reading Grace Gomez has taken the decision to step down as Chair of the charity later this year.

Grace has been instrumental in setting up NBR, coming up with the concept in 2016 when she saw the need to have a place in Reading where people who had nowhere to go could come for hot food and a safe place to sleep.

Grace pushed and pushed to realise this vision and adding new services like the Community Fridge which has been a lifeline for so many, especially during the pandemic and the After School Club. She has achieved an incredible amount in such a short space of time along with NBR's amazing volunteers.

She feels that once the All Night Cafe is back up and running, it would be a good time for her to move on to pastures new. The Trustees are hugely indebted to Grace for her contribution and her continued dedication.

This means NBR is now recruiting for a new chair of this fantastic charity. If you are interested in applying then please send your CV and covering letter to lisa.philpott@newbeginningsreading.org.

The Chair will lead us into the next stage of our growth, as we reopen the All Night Cafe and look to expand in order to provide relief from the effects of poverty, financial hardship and homelessness in Reading.

The charity is also recruiting a Treasurer to work with trustees on developing and implementing the charity’s future strategy and growth plans, but to act as the authority on all financial matters. Supported by a volunteer bookkeeper, this person will be a key part of New Beginning Reading as it continues to support families and individuals facing the immediate tough winter ahead, as well as longer term hardship.

We look forward to receiving your applications.

Is your child/ren starting school, or returning for a new year? Need help with school uniform?

Please come to our free pre owned school uniform service at the Queens Arms, Great Knollys Street.

Monday 9th and Monday 16th August, 5.30pm to 7pm at the Queens Arms.

Hi! I’m Trixie! I’m a member of Vegan Runners UK and I have been running for three years. This year, I am going to run everyday to raise awareness about the plight of the homeless in the UK, and to raise much needed funds for New Beginnings, a grassroots homeless charity dedicated to the prevention and relief of poverty and financial hardship.

Please follow my progress on my little website:

trixierunseveryday.uk

Donate here

Happy Easter from all of us at New Beginnings Reading. To celebrate, we have been collecting easter eggs and donations to give out to our service users. We received a great response and thanks to everyone who took the time to drop in an egg or two or donate to the easter egg fund. No one should miss out on chocolate!

This month we also hosted StreetVet at the Queens Arms - a registered practice with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons who bring essential care to homeless people and their dogs. Many thanks to them for the pet goodies and treats.

It’s been another busy month for the Community Fridge with 812 people coming down to use the service, and additional food being given to over 800 of their dependents.

Our Wednesday lunch time service for families and older people continues to go from strength to strength.

New Beginnings Reading featured on BBC South Today News on 20th March 2021 where our founder and chair Grace Gomez talks about how the charity has had to diversify its services due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We welcome anyone who is struggling to buy food or essentials, just check our website for service times.

Dynamic Planner for your generous donation of Easter Eggs for us to give out to the community as were our charity partner Cornerstone who donated 500 amazing Easter treats. Thank you so much for choosing us as your charity partner.

We’ve also received grants this month from Asda Community Foundation, AWRE and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport which all help us to help our community.

As ever, we are indebted to the Lions Club of Reading for their incredible support. They have overseen two massive deliveries to us in March, all donations from people across Reading. It really helps the Community Fridge tick along so we are ever so grateful.

A quick shout out for men and women trainers of all sizes as well as shampoos, deodorants and shower gel. If you have any surplus then please consider donating them to us.

We’re celebrating this week at New Beginnings Reading - spring is in the air, we have a new Centre Manager and based on what the Prime Minister said we are looking forward to reopening all of our services once social distancing restrictions are lifted.

We have had a wonderful start to the year. In the first two months we have given away food provisions to 1,495 people and 1,374 dependants. In January, our Clothing and Toiletries service saw 88 guests being service, and that rose to 125 in February.

Meet Nicole Noack, the Centre Manager at the Queens Arms

We continue to grow as a charity, and in that vein we have taken on our very first member of staff. Nicole Noack is the new Centre Manager and will be taking a leading role in the day to day running of the Queens Arms. We wholeheartedly welcome her to the team and are excited at this new development.

Changes are already underway in the Queens Arms, with Ikea kindly donating racking so the Community Fridge is much easier to navigate. It’s shown us that our stocks are low for a number of items. If you’re able to help then please have a look at our Amazon wishlist which has the items we most need on it.

Service Update

We have moved the Wednesday Community Fridge from 12pm to 1pm for families and the elderly. The Community Fridge still operates on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 6pm to 7pm with hot and fresh food for those who need it.

Making a Difference on BBC Radio Berkshire

We were delighted to be featured in BBC Radio Berkshire Making a Difference on the Andrew Peach show on 25th Feb, you can listen at 2.55mins in.

Thank yous

Lots of thank yous this month for all of the incredibly generous donations we’ve received. These include:

Thanks to Lush for the wonderful donations

• NVIDIA who through their global holiday campaign raised over $3million for charities around the world from employee donations and fund matching. New Beginnings Reading was fortunate enough to be awarded £4,000.

• Sainsburys for picking us for their Help Brighten a Million Christmases Campaign and the £50 voucher for Christmas shopping.

• LUSH Reading for lots of lovely smelling toiletries for our Monday night clothing and toiletries service.

• Lions Club Reading who have been collecting essential items around Reading for us. Thanks to them and to everyone who donated.

• Pepsico for the snacks that keep people going.

• The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has awarded us a grant for £2,000 to be spent on the continuation of projects supporting those impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.

• New Beginnings Reading have received further donations from the Penta Hotel Reading as part of their Penta Gives campaign. We received thermal socks, jeans, umbrellas as part of their campaign. Thank you Wimple and the team at Penta Hotels.

• We also want to thank Addington School for supporting New Beginnings Reading. Their Santa's dash raised an impressive £332 for New Beginnings Reading.

• The wonderful Trixie has challenged herself to run every day this year to raise money for New Beginning. On behalf of everyone at New Beginnings we would like to thank Trixie for her kind and generous efforts!! Without people like you Trixie we wouldn’t be able to help those in need. If you would like to support Trixie’s journey follow @trixierunseveryday and click on the link in her bio to find out more and donate.

• Our regular food donation heroes - Hillsong Reading, Costco Reading, Lidl, Cobbs Farm Shop, NFU Mutual and FINK Street Food and Food for All.

Pride of Reading Nomination

Thanks to Pepsico for the filling snacks

We were delighted to have been nominated for the Pride of Reading Awards. We’ve been nominated for the Volunteer/s Of The Year Award, which is sponsored by AB Walker & Son Ltd Funeral Directors. The nominator said, 'I am nominating New Beginnings, as throughout this year they have not only helped the homeless community by providing meals, clothing and equipment but helped them be as safe as they possibly can.”

A very noble New Beginnings

New Beginnings Reading Chairperson and founder Grace Gomez is featured in Field Seymour Parkes monthly podcast with solicitor Rou Wu. They discuss how the charity helps address the real shame which is not asking for help, but where there is no help when help is needed; the virtuous cycle of those receiving a hand and wanting to lend a hand and how the charity helps those falling through the state net.

Volunteer Thank You

We want to thank our wonderful team of volunteers who have given so many hours of their time to run all of our services. Special thanks to Chris and Alan for making so many wonderful improvements to the Queens Arms. Thank you all. And of course our very generous supporters, we couldn’t do it without you all.

Essential supplies collected by the Lions Club of Reading

Christmas trees donated by Ikea

Despite not having the festive season we all planned, there was a Christmas miracle at the Queen’s Arms. We’ve been astounded by the enormous generosity of so many people and organisations to make sure that those who may not be able to afford Christmas get the day they deserved.

Our sincerest thanks, good wishes and a very happy new year to all our wonderful supporters, and especially everyone who kindly contributed to our festive offering.

With the help of countless good samaritans, New Beginnings Reading was able to give out Christmas hampers with all the trimmings to those who had facilities to cook at home, a hot Christmas meal for those who don’t have any cooking facilities, presents and stockings for kids as well as boxes of essentials for all of service users.

Hot Christmas Day dinners ready to be collected.

For the Christmas hampers:

Berkshire Meat Traders who provided turkeys, sausage meat and pigs in blankets

Alice Norman who gave us carrots and parsnips from her allotment

Crumbs Food Co Reading who donated sprouts and quorn joints

CA Belcher and Son and Freely Fruity for vegetables

BP Garage in Lower Earley who gave mince pies

University of Reading for the Gingerbread house kits

Aldi in Earley who provided bags to put the hamper food in

Sarah Daniels for giving us vegetable oil and Christmas puddings

And huge numbers of individual supporters who donated stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet treats such as biscuits and chocolates.

Vegetables from CA Belcher and Son and Freely Fruit for Christmas dinner and the hampers.

Volunteers descended on the Queen’s Arms on Christmas Day to make sure those who had no other means would be able to get a traditional hot Christmas Day lunch. Thanks to all of our volunteers who gave up their time over Christmas to make sure all of this could be possible.

Again, we were so happy to receive donations from wonderful generous supporters. Special thanks for providing the Christmas Day feast go to:

Cobbs Farm, Caversham Butcher and Costco Reading for meat

Berkshire Meat Traders for all important pigs in blankets.

CA Belcher and Son and Freely Fruit provided the vegetables including potatoes, carrots, sprouts, cauliflowers and red cabbage for over 150 Christmas dinners, which the Freely Fruit team helped peel and cut!

Many, many individuals receive our thanks for donating gravy, puddings and all the extras.

Turkey ready to be served up for Christmas dinner.

On top of all of this, the lovely Matt and Martin donated boxes ready to give to those living on the streets - some boxes for men, some for women and others for dogs! We received gifts and toiletries from Transforme Reading. We left no stone unturned, with Ikea donating trees that we used for our Santa’s grotto and then gave out to families who weren’t able to afford them.

Boxes of essential for rough sleepers from Martin and Matt.

Before Christmas there was huge generosity from all sides, with donations coming through the wishlist we set up on Amazon leaden with gloves, hats, toiletries and snacks (thank you everyone!) to people just popping by the Queen’s Arms with individual donations.

Gifts and toiletries from Transforme Reading

Thank you to everyone for all your support throughout the whole year. We are so fortunate to be wholeheartedly backed by our local community. Here’s to a better 2021 which we’ll come through together!

Freely Fruit team outside Queen’s Arms with chair of New Beginnings Reading Grace Gomez.

As winter sets in and the sun goes into hibernation for another year, Reading’s homeless community is at much greater risk in the ice cold conditions.

New Beginnings Reading is appealing for winter clothing that could keep those sleeping rough a little bit warmer.

If you have scarves, hats, gloves, blankets or sleeping bags then please drop them at the Queen’s Arms, Great Knollys St, Reading RG1 7HL Monday to Friday from 4.45pm to 5.45pm or on Sunday 1.30pm to 3pm throughout December.

In order for all of us to stay safe when donating items to New Beginnings Reading during the COVID-19 pandemic, please take the following precautions:

• Please don’t donate items if anyone in the household has Covid-19 symptoms or has tested positive for the virus.

• When donations are made, they should be placed in a clean bag, tied closed and only one person should deliver it.

• Please use the hand sanitiser available and wear a mask if you go inside the Queen’s Arms, making sure you adhere to two-metre social distancing.

We are hiring! New Beginnings Reading is taking on a Centre Manager who will deal with the day-to-day running of the Queen’s Arms and oversee the important services we offer. FInd out more below.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Centre Manager is responsible for recruiting, training and supporting volunteers at New Beginnings Reading (NBR). They will also lead on day-to-day administrative tasks and managing the Centre. This individual will be highly organised, a great communicator and committed to ensuring a positive working environment for volunteers. This position is part of the NBR management team.

Duties include:

• Volunteer Recruitment, Induction and Support

• Policy Development

• Ad Hoc Admin Duties

Skills and attributes:

• Effective communicator, both verbal and written

• High computer literacy

• Preferably experience with Google Drive and Docs and Three Rings

• Able to plan, implement and continuously develop processes and policies

• Able to directly supervise volunteers with administrative roles

• Able to work on using own initiative

Qualifications and experience:

• Minimum of one-year experience in an administrative role that involved managing staff or volunteers

• Experience with DBS checks and safeguarding policies

• Experience with maintaining a database and knowledge of GDPR.

• Initially, a one-year fixed-term contract.

The position will be home based / working at the Queen’s Arms, Great Knolly Street, Reading RG1 7HN

Contract type - Part time, Temporary, Contract, or Project

Location- Central Reading

Salary - £20,000 - £22,000 pro-rata

Contact

Lisa Philpott, Trustee

Mobile 07557 409288

Email volunteer-recruitement@newbeginningsreading.org

How to apply

Please send your CV and covering letter to: volunteer-recruitement@newbeginningsreading.org

Closing date for applications

11 December 2020

Will my application be acknowledged?

We regret that we will only be able to acknowledge applications from shortlisted candidates

Students at the University of Reading have been working hard to raise money for New Beginnings Reading, named as one of their Partner Charities of the Year. Reading Raising And Giving (RAG) is the official fundraising body at The University of Reading and fundraises for a variety of charities.

As part of the fundraising activities for NBR this year, students have taken part in a Bingo raising £460 as well as individual donations. Upcoming events for the charity include music and comedy events and, restrictions permitting, a Sleep Out in May.

So far, RAG has raised £1257.69 for New Beginnings Reading, all of which has gone towards supporting some of the most vulnerable people in Reading. To find out more about Reading RAG or to donate visit https://www.rusu.co.uk/organisation/rag/.

Donations for the New Beginnings Reading Community Fridge have come from far and wide since March. This generosity has meant that NBR has been able to give thousands of meals and food parcels to the hundreds of people who have relied on this service.

Among the hundreds of companies and invididuals who have donated is the partnership of Radiant World, accountants James Cowper Kreston and Fink Street Food. Since May Radiant World have donated £33,075 to NBR in wholesome, delicious food cooked food  via Fink Street Food, who in turn donated 10% of their bill to Woking Mind, a local mental health charity. This has enabled NBR to serve over 90 hot meals every Tuesday from the Queen’s Arms.

We’ve welcomed James Cowper Kreston volunteers every week since May who have dedicated their time to make sure the Community Fridge can run smoothly.

Chair of New Beginnings Reading Grace Gomez said: “This is an incredible effort from all three businesses and we are so very grateful for their ongoing support.”

As Autumn sets in, we’ve been getting ready for the season ahead. We are really keen to get some new volunteers for the Community Fridge Food Bank and Clothing Service so come and join our very friendly team. The volunteer hours are 4.45pm to 7.15pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday or Friday. Please get in touch if you can help and would like to join our wonderful team. You can fill in the volunteer form here.

Thanks as ever to all those incredible organisations and individuals who have donated food to us. We received a brilliant haul of fruit and vegetables from the wonderful people at Freely Fruity and donations continue to roll in from Lidi, Morrisons, Costco, NVIDIA, Cobbs Farm Shop, Fink Street Food, NFU Mutual, BJP Insurance Brokers Ltd - The Security Specialists, Food for All and Alexander Road Mosque. Without all of the donations you give us on a regular basis we would not be able to offer the service we do and we’re so grateful.

A special thank you to the Lions Club of Reading for their donations and for raising money for New Beginnings Reading and other local charities through their Round up for Reading scheme. Local businesses are asking customers to 'Round up' and donate a little extra. For a list of participating businesses, see here.

ROUND UP FOR READING from Reading Lions on Vimeo.

August has been a great month at New Beginnings Reading preparing. We’ve taken the chance of not running the All Night Cafe to get a few things done around the building, like having a shower put which will be invaluable for guests when we’re able to reopen.

Fresh vegetables donated from Nvidia

We helped over 25 families get ready to go back to school by providing school uniforms for free. We’ve also seen a steady stream of people using our clothing and toiletries service on a Tuesday evening. From 7th September people will be asked to come on Mondays from 6pm to 7pm for the clothing, toiletries and school uniform service. The Community Fridge will continue to run from Tuesday to Friday as usual.

Our volunteer Ellie getting school uniforms ready

The Community Fridge was featured on That’s Thames Valley TV where I paid tribute to the incredible volunteers who have seen the charity through the last six months. The Community Fridge has benefited from generous donations over the last few weeks for which we are forever thankful. They have kept guests well fed, with the fresh fruit and vegetables particularly welcomed by those wanting to cook hot healthy meals. A special thanks to the Lions Club of Reading for their continued support in picking up bumper loads of donations from neighbourhoods across Reading.

More welcome donations from the Lions Club of Reading

We’ve also been lucky enough to continue to be the sponsored charity for BJP Insurance Brokers Ltd - The Security Specialists who donated an incredible £420 from a horse racing event they held. Good luck to Andrew from us here on your 1 mile swim to raise money for New Beginnings Reading. To sponsor Andrew visit here.

BizSpace (UK) Ltd raised money for us from selling surplus furniture and Veg4Reading and Nvidia for supplying fresh, locally grown produce to the New Beginnings Reading Community Fridge Food Bank.

We’re looking to take on a Social Media and Marketing Volunteer to help with running our Facebook pages and website. The ideal person would have experience of producing creative and engaging content. More details can be found here.

Come and join the team at New Beginnings Reading as our Social Media and Marketing Volunteer.

Job Description: Social Media and Marketing Volunteer

Reports to: Trustees of New Beginnings Reading (NBR) and the Centre Manager when in post

Location: The Queen’s Arms, remote working

Hours: 2-3 hours per week

Pay: Unpaid

Background

New Beginnings Reading was founded in May 2017 in a direct response to rising poverty and homelessness in Reading. Our charity aims are to provide relief from the effects of poverty, financial hardship and homelessness to people in Reading, Berkshire. Our first service was launched in June 2018 after a year of refurbishing the Queens Arms. Businesses, individuals, churches and schools volunteered alongside the charity trustees to transform a derelict pub, into an alcohol and drug free sanctuary. We support up to 230 people each week across our 3 services. This number is made up of families and individuals experiencing financial hardship, poverty and homelessness in Reading, Berkshire.

Job Overview

We are looking for a Social Media and Marketing Volunteer who will support Trustees and the Centre Manager (when in post) with social media posts, website design and updates and marketing of the charity. You will be a confident self starter with good organisational skills and be able to manage your time effectively and flexibly. The successful applicant will work well within a wider team. You will receive supervision from the charity trustees. It is essential that the post-holder has excellent communication skills.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Raise the profile and enhance the reputation of New Beginnings Reading and its work

• Develop a social media strategy and increase the digital presence of NBR across its social media channels

• Scheduling posts for New Beginnings Reading social media channels

• Produce quality content in terms of photos, video and copy

• Develop and maintain the website and social media accounts

• Write weekly blog posts for the website

• Form positive relationships with all trustees and volunteers across New Beginnings Reading

• Assist in the organisation, planning and delivery of timely communications in a coordinated manner, ensuring clear communication of key messages

Person Specification

The ideal candidate will be adept at creating engaging social media content with previous work experience in a marketing/communications environment.

Essential Qualifications:

• Comfortable with computers, in particular using social media and online tools to create infographics and videos

• Attention to detail

• Contribute and develop ideas

• An excellent command of English (oral and written)

• Ability to work independently and take the initiative to make important and well-judged decisions

• Highly organised with strong time-management skills

• Excellent written and communication skills

• The ability to work with individuals who have different styles and approaches.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Experience of working with - and awareness of the needs of - homeless people or similar disadvantaged client groups.

• Photo and video editing skills.

Applicants should send a CV and one page covering letter to Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Sophie Kimber. Deadline for applications is 25th September 2020.

New Beginnings Reading Community Fridge Food Bank serving our community during the pandemic. Watch That’s Thames Valley TV news report.