Community fund awards grant to local Melksham charity

Melksham charity Read Easy has received a grant of £1,000 from Chippenham-based housing group GreenSquare.

This will help cover the charity’s costs for printing reading materials; providing training; and other office essentials.

The charity offers one-to-one tuition to adults who are struggling with reading, helping to build their skills through a volunteer-led, friendly and flexible learning approach.

Originally set up in Dorset, Read Easy now runs its adult literacy scheme in a further 20 locations across the country, including Melksham.

The grant has been awarded from GreenSquare’s Community Fund, from which a panel of five residents and three staff award small grants (up to £1,000) to local groups and organisations in the Wiltshire area. It allocates grants four times a year.

GreenSquare presented Read Easy with a cheque at Melksham’s Party in the Park – where the charity had a stand to celebrate the launch of Ready Easy in Melksham.

Jayne Castell, community involvement administrator, presented the cheque to Christine Thomson, Vice Chair of Read Easy. Jayne said, “The community fund aims to award grants to projects or organisations that make a difference to the communities where GreenSquare has properties.

“Being able to read is something most of us take for granted, so it’s easy to forget that approximately one in 20 adults in the UK have only a very basic reading level. The volunteers at Read Easy work hard to support people to build their reading skills, confidence and self-esteem. We are pleased to be able to support such a worthy cause.”

Christine Thomson, Vice Chair of Read Easy said, “We’d like to say a big thank you for the donation. Many adults struggle with reading but are too embarrassed to go to classes. Our one-to-one approach encourages people to come forward for help.”

The deadline for the next round of community fund applications is Monday 24th August. For more information about the GreenSquare Community Fund, and to find out how you can apply for a grant for your project or organisation, visit www.green squaregroup.com and search ‘community fund’.

For more information about Read Easy, please visit readeasy.org.uk