The VCS Partnership Event on Tuesday 3rd March brought together more than 60 representatives from community and voluntary organisations in the Royal Borough for the first Partnership meeting of 2026. Held in the morning at Wraysbury Village Hall, the session made effective use of the venue and provided space for discussion and networking.

The morning began with Di from Wraysbury Village Hall, who introduced the Health Hub that operates in the hall every Tuesday. She outlined how the Hub supports local residents by offering accessible information and services. This introduction set the tone for a day focused on strengthening links across the sector.

Attendees included volunteer‑led groups, charities, faith organisations, neighbourhood initiatives, and specialist support services. Many welcomed the chance to meet in person, noting that the range of perspectives helped generate useful conversations about shared challenges and opportunities.

Gemma from the RBWM Communities Group presented findings from the recent Voluntary Sector Survey. She highlighted emerging needs, strengths within the sector, and areas where organisations would benefit from further support. She also updated attendees on the development of the new Community Hub, explaining how it aims to improve access to information, support collaboration, and provide a central point of contact for residents and partners.

The group then divided into two workshops, with all attendees allocated across the two sessions. One workshop was led by Ellie Philpott from the Berkshire Community Foundation, focused on grant writing. She covered the key elements of strong applications and ways to demonstrate impact. The second workshop, delivered by VCS Partnership Volunteer of the Year 2025, Kirsty Northam, focused on Storytelling, exploring how to identify the community challenge, positive outcome and most importantly the human story.

Both workshops encouraged practical discussion and idea‑sharing. The event demonstrated the value of in‑person connection and provided a constructive start to the 2026 VCS Partnership programme.