Aspire2
Nominated for Charity of the Year sponsored by Roc Search
Whitley Carnival
Aspire2 is a tiny charity that is making a huge difference in South Reading, says its nominator for Charity of the Year, sponsored by Roc Search.
It runs multiple projects that support around 5,000 children and families in the disadvantaged community of Whitley.
This year it launched the Whitley Carnival – their biggest project yet. It brought together 11 Whitley schools and the local community, with 12 arts partners such as Readipop, Jelly and Reading Rep.
Two parades of hundreds of people took to the streets of Whitley.
The nominator added the carnival represents partnership between community, charity and arts and culture in Reading and demonstrates that working with communities develops unseen skills and champions those who otherwise would be forgotten.
Other projects run by Aspire2 include Early Years Music sessions for all three-year-olds in Whitley nurseries, giving children a head start in music, early reading, listening skills, confidence and teamworking, said the nomination.
The charity also provides Whitley children with trips and activities that would otherwise be beyond their reach, such visits to Ufton Court, Beale Park and Reading University. Schools are even supported to launch and run their own ‘school radio’ stations via a podcast project.
