Whitley Pride as Whitley CDA win Charity of the Year 2021

When the pandemic hit and things got tough Whitley came together and helped us provide vital support to people in our local community. To be recognised for this is an honour and to represent the best of Whitley made us so very proud.

There are so many people to thank, of course, Pride of Reading and everyone that nominated us, as well as Roc Search who sponsored the category we won. We would also like to thank all of our staff, all our trustees, everyone who volunteered, everyone who donated to us, every company and business that donated to us, everyone who supported us in any way they could. It was incredibly humbling to see everyone come together in this way.

Together we are #TheBeatingHeartOfWhitley

Chris Tarrant has hosted the Pride of Reading event since the very beginning and admitted that this year felt special.

“This year we thought we should focus on those that have helped keep us safe and alive.

“There was a real buzz in the room as we haven’t been together in so long, and everyone just wanted to say thank you. It’s been an excellent day, very rewarding.

“I don’t think Reading gets the best possible press and we don’t always get applauded for the good stuff that happens, but this is our chance to put it back.

“I have handed out Pride of Reading awards to some incredible people and it makes me proud of where I come from.”

Read about our work during the pandemic

We’ve estimated that Whitley CDA was supported by over 50 companies and many, many volunteers. There are far too many individuals to name but we would like to celebrate many of the companies who helped us help the people of Whitley.

There is no other way to do this than randomly.

Each and every donation brightened someone’s day and often gave hope when there was none.

Here are just some of the companies we’d like to thank; Morrison’s, Lidl, Tutu’s Ethiopian table, Clay’s Hyderabadi Kitchen, Fidget & Bob, Alexandra Rd Mosque, The Crown Playhatch, Wokingham Food Bank, FairShare Maidenhead, M&S, Cook (ready meals), Leighton Park School, Pepsi Co, Salvation Army, Warings Caversham, Reading FC Community Trust, Turkish Mangal, Business in the Community, Nikki Convenience Store, Bidfood, Khalsa Aid, Hachette, Thames Valley Police, Shinfield Village Baguette, Makro, Maybakes, Aspire 2, Launchpad, Co-Op, Gate Gourmet, Neighbourly, Wokingham Share, Reading Mutual Care, First Days Children Charity, Reading Rockets, C A Belcher & Son, Brakes, Saica, Tanium, Whitley Park School Staff, Flavours of Mauritius and Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara

And to everyone that asked to remain anonymous, we thank you too.

Would you be able to support us?