A PLEA for help raising £80,000 has come from a charity hoping to open Readings first charity work and life skills centre.

Reading based homelessness charity, Launchpad are celebrating their 40th birthday and are calling on the community to help mark the milestone.

The charity is aiming to open the employment centre as the first work and life skills centre in the town and hopes to welcome people in before summer 2020.

The centre will benefit those who are homeless and at risk of losing their home, where they will be able to learn new skills to help them get back into work.

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The charity has secured a unit in Cardiff Road, a ten-minute walk from the homelessness prevention charity’s offices.

But with no government funding, Launchpad are relying on donations to help raise the £80,000 needed to renovate the centre and support the 200 people initial capacity.

Launchpad’s CEO Ian Caren said: “We’re limited with our current services and we want to do more.

“With a dedicated work and life skills centre, we can offer hundreds of people in need the opportunity to turn their life around in a variety of ways”.

The money raised will go towards several facilities at the centre including a DIY workshop, an IT suit for online learning programmes and a counselling service for talking therapies.

The charity started as a small soup kitchen 40 years ago by the University of Reading students and has since helped over 1,400 last year in Reading.

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Last January the charity opened five new affordable flats to house those sleeping on the streets and is now scaling up their support to reach out to more people in Reading.

One Launchpad client, who wanted to remain anonymous, received support from Launchpad’s current training, education and employment programme

The 54-year-old client said: “I hadn’t worked for eight years and my confidence was really low, Launchpad helped me get some volunteering experience, put together a CV and search for jobs online.

“When I got an interview for a caretaker, they helped me prepare and I was offered the job! I wouldn’t be where I am without Launchpad’s support”.

By donating £10 the centre could buy a set of utensils for clients to learn to cook for themselves, £35 would fund an online food hygiene course and by donating £150 the charity could buy tools for the DIY workshop.

To donate to the refurbishment of the skills centre or order a free fundraising pack, visit launchpadreading.ord.uk/skillscentre