Wokingham in Need

02/11/2026

Wokingham in Need are proud to confirm our partnership with Freely Fruity and our collaboration with Grange Landscapes to provide a wonderful Nature Garden at Windmill Primary School and Nursery.

The goal is to create a safe, inclusive, and multi-sensory nature garden, fostering both biodiversity and well-being. By integrating raised planting beds, calm, sheltered nooks, and a mix of textures and scents, we will provide a therapeutic sanctuary that allows children - including those with SEN - to engage with nature, regulate their emotions, and learn in a supportive, hands-on environment.

We can advise the second phase has started and what great work from Grange Landscapes. Everything is beginning to take shape. Grange Landscapes have made a wonderful seating area, and the circle is due to be set to enable the children to use as an outdoor teaching area and put on plays. This area will also lend itself to other community events. Much more to do and the next phase with Freely Fruity who we are in partnership with is about to start so watch this space they also have some great ideas.
We are so pleased to have them all on board - Wokingham in Need is really grateful for this collaboration.

Should you wish to support this wonderful Project for Windmill School please visit our donation page on wokinghaminneed.com - every penny helps us to enhance this wonderful new Nature Garden.

Special thank you to all our sponsors and supporters:
• Grange Landscapes
• Wokingham Society
• Chalk Wokingham
• Waitrose & Partners
• Freely Fruity
• Dell Technologies
• Iconic Project Management Ltd
• Friends of Windmill School
• Englefield Estate Charitable Trust
• Pratts Pods Ltd

20/10/2026

Just under two months until our Special Christmas Concert on Tuesday 15th December featuring Art Themen & Friends - all in aid of Wokingham in Need!

Tickets & Details here: https://fb.me/e/7hV0CtqCR

Doors at The Whitty Theatre open at 18:30 - bar available.

Art Themen, a previous winner in the tenor sax category of the British jazz awards, toured the world fronting Stan Tracey's quartet for 20 years and has been featured with the majority of established figures on the UK jazz scene, Including the bands of Alexis Korner, Nucleus, Soft Machine, Mike Westbrook, Jack Bruce, Michael Garrick, and Graham Collier.In addition he has played alongside American legends including Philly Joe Jones, George Coleman, Red Rodney, Al Haig, Charlie Rouse, Bud Shank, Nat Adderley, Arturo Sandoval, Sal Nistico, Scott Hamilton, Eric Alexander et al. Outside the jazz scene he has accompanied such diverse artists as Mick Jagger, George Harrison, Rod Stewart, Jack Bruce, Joe Cocker, Chuck Berry, Alexis Korner and even Bing Crosby!

During Covid lockdown Art kept himself busy by playing about 100 socially distanced mini concerts In the hope of buoying up the spirits of the neighbours in his lane. He has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Worshipful Company of Musicians and recently was shortlisted for Jazz Musician of the Year in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. Finally, by an incredible stroke of luck he’s managed to acquire Ronnie Scott’s tenor sax which has the additional provenance of possibly being owned by Hank Mobley, one of the all-time tenor saxophone greats.

"Themen is one of the very few totally original, utterly engaging jazz musicians around” Dave Gelly – THE OBSERVER“

"Just once in a while one chances upon a new album that is just perfect, and love at first listen." James Henry – BEBOP SPOKEN HERE.

"Art’s version of Willow Weep For Me is enthralling” Jack Kenny – JAZZ VIEWS

"Themen, a veteran master now, in such eloquent form” Peter Vacher – JAZZWISE

"Cracking album…In any other country he’d be regarded as a national treasure” Leonard Weinrich – LONDON JAZZ NEWS

"Boisterous and inventive as ever... funky and swinging”. HI FI NEWS & RECORD REVIEW

15/10/2026

Just two months until our Special Christmas Concert on Tuesday 15th December featuring Art Themen & Friends - all in aid of Wokingham in Need!

Tickets & Details here: https://fb.me/e/7hV0CtqCR

Doors at The Whitty Theatre open at 18:30 - bar available.

Art Themen is a previous winner in the tenor sax category of the British Jazz Awards. Stan Tracey, widely regarded as the ‘Godfather of British Jazz’ employed him in all his groups throughout a period of over 20 years during which they toured the world together, winning the jazz album and jazz ensemble of the year along the way.

Art has been featured with virtually everyone on the UK jazz scene, including deputising for the great Ronnie Scott during the latter’s later years. In addition he has played alongside American legends including Philly Joe Jones, George Coleman, Charlie Parker’s alumni Red Rodney and Al Haig, Thelonious Monk’s regular saxophonist Charlie Rouse, Bud Shank, Nat Adderley, Scott Hamilton, et al. Outside the jazz scene he has accompanied such diverse artists as Mick Jagger, George Harrison, Rod Stewart, Jack Bruce, Chuck Berry, Alexis Korner and, even Bing Crosby.

A memorable recording was that of Joe Cocker’s number one hit of the Beatles’ song ‘With a little help from my friends’, for which he received the princely sum of £15!

“One of a tiny handful of undeniably perfect jazz musicians.”
Dave Gelly, The Observer

“Themen, a veteran master now, in such eloquent form.”
Peter Vacher, Jazzwise Magazine

“Boisterous and inventive as ever; funky and swinging swinging.”
Hi-fi News and Record Review

“His style has outlasted the Coltrane clones of his generation.”
Jack Massarick, The London Evening Standard

In any other country he would be regarded as a national treasure.”
London Jazz News

“Expect mischief and twinkly charm.”
Royal Albert Hall press release

10/10/2026

Wokingham in Need Stands Together for World Mental Health Day 2026: "Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change"

Today, on Saturday, October 10, 2026, Wokingham in Need proudly joins the global community in marking World Mental Health Day. This year, under the vital theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health—“Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change”—we are reminded that the true heart of mental health advocacy lies in listening deeply to those who have walked the path.

Since our founding in 2015, Wokingham in Need has been dedicated to supporting the most vulnerable, homeless, and isolated individuals across the Wokingham Borough. We know firsthand that mental health struggles do not exist in a vacuum; they intersect heavily with hardship, displacement, and community disconnection. Whether it is supporting children's mental health workshops, funding sensory gardens for adults with learning disabilities, or providing essential drop-in spaces for the homeless, our mission has always been about creating safe environments where people feel seen, valued, and heard.

09/10/2026

This , Saturday, 10 October 2026, Wokingham in Need is calling on our local community to stand together against homelessness. For over a decade, our charity has been dedicated to providing essential facilities, funding community projects, and delivering crucial support to the homeless and most vulnerable individuals right here in Wokingham. Homelessness remains a critical, often hidden challenge, and even small acts of kindness or local donations can create a monumental wave of change.

Whether you choose to support our mission directly or join us at our upcoming events—such as the Wokingham Opera Night at the Town Hall this November or Art Themen at The Whitty Theatre in December—your generosity helps ensure that nobody in our borough has to face the crisis of homelessness alone.

09/10/2026

Wokingham in Need and Dell Technologies were at the Wokingham Community Hospital Garden to spruce it up—a welcome splash of colour to brighten autumn days.

09/10/2026

We were happy to support this event at Wokingham Link Visiting Scheme - looks like fun!

04/10/2026

What a wonderful evening - read all about it in Wokingham.Today

The Wokingham pubs immortalised in art for a good cause : https://wokingham.today/the-wokingham-pubs-immortalised-in-art-for-a-good-cause/

25/09/2026

Last night colleagues from Wokingham in Need attended the Urchin at Wokingham Film Society showing at The Whitty Theatre.

The movie follows the experiences of a young recovering addict trying to redeem himself. It is an account of an ongoing crisis and shows how people can fall through the system. The film shows a young man’s life being defined by drug addiction, homelessness and violence. All these experiences are compounded and are pushing him further into a place where seemingly he cannot escape. He becomes faceless and is lost. The young man is simply seeking a second chance and consistently failing to meet the expectations that are set by those around him and by himself in his own personal goals. The extent he tries is staggering.

There are many people fighting to survive and are placed in a situation due to no fault of their own, and the film highlights inner strength to try and be heard. The final sequence leaves the audience wondering – it is almost like a dream like sequence where the young man (Urchin) is experiencing psychological and physical collapse, he falls weightlessly into the darkness and leaves the audience to come to their own conclusion, but it feels like this is someone trying to forget the past and trying to find solace and accountability from someone that will hopefully listen and understand how difficult life can be in addiction.

Thank you, Wokingham Film Society, for choosing to donate proceeds of the film to Wokingham in Need to assist us with our work in the community.

16/09/2026

An Art exhibition in Wokingham will feature the town’s historic public houses - and raise funds for Wokingham in Need! It's being held at The Ship Inn, Wokingham on Wednesday, September 23.

Read all about it in Wokingham.Today

https://wokingham.today/artist-celebrates-wokinghams-historic-pubs/

AN ART exhibition in Wokingham will feature the town’s historic public houses.Borough artist Mohan Banerji will exhibit his pub portraits