THE future of a charity that helps thousands of community groups has been secured with a £250,000 grant.

The cash will bankroll the Derwentside-based Council for Voluntary Services (CVS) for the next three years.

Chief officer John Hails said: "This is really exciting and is great news for Derwentside. If we were to disappear off the map, it would mean thousands of organisations would lose our support."

The group, sited in the Louisa Centre in Stanley, has helped hundreds of grass roots clubs and societies since it was set up in 1996.

Its eight staff give advice on how to organise a club and, importantly, professional help to access grants.

Those to benefit recently range from Stanley Rotary Club to Annfield Plain Family History Society.

Apart from small regular sums from Derwentside District Council and Durham County Council, the CVS has to apply for grant aid to fund its work.

The £250,000 is the combination of successful bids to the Home Office, Lloyds TSB Foundation, the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and the Nationwide Foundation.

The cash has freed up staff to concentrate on tackling some of the social problems plaguing the district's communities.

First on the list is an ambitious scheme to bring old and young people together through voluntary work. The project will be run through the Volunteer Bureau, also based in the Louisa Centre.

"We are looking at issues of intergenerational disharmony," said Mr Hails. "The elderly and young people have real problems with each other.

"What we are doing is getting them to mix through an exchange, so they learn to understand each other better."

Projects in the pipeline include youngsters running classes on computer skills. In return, members of the older generation will be teaching excluded teenagers cookery and how to manage on a budget.

Anyone interested in taking part in the scheme should contact Victoria Johnson at the Volunteer Bureau on (01207) 218855.

Anyone wanting advice on setting up a community group should contact the CVS on (01207) 218849.