STAFF at a jobs and training agency are dipping into their pay packets to help others.

More than £30,000 has been given to 150 causes and charities in the past year, through a scheme run by staff at Teessidebased Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG).

More than two-thirds of the organisation's 650 employees contribute each month to the Give as You Earn scheme.

Their generosity led to PPDG winning the best overall prize at the National Payroll Giving Awards late last year.

One of their latest schemes is to help send 18 pupils from Eston Park School, in Middlesbrough, on a volunteering project to Athidiya, in Sri Lanka, where they will be involved in teaching English, music and sport, and helping redecorate classrooms.

A £350 donation from the PPDG pay packets will help pay travelling and accommodation expenses.

Len Junier, partnership and development manager of PPDG, said: "The donation is allowing these young people do something they would never be able to do otherwise. It will enable them to experience another culture and help people who are less fortunate than us."

Jim Rogers, headteacher of Eston Park, said: "This is a challenging task and we will need the support of the entire community.

We will be carrying out fundraising activities and we are seeking support from local businesses and groups."