Age Concern Northumberland are holding a Recruitment Fair on Friday 12 February at The Round House, Lintonville Parkway, Ashington (oppostie Lidl's).

We are running two presentations at 11.30am and 1.30pm, followed by the opportunity to discuss, with our experienced staff, the job vacancies and career prospects in further detail.

For further information on our Recruitment Fair and our other opportunities available or for an application pack call the HR & Training Team on 0845 140 00 88.

Local charity WATBus Community Transport are to benefit from funding to provide cycling in Northumberland.

Manager Lynn McIntosh explained: ''The funding will allow us to provide 3 free trips into Northumberland from Blyth, Ashington and Newbiggin areas for 36 customers who want to cycle the beautiful coastline.

Transport will be provided free of charge so all names will go into a hat and winning groups drawn from each area."

Sleekburn Renewable Woodfuel Initiative have won a £5000 award from Newcastle University to develop ways of reducing energy costs by recycling waste heat.

Manager Neil Hedley explained;- ''We are part of Blyth Star enterprises, mental health charity and make logs and oven dried kindling for wood burning stoves and fires. Our waste wood products are used to produce heat for the factory and we realised that we may be able to put this to better use and cut our energy bills. We contacted Newcastle University and they were very enthusiastic to help and we are delighted that we have been awarded £5000 to develop our energy saving ideas...

By Blyth Valley Arts and Leisure

The first ever NSPCC North's Aerobathon takes place on Monday 9th November 2009 from 6pm-8pm.

The two-hour sponsored aerobic workouts will be led by qualified instructors across 70 leisure centres in the North East and Yorkshire.

Ashington Leisure Centre, Blyth Sports Centre, Concordia Leisure Centre and Newbiggin Sports and Community Centre are all taking part in this great fundraising event.

The Aerobathon event aims to raise over £90,000 for the Child's Voice Appeal - a helpline for adults concerned about a child.

Age Concern Northumberland recently held their annual Home Care Attendant Awards, at The Round House in Ashington.

The event was held to recognise the exceptional contribution made by Age Concern Northumberland's home carers, as part of the Home Care Service we provide in the County of Northumberland.

The awards are a way of showing the organisation's appreciation for the hard work and dedication of our home carers.

An exciting new venture is being launched in Wansbeck. It's called Participatory Budgeting, or known locally as Wansbeck - You Decide.

The idea is to give local people the power to spend public money in their communities. This means that local people can share some of the responsibility for what happens where they live, and make real changes.

Wansbeck - You Decide is led by a steering group working in partnership with voluntary sector workers and council officers to make this a success.

It is different because it benefits you - the people who live here - who would understand best what is needed in your area and it gives you the chance to make your own decisions about how the money is spent. There is £60,000 to be spent on ideas that come from local communities within Wansbeck.

Choysez, a local organisation working with young people, recently opened its 'Community Chillin' Room' thanks to a grant from the Volunteer Centre's Evolve Fund.

The fund is designed to promote participation and volunteering in young people up to the age of 25 from Wansbeck, and the ideas of Choysez students Daniel Wilson and Jasmine Clark, who applied for the funding, were brought to life to give other young people with Choysez a relaxed space to hang out in between activities.

They also hope to launch after-school clubs to give young people somewhere to go.