A RADIO station has been in-volved in a project to provide cash for a community group as part of a campaign to generate new opportunities for youngsters.

Beacon Radio, based in Wolver-hampton, together with v, a youth group volunteering charity, has given £7,320 to the Upton-upon-Severn based Severn Area Rescue Associa-tion (SARA).

The station urged community organisations to apply for a grant of up to £10,000 to help deliver innovative projects and create new volunteering opportunities across the region.

SARA was granted the money after proposing a project to give young people a taste of volunteering and a sense of its value to themselves and their local communities.

Project organisers will recruit 16 to 25 volunteers, training them to provide a strong, experienced and professionally trained crew providing a life-saving service in their communities.

Beacon Radio's programme controller Darrell Woodman said: "We are really proud to be taking part in this campaign. Helping young people in the region and the community as a whole has always been hugely important to us as a station.

SARA wholeheartedly deserves this money. They are seen as the fourth emergency service locally and have got some dedicated volunteers and support staff who are committed to helping local people in need'.

Paul Watkins, chairman of SARA, said: As a voluntary organisation we rely on donations from the public and from companies like Beacon Radio to enable us to continue to provide life-saving work.

It's with many thanks that we receive this cheque that will help us recruit young members from surrounding areas. This will not only help the communities we serve, but will also offer a voluntary service to young people and enable them to improve their skills and feel part of the community."

The young volunteers at SARA will receive training in mountain rescue, lifeboat search and rescue, medical services provision and water safety awareness programmes for the public.

Each volunteer who joins the team will go through an induction and probationary period for six months before they become part of a fully-fledged crew member. They will be expected to develop both personally and professionally.

The money Beacon are donating will go towards training courses, lap-top computers and personal protective equipment.

Beacon Radio and the v project have given away nearly £50,000 to local organisations across the region to fund exciting projects that will benefit the community as a whole.