VOLUNTEERS need to find £20,000 to help keep a vital community service open, it was revealed today.

Community Action in Rossendale (CAR), has already had to make both of its paid staff redundant and has now learned it may not get the funding it needs to carry on.

The Haslingden-based community support group, which is a registered charity based at the Mary Hindle Resource Centre, failed to secure funding for the projects manager and projects officer posts.

Initial funding was secured from the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) and the lottery's Community Fund when the group started up more than four years ago.

But two recent bids to the Community Fund were unsuccessful and the group is now awaiting the outcome of a bid to the lottery to know if it will get any more cash to continue operating.

The charity has helped hundreds of community, voluntary and faith groups and provides a bi-monthly newsletter featuring events, which is distributed to around 400 members and groups.

But the financial crisis has led to the group suspending production of the newsletter until it can secure adequate funding.

CAR vice-chairman John McManus said: "We are hoping to raise about £20,000 to keep the service going. That money would help pay for one member of staff to take bookings and take care of the day-to-day running.

"We are going to meet county council leader Hazel Harding next week to see if they can help us."

He added: "There are a lot of problems facing community organisations throughout the borough because Rossendale is the poor relation when it comes to securing funding."

A meeting with key service users and councillors to help secure the group's future has already taken place.

County Coun Harding, MP Janet Anderson, local councillors, and user groups have vowed to support the service.

Mrs Anderson said she is to make inquiries about possible funding streams that might be available and added: "I am also going to talk to the Government Office North West to find out if more help can be provided in our area for services like CAR which are vital in the community."