Voluntary and community groups in Northumberland have been warned they are facing a reduction in funding for their work - because of the recession and tough budget savings required by the county council.
However, County Hall bosses have reassured the sector that a funding package of £1.3m will still be available next year. Budget proposals recommend more money for charities directly supporting those people worst affected by the recession.
These will include services such as credit unions and the Citizens' Advice Bureau.
A group set up in a Northumberland village to help victims of flooding is to receive £10,000 from a local councillor.
Rothbury was hit by a devastating flood last September which left up to 60 people out of their homes and forced around five businesses to relocate.
A flood warden group has now been established to provide extra support to the community in future incidents. Members of the public will act as voluntary wardens, and distribute sand bags and help elderly residents.
Now, Northumberland County Councillor for Rothbury Steven Bridgett has pledged £10,000 from a £15,000 allowance he has to allocate to local projects, to the group.
The Queen has honoured four volunteering groups from Northumberland for their contribution to their local communities.
The winners of this year's Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, which is equivalent to the MBE, include a youth project in Cramlington that supports disabled and special needs youngsters and a community allotment in Prudhoe helping people with learning difficulties to gain practical gardening experience.
Northumberland Scouts Uganda Link, which supports communities in Uganda while providing a life-changing experience for young people, and the Trustees of the Jubilee Institute, in Rothbury, also received the honour.
Older people are being asked to volunteer their time to help their peers stay active and independent.
Northumberland Care Trust, in partnership with Age Concern, is looking for volunteers to become "senior health mentors" to other older people in their community.
Ann Kirkup, project co-ordinator for the health mentor scheme in Northumberland, with Jean Sanders in Newbiggin, who has volunteered as a senior peer mentor.
The volunteers will be trained to help, support and encourage those they are mentoring on the benefits of healthy eating and exercise, as well as offering social interaction.
A mainstay of the Northumberland social calendar is this year set to raise funds for local flood victims.
Coquetdale Round Table hosts its annual Rothbury Street Fair on Bank Holiday Monday, May 25.
Every year, the event attracts around 5,000 people. Between the Round Table and the charities which run stalls, it usually raises over £10,000 for local good causes.
Rothbury and Coquetdale Business Club is this week celebrating a donation from utility companies towards repairing the village's Christmas lights.
In February Rothbury villagers suffered a double whammy when their gas supply was knocked out for four days and their electricity supply also failed.
But now the two companies who sorted out the problem are donating towards the village's Christmas lights display this year.
The Northumberland section of the National Federation of Young Farmers is hosting a competition that will bring teams of young agricultural workers from all over the North of the country into competition in a number of activities.
The Pussycat heifers - part of the Ponteland and Stamfordham Entertainments cast who represented Northumberland in Blackpool 2008
Each local group of the federation will put together its own team to take part in some traditional sports such as football and rugby, while there will also be some more unusual disciplines to contend with - such as a pantomime competition.
A Northumberland couple have set up a painting school in a converted "gin gan" on the Nunnykirk Estate.
Janet Tennant, who used to teach art in Edinburgh, moved to Northumberland last year after her marriage to Mark Canning, who at the time lived in a farm cottage at Nunnykirk.
Part of the cottage was a circular gin gan, where horses or ponies walked around to turn wheels attached to the gin.
Proposals to axe staff involved in the upkeep of Northumberland's paths will have a knock-on effect on tourism, opponents warned last night.
Mavis Harris, footpath secretary for the Ramblers' Association Hexham group.
Northumberland County Council is considering cuts to its Rights of Way and Countryside Management Team in its 2009-10 budget, as it seeks to make savings across all departments in order to meet finance targets set by the Government.
A concert takes place this weekend to raise money for victims of September's floods in Rothbury and Coquetdale.
A Bit of a Do, a concert in aid of the Coquetdale Flood Victims, is being held at Alnwick Playhouse on Sunday night.
Rod Clements of Lindisfarne
It has been organised by the Alnwick Lions club in association with the Coquet Flood Victim Support group.
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