HELP for Bury's ethnic communities to play a full part in community life has been backed to the tune of £82,055.

The money has been received by Bury Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) from the Home Office as part of the Government's Connection Communities fund, a race equality grants programme.

The scheme will fund projects over the next three years to encourage communities to:

Work on joint initiatives with other faith and community groups to build strong community networks.

Work with public service providers and employers to help build community trust and shape service delivery and employment practice.

Celebrate minority ethnic achievements to counteract racist and negative stereotyping and to build relationships with communities of different ethnic origin.

Bury CVS's £82,055 grant will help develop the self-confidence and skills of minority ethnic communities to enable their full participation in community life.

This, says the Home Office, will contribute towards good race relations and community cohesion. Mr Mike France, Bury CVS chief officer, says the organisation constantly strives to build support for local voluntary groups.

He said: "One of the key features of our work is that differing community groups have different development needs. The Home Office is making funds available to agencies such as CVS at local level to help us develop this area of our work and we have made a number of bids that, if successful, will benefit Bury."

Mr France says the grant will enable the CVS to employ a full-time member of staff until March, 2006, to oversee a number of tasks, including establishing, supporting and developing a network of organisations working in the various local minority ethnic communities.

Other responsibilities will involve increasing the funding base for organisations within the network and raising the knowledge of mainstream institutions, service providers and policy makers about the needs of the network members and member communities.

Mr France continued: "We are already providing community development support to a wide range of groups in East Bury and Radcliffe. This new project will increase our ability to support the diverse cultural communities that are an important part of life in Bury.

"We are anticipating further announcements from the Home Office on funding to support CVS work and we aim to bring in more resources that will enable us to further increase the development of community, voluntary and charitable groups across Bury."

Similar grants totalling £1,712,900 have been awarded to agencies throughout the north west.