A CHARITY offering opportunities to young people in Parr has been awarded a Lloyds TSB Foundation grant of £10,000.

C.A.S.M. (Community Awareness of Self Motivation) is a volunteer-run detached youth project and is based in Derbyshire Hill Family Centre on Derbyshire Hill Road.

The charity has been running for eight years and employs youth workers to form groups, aged between 11 and 25, from the Parr area and get them involved in community and educational projects.

These range from environmental work, drug education, parenting and residential courses to art and music projects. The charity also organises the popular annual Parr Carnival event.

C.A.S.M. project manager Gary Atkinson told the Star: "We are delighted with the Lloyds TSB Foundation grant because, as a totally self-funding project, extra money is always very handy. The £10,000 will be spread over two years and will pay for more detached youth workers to establish links with and work with young people in Parr.

"The ultimate aim of C.A.S.M. is to self motivate young people in Parr and hopefully, provide them with skills with which they can improve the quality of their life and their community."