Kind-hearted residents in a Northumberland town devastated by flooding 16 months ago have dug deep to help desperate victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Street and supermarket collections held in Morpeth at the weekend raised more than £2,000 for the Disaster Emergency Committee's Haiti appeal.
The collections were organised by the town's Lions, Rotary, Round Table and Red Cross organisations.
Voluntary groups who helped a North East town recover from the worst flooding in its history are mobilising themselves again - to come to the aid of earthquake victims in stricken Haiti.
Five voluntary service organisations in Morpeth will hold a collection in the town's streets, and its Morrisons and Marks & Spencer stores tomorrow.
Morpeth Lions, Rotary, Round Table and Soroptimist clubs have joined forces with the local Contact mental health organisation, and the town's churches, on the fundraising event.
Caring bikers are riding to the rescue of a popular North East charity event which nearly reached the end of the road after almost two decades.
Every year since 1991, scores of leather-clad motorcyclists have taken part in the annual Easter Egg run organised by the Northumberland Bikers' club.
They collected thousands of chocolate eggs donated by customers at various pubs and clubs and then set off in a huge motorbike convoy to deliver them to children and elderly people in hospitals and homes across Northumberland and Tyneside.
A new scheme aiming to help people in Northumberland detect cancer early urgently needs volunteers.
The community-based initiative, the Healthy Communities Collaborative (HCC), has been set up to help people living mainly in the Blyth, Wansbeck and Morpeth areas.
It aims to raise awareness of the disease so people can spot the early signs of breast, bowel and lung cancer.
The British Red Cross said a big thank you to agencies it worked with to help Morpeth flood victims.
Certificates were awarded at an event in the Queen's Head Hotel to recognise how the community worked together to respond to flooding last year.
They were given to representatives of the former Castle Morpeth Borough Council, Morpeth Flood Action Group, and the Methodist, New Life and Roman Catholic Churches.
Morpeth's Rotary and Lions Clubs were also praised for spearheading the charity campaign.
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.
The flooding in Cumbria brought back memories for the people of Morpeth, which was flooded last September.
Robin Cooper from Morpeth Lions, who were instrumental in the clean-up, said the residents of Cockermouth were "in for a tough time" but stressed "there are lots of people who are prepared to help and you only have to ask".
"All of our thoughts are with them. It's certainly brought back memories - it's a heck of a sense of loss because there's nothing you can do. If you haven't managed to shift it you've had it.
Local people are being urged to get involved with the latest in a network of new grass-roots organisations being set up across Northumberland.
More than 20 community forums are being established in the county to help improve local democracy following the switch to unitary local government earlier this year.
The latest one to get up and running is the forum covering the Morpeth area - which has now begun the task of identifying and addressing local problems and concerns.
The survival of red squirrels in the Greater Morpeth area has been given an enormous boost after a £10,000 donation from regional developer The Banks Group.
Red squirrels in the town have been under serious threat of localised extinction, as the town has become invaded by hordes of non-native grey squirrel looking to set up permanent residence in its parks and gardens.
The only way to save Morpeth's remaining red squirrels is to remove grey squirrels from the Greater Morpeth area.
Morpeth are a club who uphold the best traditions of golf, but that has not stopped them making a success of a novel alteration to members' annual subscriptions.
Until the 2009 season, the difference between their junior rate and full rate was £341. As general manager Terry Minett put it: "Our members were starting to pay the full rate at the age of 22, so that was a massive jump.
"We were finding that the drop-off was dramatic. When somebody is 22, it is a significant price rise when golf is competing with many other financial factors such as rent, mortgages, student loans or bringing up a family.
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