A local youth charity has been handed £1,000 in a competition featured in the Echo.

Members of STEPs Club For Young People are celebrating after receiving the generous donation from Vodafone UK.

The charity collected the Vodafone Community Connection Award last week after staff in its Weymouth store chose the deserving cause.

STEPs Club for Young People, founded in 1964 as Weymouth Boys Club, opened a new centre in 2013 following a £3 million capital grant.

Since the new centre opened five years ago, over 3,000 young people have joined the club and benefitted from the activities available.

The club was set to close in 2016 when Dorset County Council ceased funding for all youth centres in the county, and was saved by the charity STEPs who took over the running.

Each year, the charity requires substantial fundraising to cover building maintenance costs, staff salaries and to run its programme of activities for young people.

Tom Lane, Principal Youth Worker at STEPs Club for Young People entered the charity for the award.

He said: “On behalf of the trustees, staff and young people, I’d like to express my sincere thanks to Vodafone and those who nominated us for this fantastic award, which will be put towards funding new activities and projects at the club. Our work provides young people with educational and developmental opportunities as well as crucial support. Currently, our focus has been on improving young people’s health as well as enabling them to gain confidence and develop self-esteem and a range of skills.”

Vodafone’s Community Connection Awards was launched in 2014 and has already made a difference to more than 160 local communities across the UK.

Aimed at supporting local causes, the awards have been used to help support everything from new equipment for soup kitchens and day centres for the elderly, to helping people with disabilities take part in sporting activities.

Chris Stewart, Vodafone store manager in Weymouth said: “We are delighted to be able to help STEPs Club for Young People - they do amazing work helping to engage young people in Weymouth. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to support the hard work and dedication shown by Tom and all of the other volunteers.”