A centre which helps hundreds of children and their parents is celebrating after receiving a £30,000 cash boost.

But Donnington Doorstep, in Townsend Square, East Oxford, still needs to raise a further £30,000 to build a youth space which would be used by vulnerable youngsters and the community.

The organisation raised nearly £180,000, which they believed would be enough to pay for the development, but tenders came back £60,500 more than expected.

Manager Anna Thorne said she was delighted by the £10,000 from Oxford City Council's east area parliament, and £20,000 from the Tudor Trust, both of which had already pledged money to the project.

She hoped it would spur on other organisations to help them meet their target.

She said: "We are hoping to build a youth space and a meeting room upstairs that can be used for parents' groups.

"We run all sorts of different services for children of all ages, from babies up to teenagers, and we are really bursting at the seams.

"Young people haven't got a youth space in the Donnington area and we have been working with the community centre to get something set up.

"A lot of what we do is quite intensive, one-to-one support for some young people who are facing real difficulties, but it will also be something that can be used by the whole community because we want things to be available to everybody.

"Our main focus is on play activities and things that are fun for people so that young people enjoy themselves and get a sense of achievement."

The centre works with children who are socially excluded or vulnerable and provides drop-in services throughout the week.

It is estimated 800 adults and 1,200 children use the centre every year, with about 130 families who visit every week, some visiting most days.

Members of the centre have been involved in helping set up a new Donnington Tenants' and Residents' Association - and one of the key issues identified was the need for a youth space. Ms Thorne said: "Although Donnington is a lovely area there are an awful lot of challenges. Having somewhere like this can help."

Once the funding is in place the intention would be to get the centre open by spring 2008. Funding has also been received from the Critchley Charitable Trust, St Aldate's, Anton Jurgens, Garfield Weston, Make Space, the County Chill Out Fund and through fundraising.

Anyone who would like to contribute or has any ideas on how to help Donnington Doorstep reach its target can call Ms Thorne on 01865 727721.