FACING an uncertain future, the staff at a well-used advice centre are calling on the community of Rose Hill to help them stay open.

The team at Rose Hill and Donnington Advice Centre fear that if a funding grant from Oxfordshire County Council is not renewed they will have to rely on fundraising to stay afloat.

Now they want volunteers to join a sponsored walk which they hope will highlight the charity’s work and bring in much needed cash.

Advisers at the centre have seen demand rocket since the credit crunch hit, and warned that changes to the benefits system currently being implemented will mean that their services are more important than ever.

The centre offers advice about debt, benefits, budgeting and housing issues, and is waiting to find out whether the county council will renew its grant, on which the centre relies.

Helen Foreman, of the charity, said: “This is the first year we’ve decided to do the walk. We got our Oxford City Council grant this year, but it was confirmed at the very last minute.

“There have been a few warning noises about the county council funding.

“We are trying to raise the profile of the centre.”

Preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best, the team decided to take matters into their own hands and came up with the idea to walk from Iffley church hall over Donnington Bridge, Meadow Lane, Magdalen Bridge, Christ Church Meadow and Folly Bridge, returning along the towpath to Iffley.

Centre manager Carole Roberts said: “A lot of what we do is give money advice, advice on claiming benefits and debt relief. We also help as a sort of channel to put in applications with charities which have the ability to make grants.

She said confusion from changes to the benefit system, along with an increasing number of people recently made redundant, had heightened demand on the charity. Her team dealt with 989 cases between April and December 2010, more than the entire year in 2009/10. More than half were about debt.

The walk will start at 10am from Iffley Church Hall on September 17.

For details of how to sign up to the walk, email HelenF@Franklins-Solicitors.co.uk