The Prime Minister was quoted at the ninth annual meeting of a volunteers' group.

Julia Carrette, manager of Worthing Council for Voluntary Service (WCVS), reminded the meeting at Worthing Town Hall of what Tony Blair said recently: "In the modern world it is simply not possible to have a dynamic and vibrant economy without a dynamic and vibrant voluntary sector."

Julia, who joined the WCVS almost a year ago, praised staff for working hard and highlighted the successes and disappointments since she had taken over.

There had been overwhelming support from users of the town's hugely-popular Dial-a-Ride service, run by co-ordinator Geoff Davis, who took over from Kay Diment following her move to Northampton.

She explained why a bid by the WCVS to open a town-centre volunteer bureau had failed after the scheme was unable to secure funding.

Julia said: "The WCVS has for many years been trying to find a location in the town to allow for public access to the volunteer bureau, which has operated from the corner of a small room shared with other projects in a small building up Gordon Road.

"It's not really a satisfactory way to operate such a service, which now promotes over 300 volunteering opportunities every quarter.

"We tried this year to obtain funding but have recently heard our bid wouldn't be successful as it didn't meet certain priorities.

"This is a setback not just for us but for the many people and organisations who use the services every month. We're grateful for the written support from over 50 groups about this bid."

Aims for the coming year include moving the WCVS headquarters from Methold House, North Street, to new town-centre premises and establishing a new base for the bureau.

The WCVS acts as an umbrella group for about 300 voluntary groups, ranging from care of the elderly and disabled, helping the homeless and child asylum seekers, to assisting drug and alcohol abusers, young offenders and the mentally ill.

Mayor of Worthing Councillor Eric Mardell, who is a Dial-a-Ride driver, attended the meeting, where the chairman of the WCVS, John Kemish, also spoke.

He said: "We have expanded our project services but have had to operate from very limited accommodation.

"Two new befriending projects came on stream, the volunteer home visiting service, Time for You, and the hospital help scheme, providing practical help for people leaving hospital.

"Our Dial-a-Ride transport service has also increased, with the delivery of a new minibus. We desperately need larger accommodation but the cost of a town centre presence is expensive.

"However, we hope to move all our staff, apart from Dial-a-Ride volunteers, into new premises by the end of the year but it is only intended to be an interim measure to give us some breathing space."

The guest speaker at the annual general meeting was Steve Phoenix, Chief Executive of Adur, Arun and Worthing Primary Care Trust, who spoke about the role of the voluntary sector in health and social care.

Local charitable, voluntary or community organisations seeking cash have been invited by the WCVS to attend a Meet The Funders roadshow at Worthing College, Bolsover Road, on Saturday.

Short talks in the morning will be followed by pre-booked individual sessions so groups can discuss their own grant applications with the funders.

Funding bodies attending include the Community Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, Lloyds TSB and the Consortium on Opportunities for Volunteering.

There will also be details about local authority funding from borough and county councils, with information available from the Zurich Foundation and Body Shop Foundation.

Julia said: "Anyone who has ever done a funding application knows just how much time and effort it takes so this is a great opportunity to help make sure that effort isn't wasted.

"Local groups who need support for fund-raising will be able to get advice from the horse's mouth."

Entrance is free but organisations must pre-book by contacting Angela Allchin on 01903 538904 or email a.allchin@tinyworld.co.uk