Plains Farm and Humbledon Community Initiative was thrown a lifeline earlier this year when it received funding to make sure it stayed open until July.

Now bosses are saying they still have enough money left to scrape through the next few months, but closure later in the year is still a possibility.

Julie Stamp, manager of the well-used centre, which is in the grounds of Plains Farm Primary School, said: "We can use little bits of the existing funding to pull together.

"But we are still in the same position. If we don't get funding in September I don't know what's going to happen.

"We would love some security for even one year or two years."

Despite the centre's financial problems, Julie and centre administrator Ray Mowbray are still planning for the future.

They are hoping to work with the A690 Youth Initiative to create a community garden at the centre, which will be used to grow vegetables.

The idea is to get young and older people involved in the project, which will also include courses on healthy eating.

There are also plans to sell the vegetables for a nominal price to raise funds.

"We would like to see the foundations go in the six-week holidays," Julie said.

Other ideas are also in the planning process to add to the centre's existing activities, which include computer literacy, numeracy, craft, childcare, debt awareness and budgeting courses, a coffee morning for residents of all ages, the Kidz Club for primary school children and a toddler group.

Their courses have been so successful that two learners – Shauna Beck and Peter Lovegrove, along with Julie, won Sunderland City Council's Family Adult and Community Learning (FACL) awards last month.

Julie is now hoping the Initiative will be successful in its bid for funding from Sunderland City Council's Strategic Initiatives Budget in September.

She said: I feel a bit more positive about the future, with the FACL awards and the publicity we have had in the Echo, more people have realised who we are and what we can offer."

The Initiative would be grateful to anyone who can help with fund-raising. For more information, tel. 525 0007.