KIDDERMINSTER and District Youth Trust was the biggest single contributor to Operation Covert with two donations totalling £15,000.

It gave £10,000 last autumn to enable the Rhydd Covert appeal to pass the £50,000 mark and donated a further £5,000 last month to help complete the fund-raising.

The trust, which has a long and distinguished track record of financial support for Wyre Forest's young people, has given more than £700,000 to district causes in the last 40 years.

"It's our purpose in life to support young people's activities in Wyre Forest," said Charles Talbot, who set up the trust when he was mayor of Kidderminster in 1965.

Fellow youth trustee Peter Picken said: "Over the years we have been able to support Scouting in so many ways - with items such as equipment and transport - and we are delighted to be involved with this important facility.

"Our objective is to give a helping hand to people between the ages of eight and 25 and Rhydd Covert fits our criteria perfectly. Thousands of young people are going to get the benefit of this new centre."

The trust rounded off the appeal last month with West Midland Safari Park which also handed over a £5,000 cheque.

The safari park, which is next door to Rhydd Covert, also backed Operation Covert earlier in the year.

It first gave a £500 donation plus admission passes worth £3,500 for use as raffle and competition prizes.

Hundreds of groups and individuals backed the appeal and the fund-raising included:

l The family of Suzanne Smith, who died in a road accident, asked for donations to Operation Covert instead of flowers at her funeral and raised more than £3,000.

l A team of 75 Scouts packed shoppers' bags at supermarkets and bagged £1,862 in a day.

l The world's top snooker players came to Wyre Forest Glades and signed two cues for a raffle which raised £532.

l Support from the Rotary clubs of Kidderminster, Bewdley and Stourport totalled almost £4,000 in cash.

l Kidderminster & District Lions Club, freemasons lodges from all over the district and Round Tables made substantial contributions.

l Glam rock band Ballroom Glitz put on a glittering show and raised more than £1, 000.

l A group of slimmers including District Scouts Commiss-ioner Dave Denton lost weight and raised almost £1,500.

l Five Wyre Forests schools held a non-uniform day and collected hundreds of pounds from pupils.

l Kidderminster Carnival chose Operation Covert as the main beneficiary of its 2005 event and handed over £3,000.

l 1st Cookley Guides collected 4,000 pennies and stacked them for the appeal.

l 61-year-old Malcolm Timmis climbed Snowdon after a heart by-pass operation and raised £500.

l Youngsters at the Pupil Referral Unit in Kidderminster baked cakes and sold them for the appeal.

l Wyre Forest district councillors had a whip-round at a meeting.

l Samurai Judo Club held a special tournament and raised hundreds of pounds.

l Darts fans pledged £350 in a raffle for a dart board signed by the world's top players who came to Kidderminster for a televised tournament.

l District Conservatives gave hundreds of pounds from a collection at their annual dinner.

l Horse-lovers held a hack in the Wyre Forest and raised more than £300.

l Soul group Blind Lemon held a charity concert and collected hundreds of pounds.

l Sainsbury's staff ran a competition based on the number of steps they took at work on Christmas Eve.