A CHARITY that has served Blackbird Leys residents for 40 years received more than £4,000 in a single night thanks to a crowdfunding scheme.

The Blackbird Leys Neighbourhood Support Scheme was one of four Oxford charities to receive pledges at an event hosted by national group The Funding Network.

Each organisation gave a six-minute pitch to an audience of 65 Oxford residents and students gathered at the Old Fire Station in George Street, who then decided where they wished to donate. A total of £18,700 was raised in a single evening.

Neighbourhood Support Scheme advisor Helen Cheung, from North Oxford, said: “I’m really pleased. Without funding we can’t do anything. We really appreciate this kind of help.”

The organisation offers local people of all ages advice on their finances, welfare claims, housing and debt. It began in the 1970s in the Church of the Holy Family in Cuddesdon Way and now supports more than 1,000 people a year.

The new funds will contribute towards accommodating new volunteers. At present three volunteers and seven paid members of staff work at the centre.

New space, in the form of portable buildings and a garage, has recently been acquired at the Blackbird Leys Road centre and needs refurbishing to house four new trained volunteers. It is hoped work can be completed by July.

Manager Clare Charleson, from Combe, near Woodstock, said: “We had been told we would probably get some money but we didn’t think we would get that amount.

“It will make a huge difference. We are a charity and funds are very difficult to come by – we will be able to complete the work now.”

Mrs Charleson, who has run the Neighbourhood Support Scheme for about two years, said it had a high standing in the Leys community: “I think over the years it has established a name for itself. People come back time and time again.

“At the moment there’s a lot of people needing help in terms of welfare and benefits. With all the welfare reforms that are going on people aren’t quite sure what they’re entitled to. We’re also giving out a lot of foodbank vouchers.”

Other charities to receive a hefty sum at the Oxford Gives event on May 14 were the Oxford-based Community Time Bank, which invites people to swap skills and time with neighbours, the Farm Inspiration Trust, which works with adults with learning disabilities in Wytham, and the South Oxfordshire Youth and Education Alliance, which trains young people in forklift truck driving.

The annual Oxford Gives events, held since 2008, have raised a total of £150,000 for 28 charities.

For more information visit thefundingnetwork.org.uk