GENEROUS islanders have been praised for their community spirit after helping to raise more than £3,300 for projects around the world in just one week.

Dedicated church volunteers delivered envelopes to homes across Canvey as part of Christian Aid Week, asking residents to fill them with any money they could spare.

Members of the parish office also organised community breakfast events, coffee mornings and jumble sales to boost funds.

Rev Lesley McGlynn, assistant curate at St Nicholas Church, on Long Road, organised the week of fundraising.

She paid tribute to the generosity of islanders, and thanked volunteers who gave up their time to help collect money.

She said: “It has been hard work but really enjoyable at the same time and we’ve raised a fantastic amount going to a great cause.

“It’s currently £3,357.93 but we still have some more envelopes to count up, so we’re expecting a bit more. The jumble sale, coffee morning and breakfasts were really well attended and helped tremendously.

“Last year the parish raised around the £3,000 mark, so we’ve topped that total which we’re very pleased about. A lot of it comes down to Canvey’s community spirit I think, and that is what has helped the parish raise the money."

Rev McGlynn said the money will be spent on causes around the world.

She added: “It’s a really worthwhile cause because so many who are disadvantaged get to benefit from this around the world.

“When you stop and think of the amount of people who are living in poverty, and how the money can make a difference to them then time spent organising things here and collecting envelopes really isn’t too much trouble.”

Christian Aid Week, which ran between Sunday, May 15 until Saturday, May 21 brought together around 20,000 churches around the world.

It has been going for 70 years, raising about £130million in that time.

For more information about the appeal, visit the charity’s website at christianaid.org.uk.