THOUSANDS of pounds in donations have so far been raised in South East Cornwall to help the victims of the tsunami tidal wave which hit large areas of Asia on Boxing Day, leaving a trail of death and destruction which has shaken everyone the world over. Many fundraising events have been held with still more being organised, and the money has also been rolling in in local supermarket checkpoints, shops and pubs, schools and offices. The amounts have been from pennies to hundreds of pounds. The South East Cornwall established charity, Harvest India (UK), featured in the Cornish Times last week appealing for donations, has already received £5,000. A Trustee, Christine Tipper of Dobwalls, says the charity is absolutely staggered by the response. 'Thank you everyone for what you have done, but we still need as much as you can spare to give,' she said. There has been an almost immediate response to calls for aid from the warm hearted people of Cornwall as a whole, with donations to the Cornish charity Shelterbox, based at Helston and run by local Rotary Clubs, now topping an amazing £1million. So far the Shelterbox Trust has sent 700 survival boxes which cost £490 each, to Sri Lanka and India, which are being distributed by the Indian Air Force. The large green boxes contain tents, sleeping bags, tools, cooking utensils, water purification tablets and immediate requirements for displaced persons in a disaster area. One box will help ten people. President of Liskeard and Looe Rotary Club, Yvonne Costello says she would like to pass on heartfelt thanks to the residents of the two towns and surrounding areas for their generous donations which is now in excess of £7,000 with more money anticipated. This means the local Rotary Club will be able to purchase at least 14 Shelterboxes from the Liskeard area and hopefully many more. Mrs Costello says Rotary would like to thank everyone who has made a donation. 'It will certainly make a difference to someone else's life,' she said. On the morning of New Year's Day the Long Room at the Public Hall in Liskeard was packed with people making donations for Shelterbox. The event had been hastily arranged by Anna Max of St Cleer and the mayor, Sandra Preston, and there were many helpers. Morrisons, Co-op Pioneer and the Spar Shop donated tea, coffee and biscuits and in a couple of hours £1,715 had been raised. A rugby match between Liskeard/Looe RFC's Baa Baas and the Topan Army saw a good spirited crowd raising a further £1,010 for Shelterbox on Saturday, while on Sunday Liskeard's Fire Brigade were washing cars in the Safeway/ Morrisons car park, raising £1,569 in just over four hours of frantic work. Sub Officer Rob Collins said their appeal over local radio brought people from far and wide and as the queues started to form they had to bring in their families to help out. 'It was brilliant, we were overwhelmed by people's generosity,' said S O Collins. 'The money will enable the purchase of three Shelterboxes. We would like to thank all the motor traders and other business people in Liskeard for donating all the washing materials.' Meanwhile the Blank family wish to thank everyone in Higher Tremar who went along to the event at their cottage home 'Woozers' on Sunday and helped to raise £225. A further donation of £490 has also been sent to purchase a Shelterbox by the members of Inner Wheel of Liskeard and Looe, and the Rotary Club itself raised more than £600 in a collection outside Morrisons Safeway at Liskeard. Shelterboxes have received another boost from Looe, where the congregations of St Martins and St Nicholas Parish Churches have collected £1,000. And at Saltash Working Men's Club a collection was started on New Year's Eve and by early this week had raised around £400. The fundraising will continue and all will be sent to Shelterbox, which has also received £448.81 raised by those attending a New Year's Eve party in Landulph Memorial Hall. Other monies raised for the main Disasters and Emergency Committee (DEC), representing 12 leading aid agencies include £1,000 from a raffle and donations in St Neot village last weekend, £172 from a collection at Liskeard Constitutional Club on New Year's Eve, and a massive £30,872 from Plymouth Argyle. Fans at Monday's match against Ipswich collected more than £15,000 which the club's directors had pledged to match. Congregations at Saltash Wesley Church raised £2,000 from collections on Sunday, and will be doing the same again this Sunday. They are also to hold a prayer vigil over 24 hours on January 7 and 9. Supermarkets have also been playing their part, with Safeway Morrisons in Liskeard reporting they have so far collected a huge £4,000 from their customers at the tills. At Somerfield in Liskeard town centre, manager Simon Wood says he wants to thanks customers and staff for their fantastic response. They have so far raised £1,100.

Fundraising in the towns

Mayor of Saltash, Cllr Sue Hooper, has this week launched the town's big push to raise as much money for the disaster struck areas as possible. Under the heading 'Mayor's Saltash Town Council Asian Tsunami Earthquake Appeal', Mrs Hooper was in Fore Street on Tuesday handing out collecting buckets to shopkeepers and other businesses. 'Saltash pulled out all the stops for the Boscastle Disaster Fund which raised almost £20,000,' she said. 'Although it may be hard to raise a similar amount again we feel in Saltash we will do our bit. Our small part, we hope, will be as important as the larger relief sources already in place.' Saltash and district people can send their donations to the Town Council Offices, Lower Fore Street, between 9.30am and 12.30pm daily. For further details contact the mayor on 01752 843073 Saltash Lions are busy collecting bedding, towels, blankets and baby food for the tsunami appeal from householders, which are to be taken to Newquay Lions who are co-ordinating the local Lions efforts and arranging to send all the items to Asia. Saltash Wesley Church are open every day, including Sundays from 9am-1pm for the collection of household goods including plastic plates, bedding, toys, dehydrated milk, babies' bottles, dried food. The schools are also fundraising. Head teacher at Burraton Primary School, Martin Bell says that pupils have suggested a sponsored event and a prayer sheet. At Torpoint there will be an Act of Remembrance for those involved in the tsunami disaster and prayers for the aid agencies at the Parish Church of St James The Great on Sunday at 6pm. Singing will be led by Torpoint Ladies Choir and the Rame Peninsula Male Voice Choir. There will be a collection for Shelterbox. An all day breakfast in Torpoint and a table top sale will be held in the Council Chambers Tomorrow (Saturday) January 8, from 10am-4pm. More information from Val Pearn on 01752 813164. Also tomorrow there will be a silent auction at Torpoint Library from 10am - 11.40am. Donations are still being taken, call 01752 812207 for information. At Torpoint 6th Form, Year 12 student Katie Springett says a number of students are involved in fundraising with £65 being raised this week in less than an hour. They are appealing to local people and businesses to donate to the fund they have set up, as much as they can. The Lower School will also be organising fundraising events. In Callington the Lions Club are holding a bucket collection outside Co-op Pioneer in the town car park between 10am-12pm tomorrow. The students at Callington Community College are busily organising a number of events. At Liskeard the Lions Club are donating every penny of the profits from their annual pantomime. This year it is Aladdin, to be held at the Public Hall. The performances on January 27 and 28 will be free to senior citizens as usual, but collections will be taken, as they will at the show open to the public on January 29. Lion Richard Brown says the admission price has been raised from £3.50 to £5 in order to raise as much money as possible. Under 15s pay £2.50. Tickets can be booked at Stu Print on The Parade or at Geoffrey Harris Tyres in Station Road. The Lions were last night making arrangements to set up a collection point in Liskeard for gifts of practical aid such as blankets and tents. Another fundraiser for Shelterbox will take place in The Long Room at the Public Hall on Saturday, January 15, between 10am-12pm in the form of a coffee/donation morning. Offers of help would be welcome. Contact 01579 321100. Looe is busily organising a special variety concert to take place at Looe School on Saturday, January 29, which is a big community fundraising effort. Among the entertainers will be Polperro Fishermen's Choir, Looe Valley Singers, Pelynt Male Voice Choir, Sheila's School of Dancing, and pupils from the primary and senior schools. Under the auspices of Christian Aid, the concert is being co-ordinated by Looe Lions, Looe Valley Rotary, Churches Together, Looe Friendly Wives and others. Tickets at £7 are available from The Cornerstone, Spar and Londis Shops in West Looe, and John Pope Estate Agents, East Looe, and Spar and Londis Shops at The Barbican. The event is expected to be a sell out and will be performed in rotation in the school's assembly and sports halls. Looe Lions have a collection point at Looe Bay Holiday Park at St Martins for gifts of essential household goods such sheets and blankets and tents. Lion Graham Lang says 73,000 members of Lions International are presently engaged in the disaster areas across Asia working alongside the aid agencies. A Cornish Rock Show case originally in aid of the African village Shigamba, is now to share its proceeds with the tsunami appeal. It takes place at Tencreek Holiday Village, Looe, on Saturday, January 15, and features Mighty Revz, Mr Benn, Bad Habitz, Battery Powered Snowmen and Darren (Steve Vai). Start rocking from 7pm, tickets on door are £5 or call Richard at Tencreek on 01503 262447.

Around the villages

Polperro - A fundraising morning today (Friday) January 7 at Polperro Methodist Church, from 11am. As well as money donations there will also be a collection of household goods such as bedding, also tents. Refreshment money also for appeal. St Cleer - A coffee morning and a 'pew' boot sale will be held in St Cleer Parish Church on Saturday, January 15, from 10am - 12pm. Bring your unwanted goods as you would for a car boot sale. Tables provided. Church opens 9.30am for 'pewholders'. Call 01579 344498 evenings for information. East Taphouse - At the Community Hall tomorrow (Saturday) January 8, from 10am-noon, coffee morning and bring and buy sale, raffle. On Sunday, January 9, skittles afternoon 12pm-5pm. Teams of 4, any age, all welcome. £5 per team for the appeal. Mount - At the Village Hall on Saturday, January 8, 10am - 12pm, coffee morning with stalls including cakes, bric a brac, raffle, pasties etc. Donations will also be accepted. All money raised for Rotary Shelterbox Appeal. Trewidland - Coffee morning in the Village Hall on Saturday, January 8, 10.30am - 12pm. Upton Cross - At the Parish Hall, Saturday, January 8, stalls of jumble, cakes and books, also a raffle. Hot soups and rolls. From 11am -2pm. There will also be a collection of household goods, blankets, tents etc to be forwarded to the Lions Clubs' Appeal for aid. St Neot - Auction of gifts at The London Inn tonight (Friday), January 7 from 7pm. All welcome. There are many more events being organised to raise funds. If you have a date let the Cornish Times know.