Cornish fundraisers help the campaign for victims of the Vanuatu cyclone reach over a quarter of a million pounds.

This afternoon, members of St Ives Rotary Club had a thank-you tour of Shelterbox in Helston.
They presented a cheque for £1,300 and the donation took the UK-wide figure raised by Rotarians since Cyclone Pam to a £250,000

The funds were part of proceeds from a 'Large Postcard Art Exhibition', which was a blind sale of postcard-sized original artworks.
Buyers paid £40 for each artwork, and because signatures were hidden on the back, had to use their intuition to decide whether they had bagged a bargain by an established artist, or something more modest.

Proceeds were shared equally between local arts charities and good causes supported by Rotary, including Shelterbox.

Alex Youlten from Shelterbox said: "This was a generous donation from the Rotary Club of St Ives, and it was a great delight to be able to show them around ShelterBox. But, how wonderful that it was a local club that took the national total past the landmark of £250,000.'

"Rotarians are always enthusiastic and big-hearted when it comes to supporting families caught up in conflict or disaster. Our work still continues in Vanuatu, but this funding will also help ShelterBox to be well-prepared for other events, wherever and whenever they may happen."
ShelterBox teams are distributing 1,000 shelter kits in Vanuatu with partner agency CARE International.
These contain waterproof tarpaulins, fixings and tools to create basic shelters, or to repair damaged roofs and buildings.
Thousands of blankets, solar lamps, mosquito nets and tarps are also en route to the outlying island of Tanna.