YOUR cash is on its way to help communities devastated by the Asian tsunami, with the first donation from the York Aid appeal.

A total of £62,795 has been raised since the Evening Press and City of York Council campaign to help tsunami stricken areas was launched a month ago, and generous donations continue to flow in daily.

More than £37,000 of this has now been passed to the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) to assist the rebuilding process in affected countries.

The total includes £10,000 from the council, £10,000 from Shepherd Building Group, almost £5,000 from council staff, and thousands from schools, businesses and individuals.

York children have been particularly touched by the images of devastation in far flung countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Six-year-old Morgan Wrightson, of Rawcliffe, made £300 for York Aid by swimming 15 lengths of a 20-metre pool. The Rawcliffe Primary School pupil learned to swim last Easter and it was the furthest distance she had ever tackled.

Living Well gym, where mum Lorraine is a member, kindly gave Morgan a day-pass so she could use its pool for her sponsored swim.

Lorraine said: "We are really proud of her achievement and that she wanted to help."

Meanwhile, Fulford School has raised a staggering £17,000 following a week of charity activities involving all 1,300 pupils, including a sponsored walk, disco and drag competition. The school had originally set a target of £5,000.

Head teacher Steve Smith said: "It is a fantastic achievement by the students, the parents supporting them and the staff. It was a whole school effort. It is just amazing what people can achieve."

The cash will be split between the DEC appeal and Unicef.

At Huntington School, pupils sacrificed pocket money, cash they were saving for treats and paper round wages to help victims of the Asian tsunami.

Students were each given an envelope, asked to place a donation inside and write what they were giving up on the front. A display of envelopes has since been put up in the school to highlight the difference between the sacrifices made by children in York compared to those in tsunami-hit areas.

The collection was thought up and co-ordinated by Charlotte Brown and Hannah Smithson, of Year 11, and Andrew Dean, of Year 12, with the help of head of geography Jane Elsworth.

More than £3,500 has been raised by the school for the tsunami appeal, which includes money from a charity fundraising week held in November.

There will be a coffee morning tomorrow, between 10am and noon, at St Francis Anglican/Methodist Shared Church, in Fox Lane, Thorpe Willoughby, near Selby, in aid of the tsunami appeal. There will be a variety of stalls, including crafts, cards, cakes, books and bric-a-brac, along with a raffle and tombola.

Updated: 10:34 Friday, February 04, 2005