SIDMOUTH resident Chantelle Burton has given her support to Campaign 2010, teaming up with Sidmouth Living With Cancer Support Group for a fundraising arts exhibition and coffee morning.

Chantelle, 24, of Sidford Road, supplied the fine art prints for the event at Twyford House in aid of the group’s mini-bus appeal. The coffee morning raised �100 for the appeal, while the sale of two of her prints raised �55 for a trip she is undertaking to Guyana, South America, as part of her geography degree at Cambridge University.

The prints will be on sale at Twyford House for a month. Many of them were taken on Sidmouth beach and are of Chantelle during her time as a professional ballerina.

She explained: “Bill Lankester from the group is a family friend and we support the group in any way we can. We thought it was a good opportunity to do a collaborative event to raise funds for the group and my trip.”

She said such events were essential to the continued success of the group. “The only way they can carry on is through fundraising, so it’s vital that people keep supporting them. It’s an amazing group for cancer patients, their friends and families and a great way for people to get out and about and meet people. Bill and Evelyn do a fantastic job running it and don’t make a profit themselves.”

Chantelle is off to Guyana’s Iwokrama rainforest next month for a four-week research trip looking at sustainable management in the rainforest. She will be staying at the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation, conducting interviews and research into how the local communities conserve what is one of the four last true wildernesses in the world. She will be writing a 1,000 word dissertation based on her research.

She said: “They have really low rates of deforestation over there, so it’s a good place to study. I will be looking at how people balance working with the environment and making a livelihood from things like sustainable forestry, fishing and eco-tourism.”

She needs to raise �2,245 to cover her costs, hence events like the art sale. She has already raised �1, 700, including a donation of �100 from Sidmouth Lions Club and �50 from Sidmouth Garden Centre, along with a university travel scholarship.

Anyone who can help through donations or sponsorship can call 07792161701 or email cb567@cam.ac.uk.