Fantastic support from Newton Poppleford

A coffee morning in Newton Poppleford to support East Devon GP Matthew King’s charity fundraising campaign for FORCE brought in a whopping £1,025.
That takes the total generated by Dr King and his supporters to more than £18,000 in less than six months.
Dr King, whose Coleridge Medical Centre practice in Ottery St Mary covers Newton Poppleford, has been raising money for FORCE since he was diagnosed with a brain tumour just before Christmas last year.
He recently completed a 500-mile, 36-day trek along the Camino de Santiago and was on hand at the Newton Poppleford event to share his experiences.
“It was fantastic to see so many people there in support of such a great charity,” said Dr King.
The coffee morning at the village hall also featured stalls selling cakes, books, plants, prints by local artist and FORCE volunteer Vicky Morgan, a tombola and a raffle with prizes generously donated by local businesses. It was all arranged by friends of the Pebbleford WI with more than 150 people attending.
“So many turned up that we had to open up the balcony so that we had room to serve everybody. That’s unheard of but it shows how well thought of Dr King is. He was getting mobbed by people wanting to talk to him,” said Fiona Gunn, one of the organisers.
Fiona is also a volunteer at our Cancer Support Centre in Exeter where Dr King’s wife, Stella, works as an oncology support specialist.
The overwhelming support from Newton Poppleford for Dr King and our charity has prompted Fiona and her colleagues to consider reviving a Friends of FORCE group in the village, dedicated to raising funds and awareness.
“People donate to other cancer charities and the money gets swallowed up but FORCE is local and you can see the results,” said Fiona, who was supported by FORCE when she had breast cancer eight years ago. Anyone interested in joining a Newton Poppleford Friends of FORCE group can contact Fiona on 01395 567077 or at fionam.gunn@btinternet.com
Further information about Dr King’s fundraising campaign and his long distance trek through France and Spain can be found at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/MatthewKingCamino and https://matthewkingcamino.wordpress.com/