Runners in a major charity race are being asked to choose the Nepal earthquake victims as their cause.

Organisers of the Folkestone Coastal 10k, which by last week had 300 registrations, have already given £1,000 to help.

Race director Ray Johnson said: “This year we are encouraging runners to raise money for the Nepal earthquake appeal after our recent donation. We are also encouraging sponsorship from companies and encouraging teams.

“It is an ideal opportunity for companies to get together in a group to support good causes.’’

The race is on Sunday, May 31 from the former Rotunda site at Folkestone seafront to Hythe and back.

Meanwhile, Freemasons have also contributed £300 for the cause.

Their money was raised at a meeting they held on the day of the country’s second earthquake, Tuesday last week.

The cash from the Wakefield of Hythe Lodge, which this year marks its 70th anniversary, goes to the Nepal Earthquake Recovery Appeal 2015 run by the Bulldog Trust.

This is a London-based organisation that provides money and advice to various charities and has adopted the NERA as a latest cause.

Folkestone Channel Rotary Club has donated £2,000 to the Gurkha Welfare Trust’s Earthquake Appeal for Nepal. The club is friends with some of the Gurkha officers who are preparing to climb Mount Everest in June and narrowly escaped the avalanches that wiped out Everest Base Camp.

These latest donations has been part of an outpouring of help from Folkestone and Hythe, who have a special link to Nepal because of the Royal Gurkha Rifles being stationed at Shorncliffe Barracks.

Retired Gurkhas and their families have also settled down in this area.

The original earthquake, on April 25 with a magnitude of 7.8, killed more than 8,000 people. This was followed by aftershocks and the second quake, which had a magnitude of 7.3 and cost more than 125 lives.

Meanwhile Folkestone fundraisers have repeated their request for people to, from now on, donate money instead of boxes of items.

More than 500 boxes totalling six-plus tonnes of boxes, with warm clothes and camping equipment, have been donated but shipping logistics mean that no more can be taken at present.

Mr Johnson, who is also an appeal fundraising co-ordinator, said: “If we need to reopen the request for donations, after the second earthquake, we will let everyone know without delay.

“However the priority is to get what we have dispatched for now.’’

Two classic music films and two related live acts are also being put on for earthquake victims.

The Elvis Presley movie Jailhouse Rock and The Blues Brothers will be shown at the Tower Theatre in Folkestone on Saturday May 23.

Elvis impersonator Lee Jackson will meet and greet cinemagoers, with time for selfies, from 3.30pm and he will perform at 4.30pm. Jailhouse Rock will then be shown at 5pm.

The Blues Brothers film will be screened from 8pm and there will be a live show at 10.20pm by tribute group The All Star Blues Brothers.

The day is specifically for the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) Nepal Earthquake Appeal.

Tickets are £12 per screening and available by visiting www.thefolkestonian.co.uk

Money donations should go to Independent Insurance Services at Church House, 136 Sandgate Road, Folkestone, Kent CT20 2BN.

Cheques should be made payable to Folkestone Rotary club or payments can be made by BACS, using the reference “Nepal.’’

They should got to Lloyds TSB, Folkestone Rotary Club, sort code 30-93-34, account number 00575212. Receipts can be issued.

You can donate directly to the Bulldog Trust’s Nepal appeal using the sort code 15-99-00 account number 10048750 and the reference Nepal 2015.

Register to join the Folkestone Coastal 10k by visiting www.folkestonecoastal10k.co.uk to download an application form.