Residents affected by the Grenfell Tower fire will be able to find a week of sanctuary and respite this August with a free holiday organised by the people of Cornwall.

The duchy has pulled together through Cornwall Hugs Grenfell and will now be inviting Grenfell Tower families and those from adjacent blocks to register interest in a week long stay in Falmouth, made possible by gifts of accommodation and facilities from Falmouth University and the University of Exeter and of rail vouchers from GWR.

Each family will stay in its own flat on campus, and can enjoy free activities such as surf lessons or trips to attractions like The Eden Project and St Michael’s Mount, while onsite catering will be offered.

Organiser Esmé Page said: “Cornwall Hugs Grenfell was set up to offer firefighters some R&R and put a ray of hope on the horizon for survivors.

“These immensely generous gifts by Falmouth University and the University of Exeter and GWR enable us to offer a very special kind of Cornish hug. The Falmouth trip is all about families. We hope the children will have fun and make some new memories in our wonderful county.

“Cornwall Hugs Grenfell will be offering holidays over the next two years. So the August trip to Falmouth is for those who feel emotionally ready to travel, while others will want to wait. There is guidance on our registration site.”

Tony Sanders, chief executive of FXPlus, said: “We just wanted to support Cornwall Hugs Grenfell in realising its dream by offering a holiday in our beautiful seaside town of Falmouth and the whole team is looking forward to hosting all the families this summer.”

The universities' offer joins over 200 pledges which have flooded into the website since it was set up last month, and Esmé is trying to scale up, looking for companies which might offer travel within Cornwall, entry to attractions or vouchers for meals, or surf and sports gear.

She is also keen to hear from CRM or case management software companies, anyone who can develop a bespoke portal for volunteers, and is looking for £4,000 to sponsor an administrator role to help with communication and logistics

Families interested in the August break are being invited to register their interest via cornwallhugsgrenfell.org, which is in addition to Cornwall Hugs Grenfell's individual holidays in accommodation pledged by Cornish holiday home owners, which will be available to fire-fighters and Grenfell Tower families until 2019.

Organisations can pledge support through the business offers button on the website or by emailing cornwallhugsgrenfell@gmail.com and individual donations can be made via the JustGiving page, Cornwall Hugs Grenfell.