Partnership between the RNLI and the Scotmid Co-operative raises £200,000
Scotmid Co-operative has raised £200,000 for the RNLI during its 12 month fundraising partnership with the charity, smashing through the original challenge to raise £150,000.
The response from the staff and customers at its 280-plus Scotmid and Semichem stores as well as the head office, was far greater than expected enabling them to fund even more crews and equipment.
This funding will pay for crew training at Helensburgh and Broughty Ferry, and maintain lifejackets at Queensferry and Kessock. Ten helmet cameras will also be funded. The extra £50,000 raised will go toward kit and crew training in Kinghorn, Macduff, Montrose and Thurso.
John Brodie, the Chief Executive of Scotmid, visited the RNLI’s lifeboat station at Troon, to celebrate the conclusion of the 12-month partnership during which the RNLI was Scotmid Co-operative’s Charity of the Year. He was taken out on the all-weather lifeboat and told about the benefits of the new helmet camera at the station. The helmet camera will enable the RNLI to take footage of shouts and training exercises, and increase publicity of the charity’s lifesaving work.
Mr Brodie said, ‘Our relationship with the RNLI has been our most successful fundraising year ever. We broke through our initial target of £150,000 months ahead of schedule and went on to raise a massive £200,000. Our achievement was even more remarkable when you consider the challenging economic times we are currently in.
‘We would not have been able to raise this amount without the generosity of our customers and the fundraising ingenuity of our staff. As a co-operative, it is important to us that we engage with the communities we serve and our year-long partnership with the RNLI has enabled us to do just that.’
Ross MacKay, from the RNLI’s Corporate Partnerships Team, said the charity‘s partnership with Scotmid and Semichem had reaped dividends in strengthening the bond forged by the shops and lifeboat stations in local communities.
Ross said, ‘The partnership achieved a fantastic result with far more money than expected being raised. The staff were innovative with their fundraising exploits and they decided to do things which challenged their comfort zone, much like our volunteers, and also to work in teams. For example they did white water rafting and fire walking.
‘Scotmid and Semichem and the RNLI are both at the heart of their communities and although the Charity of the Year link is coming to an end I am confident that there will be a long term bond between us. This will not necessarily be a financial one but perhaps some of the company’s employees could volunteer for our crews or become speakers for the RNLI.’
Notes to editor: *It costs on average £1,214 to train a lifeboat crew member annually.
*Servicing lifejackets at a station costs £1,250 a year.
Picture Caption: Staff from Scotmid and Semichem join forces with RNLI volunteers at Troon to celebrate the £200,000 milestone. Pic credit Peter Simcock.
RNLI Media Contacts: Richard Smith, Media Relations Manager for Scotland, 01738 642956, 07786 668903. Email Richard_Smith2@rnli.org.uk