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Your kindness can save lives – Join Hastings RNLI’s Mayday fundraiser

Lifeboats News Release

Every day, RNLI crews across the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands, respond to mayday calls – the most urgent calls for help on our coasts. But this May, they need your help.

criowds enjoy sunshine outside of Hastings lifeboat station

RNLI/Kevin Boorman

Hastings Lifeboat Station fundraising event
The charity is calling on the people of Hastings to join its Mayday Open Day event and help raise the vital funds that power our lifesaving work during the busy summer season.

Organised by Hastings lifeboat station volunteers, the Mayday fundraiser will see the station open during the local Jack in the Green festivities on Monday, 4th May. The Shannon all-weather lifeboat and the D-Class inshore lifeboat will be available to view, and volunteers will welcome visitors, talk about the lifesaving work of the RNLI, and provide refreshments during the busy festival day.

Money raised through Mayday events like this one ensures RNLI volunteer crews have the essential training, equipment, and kit they need to respond when someone is in danger.

Paul Freathy, chairman of Hastings lifeboat station, said: ‘Summer is our busiest time of year. Thousands of people head to the coast and, unfortunately, can find themselves unexpectedly in difficulty and needing the RNLI’s help.

‘Mayday is our own call for help. The Hastings volunteer crew launched over 30 times in the last year to aid people in difficulty at sea. We rely on the public’s generosity to support events like our Mayday Open Day, helping fund the kit, training, fuel, and resources that allow our crews to save lives. Your support genuinely makes a difference.”

If you’re unable to attend on the May Day Bank Holiday, you can still get involved by taking part in the Mayday Mile fundraiser. Complete a mile – or more – every day for the month of May, however and wherever you like: walk, run, hop, or skip your way to supporting our lifesavers.

Sign up or find out more at rnli.org/SupportMayday


Crowds in front of Hastings lifeboat station looking at lifeboats

RNLI/Kevin Boorman

Hastings Lifeboat Station fundraising event

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.

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