Littlestone RNLI Celebrates International Women’s Day
Littlestone RNLI celebrates its fifteen women volunteers on International Women’s Day. This means that women now account for about a third of all volunteers at the lifeboat station.
At Littlestone RNLI we have women volunteering in every area of the station. There are a wide range of volunteer roles with the RNLI; operational crew, water safety experts, fundraisers and management disciplines.
John Kenny, volunteer station manager at Littlestone RNLI, said: 'On Wednesday night at training I looked around and realised that three out of four crew who were training were women. It struck me because I'd seen that International Women's Day is this weekend and thought that the commitment of all our women volunteers should be celebrated.
'Downstairs in the boat hall we had Mihaela working on her Tier 1 passout. Mihaela is already assessed as safe to go afloat on service calls and she is moving through the gears towards more responsibilities. Upstairs in the chart room Jenni was working towards her shore crew passout and doing work on chart plotting and radio usage. Selina was also doing chart work and moving through her shore crew plan.
'At Littlestone RNLI we have women volunteering in every part of the station from lifeboat helm to fundraising and shop crew. Apart from the three women at training on Wednesday, we also had Heather commanding the boat out on the water earlier in the week. Heather is a volunteer helm at Littlestone RNLI and a Thames Commander at Gravesend RNLI and was putting two trainee helms through their paces. Lauryn, who joined us in August, has already passed out as shore crew and has now moved onto a boat plan. We also have Kim as a recent joiner and she has quickly become a valued member of the shore crew team. If you'd like to give something back and volunteer with the RNLI please get in touch for a chat. None of our lifeboat crew members have maritime backgrounds and we train everyone from scratch.'
The International Women’s Day theme in 2026 is Give to Gain, encouraging a mindset of generosity and collaboration. Organisers say: ‘Whether through donations, knowledge, resources, infrastructure, visibility, advocacy, education, training, mentoring, or time, contributing to women's advancement helps create a more supportive and interconnected world. Give to Gain emphasises the power of reciprocity and support. When women thrive, we all rise.'
Littlestone RNLI lifeboat station is wholly crewed by volunteers and is funded by the kindness of donors, legacies and fundraising activities throughout the year. Anyone can volunteer for the RNLI, there are a wide range of roles across the UK and Ireland.
RNLI media contacts
For more information please telephone John Kenny, RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07747 033443 or via email at [email protected]
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.