M&S Dalton Park raises over £13,000 for Sunderland RNLI
M&S Dalton Park raises over £13,000 for Sunderland RNLI
Lifeboats News Release
The Dalton Park Marks and Spencer outlet store have raised £13,294 for Sunderland RNLI Lifeboat Station who were their nominated local charity for 2015.
Each year, M&S stores around the country select one charity to support for the full year and since April 2015, the store has held several fundraising events. As well as employee bake sales, yellow welly sales and garden parties, the store helped to organise a ‘RNLI’ day at the outlet park and one member of staff, Jennifer Rees, participated in a triathlon raising over £700 alone.
The store is currently ranked the number one outlet store in the country for its fundraising efforts.
The money donated will be used to fund the day to day running of the station as well as purchase vital protective kit such as lifejackets and helmets that the lifeboat crew wear at sea.
James Jamieson, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Sunderland Inshore Lifeboat Station said: ‘In 2014 an average of 24 people were rescued each day by RNLI Lifeboats. It costs £85,000 a year to run an Inshore Lifeboat Station and the kit that each lifeboat crew member wears costs £1,345. This is why fundraising is so important. Without it our volunteers and the charity would not be able to continue its lifesaving work.'
Gill McAuley, M&S Dalton Park Outlet, Store Manager said: 'The RNLI and Sunderland Lifeboat Station is a fantastic charity that provides an invaluable service for the local community. It’s a cause that is close to the hearts of our employees and customers, and we have thoroughly enjoyed raising funds for the charity over the last year. We thank everyone involved for their efforts.'
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity 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 146,000 lives.
