Local youngster makes donation to Sunderland RNLI

Grace Haswell, aged 9 from Fulwell raised £207 by completing the active Sunderland big walk on 1^st October. The 7 mile walk started and finished at Herrington Country Park covered the beautiful River Wear valley behind Penshaw Monument, an area of unspoilt countryside which is one of the city's finest outdoor spaces and home to a rich mosaic of habitats and wildlife.

Lorna Haswell, Graces mam said: “We are extremely proud of Grace for completing the walk and then going on to raise the vital funds for the RNLI. Living close to the sea front we fully appreciate the work that the charity does and proud that Grace has decided to complete this fundraising challenge”.

Grace, a pupil at Fulwell Junior Primary school decided to carry out the walk to raise money for the charity after her older sister completed some of her Duke of Edinburgh Award by volunteering with the charity.

Paul Nicholson, Helmsman at Sunderland RNLI said “All of the volunteer crew at Sunderland RNLI are always extremely appreciative of donations particularly ones made by youngsters like Grace. Being a charity we rely on donations such as this and fully appreciate the time and effort that Grace put into her fundraising challenge.

As a charity the RNLI relies on voluntary donations and legacies from the public for its income.

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Media Information - Any media wishing to attend the day to photograph the demonstration please telephone on the day to confirm the time/status of the demonstration.

Notes to editors

• Sunderland RNLI Lifeboat Station is the oldest continually operational lifeboat in the United Kingdom. It was originally opened in 1800 before being adopted by the RNLI in 1865.

• Sunderland RNLI Lifeboat Station operates its own website www.rnlisunderland.org where supporters can keep up to date with station specific activities.

• Sunderland RNLI Lifeboat Station has a profile on Twitter (SunderlandRNLI) and Facebook (RNLI Sunderland) where supporters can keep up to date with station specific activities and news.

• Sunderland RNLI Lifeboat Station operates two inshore type lifeboats: An Atlantic 85 8.3m inflatable capable of 35 knots and a D Class (IB-1) 4.5m inflatable capable of 25 knots.

RNLI media contacts

For more information please telephone:

Paul Nicholson, Sunderland RNLI Press Officer on 07957 494 077 or email - pauldnich@yahoo.co.uk or

Alex Richards, Sunderland RNLI Press Officer on 07540 530 395 or email - alex.richards@stc.ac.uk

As an alternative please contact Alison Levett, Media Relations Manager North on 07786 668 912 or alevett@rnli.org.uk or RNLI Headquarters Public Relations on 01202 336000.

Key facts about the RNLI

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. Our volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 238 lifeboat stations, including four along the River Thames and inland lifeboat stations at Loch Ness, Lough Derg, Enniskillen and Lough Ree. Additionally the RNLI has more than 1,000 lifeguards on over 240 beaches around the UK and operates a specialist flood rescue team, which can respond anywhere across the UK and Ireland when inland flooding puts lives at risk.

The RNLI relies on public donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. As a charity it is separate from, but works alongside, government-controlled and funded coastguard services. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 our lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved at least 140,000 lives. Volunteers make up 95% of the charity, including 4,600 volunteer lifeboat crew members and 3,000 volunteer shore crew. Additionally, tens of thousands of other dedicated volunteers raise funds and awareness, give safety advice, and help in our museums, shops and offices.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter 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 or by email.

The RNLI is a charity registered in England and Wales (209603) and Scotland (SC037736). Charity number 20003326 in the Republic of Ireland