St Bees outdoor concert raises £836 for RNLI.
On Saturday 7th July St Bees RNLI volunteer and Trainee Helm Dalton Watson raised the grand total of £836 for the RNLI by organising a fundraising concert at the Queens Public House in St Bees.
27 year old Dalton, who started his lifeboat career doing his Duke of Edinburgh Award, first thought of using local bands to raise money for the RNLI last year. He got to see all his planning and hard work come together on Saturday as local musicians, Rogues, Springfiels, Newtonsmith and Joe Riley provided the entertainment.
The start time for the concert was put back to allow people to watch England play in the World Cup quarter final. Following England’s victory the crowd were in a buoyant mood and ready for an evening of music and fundraising.
Dalton had spent many hours planning the event, talking to the bands and getting them to perform for free, persuading Dave & Joan Berry (landlord and landlady of the Queens) that having live music in their new beer garden would be a good idea and arranging all the RNLI flags and bunting that decorated the event.
Dalton said ‘I’m really pleased with how it all went. The sun and the football result helped put everyone in a party mood from the start and this carried on through the evening. I would like to thank Dave & Joan at the Queens for supplying the venue, the bands for putting on a great show, my fellow volunteers for all their help as well as everyone who came along to support the RNLI and help raise such a large amount of money, it will help us to continue saving lives at sea and I might even do it all again next year.'
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.
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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.