Lord’s, The Home of Cricket, saw a cricket practice with a different spin take place last week. Sporting stars from Middlesex County Cricket team Tom Helm, Tom Barber and James Fuller traded their usual clean and crisp cricket whites for the RNLI's new all-weather k
The kit swap took place to help promote the RNLI’s annual Mayday fundraising campaign which runs throughout May. This year, the charity aims to raise £750,000 to fund the vital new lifesaving kits for their 4,800 selfless volunteers across the UK & Ireland.
Tom Helm, from Middlesex County Cricket team says: “We were bowled over by the kits which certainly make a change to our usual outfits. The RNLI’s new kit is surprisingly flexible and lightweight – just what their crew need for their lifesaving rescue work. The volunteer lifeboat crews, are on call 24 hours a day, every day, to save lives at sea. They are true heroes.”
Chris Walker, RNLI Helm on the Tower lifeboat explains: “People can drown in the Thames in a matter of minutes, so we need to be able to get our kit on as quick as possible. This new kit has been designed with a new material which is more flexible, tailored and light weight. It’s also warmer helping protect us against the cold temperatures of the Thames, and we can adjust the layering to the conditions we face. In a nutshell it's fantastic.”
Andy Jupp, RNLI Community Fundraising Manager for London says: “We rely on donations from the public to help us stay on the water. This year we’re asking the public to get creative and go yellow throughout the month of May to help us raise money for our new life-saving kits. Our RNLI yellow wellies cost £54 a pair, a lifejacket £458 and a safety helmet £263. Having the right kit can mean the difference between life and death – for them and the people they are rescuing.”
RNLI volunteers are on standby day and night, to drop everything in an instant to save lives on waterways and at sea. In 2017 these crews launched 8,436 times, aiding 8,072 people. RNLI London lifeboat crews alone launched 697 times, aiding 273 people.
To find a Mayday event near you, or to download a fundraising pack, visit RNLI.org/Mayday.
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.
