Choir kicks off its summer charity series collecting for New Brighton RNLI
SingMe Merseyside put on the first of its 2018 Summer Charity Series at the Vale Park bandstand in New Brighton on Saturday 26 May, raising around £400 for the RNLI lifeboat station from the audience and its own choir members. Musical theatre performer Sarah Chidlow also made a guest appearance.
The amount raised for RNLI New Brighton lifeboat station came from a bucket collection and a raffle, as the largely deckchair-seated audience was treated to a range of songs including Abba and Disney medleys from a more than 100-strong choir, accompanied by SingMe Merseyside Founder and Director Billy Hui on the keyboard. Chidlow sang several numbers including her rendition of Never Enough from The Greatest Showman musical.
'It was a fabulous day – the sun came out and it was a great crowd that came to see us for the first of our summer charity concerts. Generous too,’ said Hui. ‘We’re delighted to have been able to make this level of contribution from both the audience and our choir members, to such a worthy local cause.’
The donation will be used directly to benefit the RNLI New Brighton lifeboat station by purchasing an iPad which will be used to improve both the speed and efficiency of training assessments.
Damian Cull, RNLI Deputy Launching Authority at New Brighton Lifeboat Station said: ‘As a charity with no government funding we rely on donations, so we really are enormously grateful to SingMe Merseyside and the Vale Park audience for giving such a fantastic amount of money to our RNLI lifeboat station.
‘We take our training seriously and to now be able to buy an iPad so that volunteer crew assessments can be documented quickly and effectively, is tremendous.’
SingMe Merseyside raised £200,000 for not-for-profit organisations through its performances in 2017. For more visit
www.singmemersey.co.uk.
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.