BT Ireland donates €5,000 to RNLI
BT Ireland, operator of the national 999/112 emergency call answering service, has donated €5,000 to the RNLI.
The funds have been donated to three RNLI lifeboat teams in Ireland through its nationwide payroll giving scheme ‘Give As You Earn’.
Donations were made to Bundoran RNLI, Rosslare RNLI and Courtmacsherry RNLI to support their vital services in the community.
BT operates the national 999/112 emergency call answering service (ECAS) on behalf of the state and the RNLI lifeboat crews are just one of the many emergency services that are deployed to provide critical lifesaving services as a result of calls to the ECAS.
BT operators process, on average, more than 5,000 calls a day and aim to answer each call within 0.6 seconds. BT has operated the ECAS since 2010 and currently employs 75 operators, managers and technical support staff across two centres in Ballyshannon, Donegal and Navan, Co. Meath. Calls to 999 and 112 are free to the public.
BT’s Give As You Earn scheme is a matched funding process whereby employees can donate a percentage of their annual salary to charity and BT will match that amount.
In 2018, BT contributed more than €1.4million to charitable organisations through corporate donations, employee fundraising and in kind contributions, while BT employees volunteered 12,748 hours of their time to good causes in the community.
Captain Tony McGowan, Bundoran RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said the RNLI was extremely grateful to BT for its generosity: 'This is a huge donation that will help our lifeboat crews continue to save lives at sea. These funds will help to ensure our crews are fully kitted, trained and skilled to do the work that they do and that our lifeboat is equipped, fueled and maintained'.
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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
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