Redcar Lifeboat Day goes virtual

While some COVID-19 restrictions have been eased, face-to-face fundraising planned for Saturday 17 July won’t be going ahead as normal. So instead the Redcar volunteers are taking to social media to boost their funds.

Dave Cocks, spokesman for Redcar RNLI, explains: ‘Lifeboat Day is the cornerstone of our annual fundraising effort. As a charity we rely almost entirely on local donations to keep us going.

‘Despite the lockdown our lifeboats have been as busy as ever. We’ve had 21 launches so far this year and now we really need to top-up our funds. Because we can’t hold our tradition collection in the town this year, we’re running a fundraising event on our Facebook page.

‘We’ve raised over £3,000 on some Lifeboat Days. We’ve set a modest target of £1000 for ourselves this year. We know people have been through tough times and not everyone will be able to support us but if we can reach our target that will be a great help to us.’

The crew are encouraging the public to hold their own fundraising events with the donations going towards the target.

The fundraiser can be found on the RedcarRNLI facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RedcarRNLI/

Lifeboat Days have been a tradition in the RNLI since 1891 when wealthy industrialist Sir Charles Macara answered the RNLI’s call for help, following a lifeboat disaster.

Five years earlier, 27 volunteers on lifeboats from Southport and Lytham St Anne’s died while trying to rescue sailors from the stricken vessel Mexico.

Charles and his wife Marion got a committee together and organised the first Lifeboat Saturday in Manchester in aid of the appeal. It was the world’s first charity street collection ever recorded, and the formula proved popular for decades to come.

Ends

Notes to editors:

Attached are images of the Redcar lifeboats and of recent Redcar Lifeboat Days. Credit RNLI/Dave Cocks

The Redcar lifeboat station has been operating since 1802

Redcar currently operates a B-class lifeboat named Leicester Challenge III, paid for by the people of Leicester, and an IB1-class lifeboat named Eileen May Loach-Thomas, paid from the legacy of the late Mr Nick Thomas of Shropshire

For more news, information and images go to www.redcarlifeboat.org.uk. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/redcarrnli and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RedcarRNLI

Any images used should be credited RNLI/Redcar unless indicated

RNLI media contacts:

For more information please contact Dave Cocks, RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer on 07894 558 483. Alternatively, contact Clare Hopps, RNLI Press Officer, North 07824 518641 or at [email protected], or contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789; [email protected]

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.