14-year-old Arthur makes the 2021 RNLI Mayday Mile his biggest challenge yet!
Arthur Dennant from Bream in Gloucestershire has begun his biggest fundraising challenge to date. Pledging to run, scoot and cycle a total of 29 miles in May, the distance from his house to Portishead lifeboat station, Arthur hopes he can raise as much money as possible for the RNLI,
who are calling on supporters to join the Mayday Mile appeal.
Arthur, who is 14 years old, already has an impressive three years of fundraising under his belt. But that hasn’t curbed his enthusiasm and he wants to keep raising more money in special memory of his Grandpa, who was a keen supporter and fundraiser for the charity. Arthur hopes to continue the efforts of his Grandpa and is even getting his friends involved,:
‘I go on sailing holidays with my family and love being out on the water, so raising money for the RNLI is really important to me. My favourite lifeboat station is Portishead and that is 29 miles from my house, so that is the distance I will cover for my Mayday challenge. My friend Robin will be joining me on the challenge and helping to raise money. Hopefully we can smash my £180 total from last year.’
Arthur, who is no stranger to helping in any way that he can, has been fundraising with his local branch since 2017. Adam Pentney, Chair of Gloucester and Forest of Dean RNLI said,:
‘It’s wonderful to have a junior supporter who is keen to raise money. It’s hopefully those like Arthur that will be the future for the RNLI.’
Arthur’s mum Kate, recalls how Arthur once raised £40 in 30 minutes whilst fundraising outside Tesco,
‘I think when someone younger like Arthur is stood there, trying to raise money and awareness for the RNLI it makes people stop and think. Parents or grandparents might walk past and think, ‘wow that could be me or my family needing the help of the RNLI.’ I’m very proud of what Arthur has achieved so far and know he’ll give it his all in his latest challenge.’
Arthur plans to run his final mile from Portishead sailing club, across the seafront to the lifeboat station and has some inspiring words for anyone thinking about doing a Mayday Mile:
‘It’s a pretty cool feeling when you raise money and smash the target, you should just do it - you don’t know what you can achieve until you try.’
You can donate to help Arthur reach his target here
Note to editor
· Arthur will be uploading regular pictures and updates of his miles to his just giving page here
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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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