NFU Mutual Liskeard and St Austell donates £6,379 to Fowey RNLI Lifeboat Station

The team were given a tour of the lifeboat station and a tour of Fowey’s all-weather lifeboat, before presenting the cheque onboard the lifeboat. Fowey Lifeboat Operations Manager, Chris Ogg said: ‘We are very grateful for this generous donation from NFU Mutual. The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea and Fowey lifeboat station is run entirely by volunteers, with just one full-time paid member of staff. The average annual training cost for each individual crew member is £1,400, and each set of crew kit costs around £3,000. The money donated by NFU Mutual will enable us to kit out two volunteer crew members with essential safety kit such as a thermal suit, drysuit, lifejacket, helmet, seagoing gloves and layered clothing and boots. Without donations from organisations like NFU Mutual, we would not be able to provide our 24/7, 365 day a year service, saving lives at sea.'

Senior Agent and NFU Group Secretary, Ian Maddever is pictured presenting newly passed out lifeboat crew member Luke Watts, with his full set of kit. Luke is one of the 32 volunteer crew members in Fowey, who give up their free time to train and who are on 24hour standby for when a 999 emergency call comes in from someone in danger at sea.

NFU Mutual has pledged to give £1.92m to local front-line charities through its Agency Giving Fund which was launched in 2020 in response to the pandemic. To ensure these donations reach all corners of the UK and are directed where they are needed most, NFU Mutual’s Agency and branch offices, with 300 locations nationwide, nominate local charities to receive a share of the fund.

NFU Mutual Agent and Assistant Group Secretary, Richard Young, said: ‘We chose to nominate Fowey RNLI Lifeboat Station as our chosen charity because here in the South West we have so much coastline and the RNLI is keeping our waters safe. They, like many others have been hampered with fundraising activity due to the pandemic so to be able to make this donation was a no-brainer for us. To spend some time at the station and have the opportunity to go on the boats and see how our donation will be used was a great, interesting way to spend an afternoon!'

Pictured from left to right: Fowey RNLI crew member Luke Watts being presented with his lifeboat crew kit by NFU Mutual’s Ian Maddever. NFU Mutual Liskeard and St Austell team: Mark Taylor, Jessica Pellymounter, Maddie Long, Richard Keogh, Layla Powell, Zoe Hawes, Matthew Swan, Sophie Bettison, Diane Peters and Richard Young.

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.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

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.