Mother’s Day - thanking the RNLI mums saving lives at sea

The RNLI relies on thousands of volunteers and many of them are mothers balancing family life with being ready to respond when the pager sounds. At Bridlington RNLI, volunteer mums play a vital role in the station team, serving in a variety of roles including lifeboat crew, shore crew, launch authorities, fundraisers, and water safety volunteers. This Mother’s Day, volunteer mums could be called away from family celebrations or dinners to answer the call for help.

RNLI Volunteer, Mike Milner, said: ‘All our volunteer mums are incredible. Whether they are answering the pager to launch the lifeboat, supporting operations on shore, or helping raise vital funds, they are a huge part of our lifesaving team. This Mother’s Day we want to recognise and thank them for everything they do.’

For many RNLI volunteers, being ‘a mum on call’ means juggling family life with the commitment to be ready to help others in danger at sea at any hour of the day or night. Thousands of volunteers give up their time to keep people safe at sea. Many of those volunteers are mums themselves, balancing family life and volunteering their time.

This Mother’s Day, RNLI stations around the coast are recognising the important role families play in supporting volunteers and the lifesaving service they provide.

All our mothers, and grandmothers in some cases, are [MM1] [MM2] part of the 97% of the RNLI’s frontline crew who are volunteers. Selflessly giving up their time, operational volunteers respond to thousands of shouts annually around the coast of the UK and Ireland. In 2025, the RNLI reported having 8,000 members of voluntary operational crew.

RNLI media contacts For more information, please contact Mike Milner, RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer: [email protected] or call:07751-054052

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, 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.