People in Teesside urged to be part of the RNLI as it celebrates 200 years
The charity needs to raise millions of pounds to save lives at sea
People in Teesside are being urged to consider volunteering for the RNLI as it celebrates its 200th birthday.
The charity says millions of pounds is needed every year so they can continue saving lives at sea.
Dave Cocks, chairman of Redcar RNLI, said: "The 200th anniversary is really a chance for us to commemorate the crews that have saved lives at sea for over 200 years, including those who've tragically lost their lives. We musn't forget that it's sometimes a very dangerous thing to do but our volunteer crews have responded when a call has come for the last 200 years.
"I suppose the highlight of my career with the RNLI would go back to very early when I joined around 1979-1980, when I actually saved the first life that I saved. I can clearly remember the day in which I reached over the side of the lifeboat and pulled a drowning man into the lifeboat and saved his life. It was a very special moment.
"It's really about inspiring the next generation of volunteers who might crew the lifeboats and those who are going to support us in the future. Without the volunteers who donate, the volunteers who raise the funds for us, the people who go out in the lifeboats can't do what they do. We always tell fundraisers that they're the most important people in our history and always will be because without the fundraisers, we're nothing.
"The RNLI needs to raise many millions of pounds each year. What we try and do at Redcar lifeboat station, we try and stand on our own two feet, so we work very hard to raise the funds that we require. As an estimate, each lifeboat station of our type will need around £50,000-£60,000 per year for the running costs and the routine repairs.
"Some of the bigger lifeboats that you might see up and down the coast from Tynemouth, for example, down to Whitby, they cost maybe millions of pounds but they're built to last 50 years, so although we're talking abuot big numbers, the lifeboats do have a long life so it wouldn't matter whether a lifeboat costed £1 million or even £1, if it saved my life I would be grateful."
The RNLI says the charity has a remarkable 200-year story – from triumphs to tragedies; from oar-powered boats to the modern boats used today; from introducing the first lifeboats on the River Thames to rolling-out a lifeguard service on over 240 UK beaches; from running the UK’s biggest drowning prevention campaigns to working with others overseas.
Funded by voluntary donations, and with lifeboats crewed by specially trained volunteers, the RNLI says it is a truly unique rescue organisation. Since being founded in 1824 the charity’s lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 144,000 lives.
Throughout 2024, the charity will be commemorating its history, celebrating the lifesaving service it provides today, and aiming to inspire future generations of lifesavers and supporters.
More information about the RNLI’s 200th anniversary is available on their website.