Fundraising
Barmouth Lifeboat Station
The Last station of 2023 we would be fundraising for would be Barmouth Lifeboat Station in Wales, bringing the number of stations raised for to 8 totalling just over £4000 donated in total. We managed to hit our £500 target just before Christmas. Every Station that we visited welcomed us with open arms and this one was no different truly showing that one crew mentality. Here we got to watch the crew get put to the test as they conducted a training exercise doing casualty drills, showing off the amazing lifesaving work that this crew do.
Kippford Lifeboat Station
The journey for station 7 would consist of a lengthy 7 hour drive to Kippford Lifeboat station in Scotland. Again we managed to raise an amazing £500 for this small coastal village. On the day of arrival I got to witness first hand the great lifesaving work of this crew as they launched their D-Class Lifeboat on a shout to someone in trouble. With Kippford being a small sleepy village only really coming to life in the summer months, I was also lucky enough to catch the station on one of its busier days in November as the Shore Crew were being put through their paces conducting launch vehicle training during the day. In the evening I got to meet the rest of the crew as they gathered once more to launch again to conduct further afloat training.
Sheerness Lifeboat Station
Station 6 would see us travel to the Isle of Sheppey to hand in £500 to the crew of Sheerness Lifeboat Station. As with all the other stations we were made to feel very welcome sitting down for a coffee with the crew before watching their lifesaving training and getting a tour around their Shannon All Weather Lifeboat. This is the first station that we have fundraised for with both an ALB and ILB.
Redcar Lifeboat Station
It was back to the voting for station number 5. This time it would be Redcar Lifeboat Station. Our target again would be £500, this target we managed to hit within a month half of which would come in through the first week of fundraising. This trip would also be very close to my heart as after we visited we headed straight to Whitby Lifeboat Station to witness the new Launch a Memory Shannon All Weather Lifeboat arrive on station for the first time. this lifeboat would bear the name of my late Grandmother along with another 10000 loved ones names.
New Brighton Lifeboat Station
Station number 4 was chosen under a different circumstance. A member of the crew had reached out to us and asked if I could help promote awareness of Prostate Cancer on the TikTok channel, as a couple of crewmembers had been diagnosed with it. I agreed while also committing to raise £500 for their station to help the crew continue to save lives at sea around the mouth of the Mersey. We managed to hit our target this time within 5 weeks.
If You would like to know more information about Prostate Cancer, you can you can do so here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/prostate-cancer/
Tower Lifeboat Station
Our 3rd station to fundraise for would be Tower Lifeboat Station in Central London. This station is the busiest within the RNLI with a mix of full time and volunteer crew. Again we aimed to raise £500 however with a last minute big donation we managed to hand over £550 to help the crew save lives on the Thames. When we visited the crew were temporarily operating from HMS President as they awaited their brand new station.
Lizard Lifeboat Station
With the success of our first fundraiser we decided to extend the generosity to other lifeboat stations. After a vote with our viewers the 2nd station was announced as Lizard Lifeboat Station in Cornwall. Again we would attempt to raise £500 pounds to help the crew continue to save lives at sea at Lizard Point. It took around 6 weeks of fundraising before we hit our target and we were on our way to hand in our donation. The journey there was very eventful with a drive which should of taken 5 hours actually ending up around 26 hours due to a breakdown. With motivation and determination we eventually made it and handed over the money to a very happy crew.
Portsmouth Lifeboat Station
It all started with Portsmouth Lifeboat Station. This is where our fundraising journey began using gifts that were donated through our TikTok live streams. We initially started with a target of £200, however it wasn't long until we had hit this target due to the overwhelming generosity of our followers. With the fundraising momentum in full swing we decided to push for a further £500. Again it wasn't too long until the target had been met and we had raised an overall total of £700 for Portsmouth Lifeboat Station to help the crew continue saving lives in The Solent.