An annual fundraising event hosted by Hoylake and West Kirby RNLI has raised over £4,000 thanks to the generosity of the Wirral lifeboat stations’ local community and supporters.
The RNLI Meet and Greet Day on Saturday 19 August offered the public a rare chance to step aboard the lifesaving charity’s lifeboats and launch vehicles, including Hoylake’s Shannon class lifeboat and hovercraft and West Kirby’s D class IB1 lifeboat.
The volunteer RNLI crews spoke to hundreds of visitors at Hoylake Lifeboat Station about their lifesaving work around the Merseyside coast.
The Wirral Coastguard Rescue Team and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service also joined the event, displaying their rescue vehicles and equipment and showing how RNLI lifeboat crews and the other emergency services work together to save lives.
The incredible total of £4,483.33 was raised from generous donations from the public, as well as through sales of RNLI souvenirs, refreshments and tombola tickets. Visitors also made donations to soak a crew member in the stocks and to try their hand at helming a remote control RNLI lifeboat.
Hoylake RNLI Coxswain Howie Owen said, “We can’t thank everyone enough for coming along to our Meet and Greet Day and supporting Hoylake and West Kirby lifeboat stations. This is the second year we’ve held this fundraising event and there was a brilliant community atmosphere.
“The total raised is amazing and crucial for funding our 24-hour search and rescue service. Thank you to everyone who came along to support us and to all the volunteers who ran stalls, collected donations and made the event such a success!”
In 2022, RNLI lifeboats in the UK and Ireland launched 9,312 times, helping 16,476 people and saving 389 lives. But as a charity, the RNLI is reliant on voluntary donations to power its lifesaving work, which last year cost a total of £188 million.
Main image: Hundreds of visitors stepped aboard the Hoylake and West Kirby RNLI lifeboats at the annual Meet and Greet Day. Credit: Hoylake RNLI
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