GO ORANGE FOR INDIES DAY 2010
“GO ORANGE FOR THE INDIE’S DAY”
Help support your local Independent
Lifeboat
Sandown & Shanklin Inshore Lifeboat
FRIDAY 26th of FEBRUARY 2010
The Independent Units within the UK have existed for many years
and need support to continue to run at the same high standard at which they have
become renowned. Often mistaken as
the RNLI the work of these units can go unnoticed, or the public will donate to
the RNLI thinking that this money is going towards their local Independent Unit.
Our hope is that by all celebrating being Independent on the same
day we can highlight the number of non RNLI units around raising awareness for
our causes.
We urge everybody who has an Independent lifeboat unit around
them to join in with the day by wearing something orange or holding an “orange”
fundraising event and donating the funds raised to your local independent
lifeboat service – Sandown & Shanklin
Inshore Lifeboat.
We will never be as large as the RNLI, but our services in the
areas we operate are just as crucial and with rising costs every year it is more
important now than ever for our local communities to realise just who we are.
So please for one day only join us as we unite and help raise
funds for all these volunteer run lifeboat stations throughout the United
Kingdom.
Remember the RNLI are
NOT “The only charity that saves lives at sea”
Sandown & Shanklin Inshore Lifeboat is not a sail club rescue
boat, we are a dedicated SAR (Search & Rescue) facility, on call from HM Solent
Coastguard, just like the RNLI, SSILB are paged directly and can be on the water
within 7 minutes of being paged whilst away from the station.
SSILB is on call 356 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
and is ready when needed.
No one within SSILB are paid, all crew members, fundraisers
volunteer their time to the service provided, unlike the RNLI, who has paid crew
on some stations, even SSILB mechanics, who maintain the Inshore Lifeboat and
tractor are volunteers. Management and officers alike, who help run the things
behind the scenes that you may not see are all not paid either, things like
running of the website(s), ordering of stock for fundraising, fundraising
events, communications, shout details being processed, crew training, things
like this letter are just some of the things people who serve with SSILB do to
help – all out of their own day to day life.
Sandown & Shanklin Inshore Lifeboat operate an Atlantic 21
ex-RNLI Inshore Lifeboat, the boat itself was made for one reason only, to save
lives at sea, this is why SSILB purchased the vessel in 1999, SSILB was checked
via the RNLI before the sale was agreed and meet their high standards to have
the sale agreed.
The Atlantic 21 can crew 3 / 4 Lifeboat crew, she is capable of
launching in force 9 conditions and has been proven many times with SSILB going
to assist / save lives at sea.
The crew are trained to the same standards as RNLI crews, they
also use the same equipment, to train one crew member costs £1,200, this is to
allow them to have their training, kit they wear and is vital to make sure that
they are safe doing the tasks that they carry out.
The station is in need of updating, with this in mind SSILB have
planning permission to extend on the current station and build an advanced
station for the current crew, future crews and future Inshore Lifeboats.
The building will have its own training room as well, where currently the
training happens in the kit room, which is cramped when you consider 18 crew
members have to be trained every Wednesday night. There will also be a dedicated
fundraising shop for the fundraisers to fundraise from all year around,
currently they fundraise from a stall based set-up and are in need of a weather
proof, all year round shop to fundraise from. The costing for this has been
priced at around £180,000 and we are desperately trying to raise funds for this
new Lifeboat Station to be built.
Please help support your local Inshore Lifeboat and help them
save lives at sea.
If you can help with Go Orange day, please can you contact the
people below and inform them of what you are intending to do, so that we can
keep a log on what’s happening on the day and can give your event a mention of
your event or effort within the website(s) and new press release.
There is a Gift Aid form included within this pack, please use it
to return the money raised back to us please, the form helps SSILB, as the
Government will not tax the money raised and will in fact give a % towards SSILB
as a donation.
Please photocopy this form, as you may need several for the
event.
Your local Independent Lifeboat station is:
Sandown & Shanklin Inshore Lifeboat
Your Local Indie SSILB Representativies are: Judy Chantler & Mary Birch
01983 401791 or 01983 405999 for
the station.
Thank you for supporting Sandown &
Shanklin Inshore Lifeboat
