Christmas tree chipping raises over £1054 at Whitstable RNLI
With a bitterly cold wind, rain and sometimes sleet the volunteers at Whitstable lifeboat station needed something to warm them up after they spent Sunday morning and early afternoon holding the now annual Christmas tree chipping outside the station.
And that came along with the hot drinks with the news that the event had raised over £1054 for station funds.
Kellie continued “Trees arrived from all directions, in cars, vans, in wheelbarrows or just dragged along as numerous residents battled the elements to deliver their seasonal firs to the team and Alex Bird's chipping machine”.
Joint Chairman of the Whitstable Lifeboats fundraising team Pete Fenton said “Our thanks go as ever to A. Bird Ltd and to all those in Whitstable who chose to recycle their trees in support of Whitstable RNLI and the monies will go towards the continuing costs of operating the station and the training of our volunteer crews who last year responded to around 35-calls in the area covered by the Whitstable lifeboat”.
Notes to editors
Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.
The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.
She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.
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Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
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The RNLI charity 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 142,700 lives.
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