200 for the 200th

Walmer volunteers, their friends, families and former crew gathered yesterday, Saturday 4 May, to undertake their annual fundraising Car Wash.

Echoing his hopes after last year’s event, Walmer helm and sponsor Dan Sinclair reiterated the intention to wash 200 vehicles in celebration of the RNLI’s 200th Anniversary.

Having been advertised around the local area with a poster and banner campaign in shops and businesses, on social media and plugs on Deal Radio, the volunteers set about achieving their goal at 10.00am.

The first customer of the day was the manager of the Goose on the Green, Gary Cameron, the café owned by long-term supporter Alastair Bassett with a donation of £100.00. He was followed by a steady stream of vehicles from the beginning of the event to its finish just after 3.00pm. More than 50 of the station’s volunteers gave up all or part of their day to help with the event.

At the close, Dan thanked everyone that had made the event such a success, from the volunteers marshalling traffic on the main road in front of the station, those keeping orderly queues on Walmer Green, fundraisers with collection buckets, volunteers in the pop-up and main RNLI shops who also kept crew supplied with food and drink, the Face to Face Fundraisers on the promenade, HM Coastguard volunteers for assisting, those collecting money for the actual washing, the bbq chef as well as the alloy cleaner, sprayers, washers, jet washers and hand driers who kept the vehicles moving.

The final tally showed that volunteers had achieved their goal of 200 cars on the day, the final one being owned by shop and fundraising volunteer Carole Moleshead. With money collected for washing the cars, donations and other collections, a total of £3078.20 was raised.

With costs of around £2,000 to kit out a single crew member and £1400 per year in training costs, events such as these are vital to ensure our volunteers are provided with the essential training and equipment they need to ensure their safety in the situations and conditions they face.

Notes to editors

Walmer lifeboat station was established in 1856.

It currently operates two inshore lifeboats – a B Class Atlantic 85 Donald McLauchlan and a smaller D Class Duggie Rodbard II.

Crews have received 28 Awards for Gallantry

To find out more about Walmer lifeboat station go to https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/walmer-lifeboat-station

RNLI media contacts

• Chris Winslade, Lifeboat Press Officer, Walmer Lifeboat Station on 01304 374475 or 07906 623037 [email protected]
• Julie Rainey, RNLI Regional Communications Lead on 07827 358256 [email protected]
• Hatti Mellor, RNLI Regional Communications Manager (London/East/South East) on 07724 801305 [email protected]
• For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789 or [email protected]

Key facts about the RNLI

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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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.