A screenshot from an RNLI lifeboat crew member’s helmet camera footage of a rescue. The crew member is in the water next to the lifeboat. A man is holding a child and they are in deep water, waving their arms.

You can be the difference between just in time and too late

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Taken from real-life footage from a lifeboat crew member's helmet camera. Photo: RNLI

‘On a shout like this, every second counts’

‘When I saw Alex standing up to his neck in water, a child in his arms, I jumped from the lifeboat. I grabbed hold of them both. I could see how close Alex was to giving up. He used all his strength to keep the child safe. If we had been any later, it could have been a tragically different story.’ Steve Tustin, Volunteer Crew Member

Will you help courageous crews answer urgent calls for help?

Kind support from people like you has been powering RNLI volunteers to the rescue for over 200 years. By donating to the RNLI Mayday Appeal, you can help give today’s lifeboat crews everything they need to reach desperate people like Alex in time.

Your Mayday donation could provide the fuel that powers lifeboats to the rescue. You could be protecting a crew member with a lifejacket. Or, you could be funding first-class training that turns willing volunteers into lifesavers.

Donate now

If you’ve got any questions about our Mayday Appeal, or would like to donate by phone, please call our friendly Supporter Experience Team on 0300 300 0105 (from the UK) or 01 511 9833 (from Ireland) on weekdays, 8am–6pm.

As a charity independent of government, we rely on your support. In 2023, RNLI lifeboat crews answered 340 tidal cut-off calls, saving 23 lives. We train for hundreds of hours to prepare for shouts like this. But when it comes down to the fine margins, your kindness is vital.