Hoylake Lifeboat Appeal close to halfway point

Sep 24 2008 by Sue McCann, Hoylake and West Kirby News

THE £2m RNLI Hoylake Appeal has reached its first anniversary - and is almost half-way to its goal.

Already £900,000 has been raised to help fund a new lifeboat station and lifeboat.

The station building is almost complete so the focus of the fundraising will now move to the need for a new all-weather lifeboat for Hoylake’s RNLI volunteers.

The charity’s senior fundraising manager, Audrey Farr, said: “The response to the appeal has been amazing and we are absolutely thrilled by the public’s generosity.

“They sfully upport their local RNLI lifeboat station and understand how important it is that we provide our volunteer crew with the very best facilities and equipment available.

“Money so far has come from a wide range of sources – everything from children organising sponsored walks and people holding collections in lieu of birthday presents to large donations from corporate supporters.

“Clearly, we still have a long way to go with more than £1m to raise but I’m sure people will continue to find ways to support the appeal and help us reach our target by the end of 2009.”

Dave Whiteley, Hoylake RNLI coxswain, thanked people for contributing to the fundraising and said everyone at the lifeboat station had been overwhelmed by the response to the appeal.

He added: “The generosity and enthusiasm of everyone involved has been fantastic and I can’t thank people enough for helping us raise this money over the past 12 months.

“Hopefully, the support will continue and we will raise the money we need to provide Hoylake lifeboat crew with the up-to-date facilities they deserve, to help them carry on saving lives at sea for many years to come.”

Hoylake RNLI lifeboat station is one of the oldest in the UK. Founded in 1803, the old boathouse dates back to 1899 and is too small, outmoded and can not be further modified to house the next generation of lifeboat.

The new lifeboat station is large enough for the lifeboat to be permanently connected to its launching tractor, speeding up launch times, and includes training facilities, mechanics’ workshop, crew room, changing room with drying area and showers. The crew will be moving into the new building in the next few weeks.

The second phase of the fundraising appeal will help fund a new, faster a-weather lifeboat to replace Hoylake’s current Mersey class lifeboat Lady of Hilbre which is nearing the end of its operational life and will need to be replaced by a new generation of RNLI carriage launched lifeboat which is currently under development.

This new class of lifeboat, called FCB2, will be faster and built to tackle the challenges of 21st century lifesaving.

To contribute to the appeal, call 0845 650 3999, log on to www.rnli.org.uk/hoylakeappeal or send a donation to RNLI Hoylake Appeal, Admail 4049, Hoylake CH47 1AA.