RNLI fundraiser tops £30,000

Gala dinner held at the Comis Hotel over the weekend

Crews and supporters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) raised over £30,000 for the organisation this past weekend.

A special event was held to mark the beginning of a year of anniversary celebrations for RNLI in the Isle of Man.

Guests helped raise an impressive £32,000 towards the running costs of the Isle of Man’s five lifeboat stations.

There are around 200 volunteers Island-wide and, on average, each of the crew spent 30-40 hours at sea between training and rescues.

Gilli Cowley, Chair of Douglas RNLI Lifeboat Guild, said: "It truly was an evening to remember. To be able to welcome our volunteers and supporters from across the Island made it a very special event indeed.

"Of course, this is only the beginning of a year of celebrations marking the RNLI’s 200th anniversary in the Island where it all began. The support of guests in both the auction and raffle was beyond generous and, on behalf of the RNLI, I would like to thank everyone who attended.

"As a charity, the RNLI relies on donations to be able to carry out its lifesaving work so a sincere thank you to everyone involved for making the event such a success. Not least, our principal sponsor Ørsted which has a long history of partnership with the RNLI and who we look forward to working with in the years to come."