Salty Sea Dog Harlow launches fundraising campaign for RNLI
East Midlands based Harlow Insolvency has launched a fund raising campaign to support the Royal National Lifeboat Institute(RNLI), which it hopes will help fund the construction of a new lifeboat station at Wells Next The Sea in Norfolk.
Harlow Insolvency director, John Harlow, himself a keen sailor, said: “Very often the role of the Insolvency Practitioner is seen as that of an undertaker, to merely provide a decent burial for businesses in distress, whereas if we are called in early enough, we have a wide range of tools at our disposal which can help to rescue a business that is struggling . I would liken this to putting out a “pan-pan” [a state of urgency,) call, recognising that a problem exists rather than a “mayday”, which indicates that all other options have been exhausted.
“We feel that the rescue and recovery work carried out by the RNLI , reflects what we are able to do to help businesses and we would like to invite our business and other contacts to join us in a creative fundraising campaign to raise money to support a very worthwhile venture.
“This also links with the RNLI’s Respect The Water campaign, highlighting that many calls for help are made by walkers who have been caught out by the tide. As many people from the East Midlands visit the Norfolk coast on a regular basis, they will be aware of the Lifeboat Station at Wells Next The Sea and this service could be very relevant to them as well as water users.”
The fundraising campaign is based on the RNLI’s “Out On A Shout” Twitter Account (@outonashout), which records the lifeboat launches from every station across the UK.
John added: “In the last year, there were 8,228 lifeboat launches and we would like to ask businesses and individuals to pledge an amount of money for each launch throughout 2017. It could be 1p, 5p or 10p (or more!) every time a lifeboat is launched – so on last year’s figures, for a 1p pledge £82.28 would be raised, £411.40 for a 5p pledge and £822.80 for a 10p pledge.
“The launches are recorded on the RNLI’s twitter account, which we will record and advise our fellow campaigners on a monthly basis the amount they have raised.
At the end of the year, we will invite all the participants to a celebration event where we can make a cheque presentation to the RNLI.”
Ben Long, community fundraising manager for the RNLI (Suffolk & Norfolk) said: “We are delighted to have the support of Harlow Insolvency in raising funds and awareness for lifeboat services in Norfolk.
“On average there are 23 call outs a day, which highlights the need for our stations to be equipped to respond to every emergency, which is why we are looking for support to help us raise £200,000 towards the cost of the new station at Wells Next The Sea which has been saving lives at sea for over 100 years.”
