Why RNLI is ‘fourth emergency service’ – The Yorkshire Post says

THE numbers speak for themselves. Nearly 200 years after the RNLI was founded in 1824, its volunteer crews are now credited with saving over 142,700 lives.
By YP Letters
Published 14th Mar 2021, 05:54 BST
This is Scarborough's lifeboat in action. Photo: RNLI.This is Scarborough's lifeboat in action. Photo: RNLI.
This is Scarborough's lifeboat in action. Photo: RNLI.

Yet, as photographer Jack Lowe tours all 238 lifeboat stations to record, for posterity, their contribution, it’s also worth highlighting the charity’s financial predicament.

It has a hole of up to £45m in its finances following a significant downturn in donations last year due to Covid. And, perversely, the demand for staycations means that 2021 is set to be one of the busiest in the RNLI’s proud history.

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The genuine ‘fourth emergency service’, its rescue missions, and wider work promoting sea safety, are too important to be left to chance.

Here’s hoping every family visiting the Yorkshire coast this year makes a donation to the RNLI – the collective effort could, after all, be the difference between life and death for those who become stranded out at sea after being caught out by rapidly-changing conditions.

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Related topics:Yorkshire PostRNLIYorkshire

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