Open Day 2020

Feb 26, 2020

Yes, it’s come around again already and we’re super busy with preparations for our main charity fundraising event of the year … and of course, this year is a very special one for us!

                                         
                                        

Holding our Open Day on the May Spring Bank Holiday weekend last year certainly proved to be a good move for us, so this year it’s same again, as the poster above shows!

Would you like to support our charity fundraising event?

There are many ways to support the PLIRB Open Day – including with preparations and through helping on the day. Our volunteers are already putting in the extra hours to get the preparations underway, and we’re currently looking for additional support if possible through:

  • Donations of good quality items for us to sell
  • Donations of items, services or vouchers for our Grand Raffle
  • Donations of refreshment items – cakes and other treats are welcome
  • Getting in touch with us to volunteer to help on the day
  • Coming along on the day, to spend time with the team, check out the stalls and have a go in the raffle!
If you'd like to sponsor some form of refreshments by supplying treats for us to sell, in return for publicity, please get in touch!

If you are not able to donate anything or come along on the day, there are still other ways to support us. You might like to …

 

  • Share our blog posts and social media posts, to help us publicise our Open Day.
  • Tell your friends and colleagues about us, so that they can be aware and even be there!
  • Visit our boathouse on a Sunday morning to pick up a poster to display for us (check our social media and we’ll let you know when these are available for collection.
Why our charity fundraiser event is important for us

As an independent rescue boat charity, we receive no central or government funding, and no subsidies for providing beach safety and rescue services in our local community. We raise all of our running, equipment, maintenance and training costs ourselves and welcome sponsorship and fundraising support from benefactors, national corporations, local businesses and thoughtful individuals.

We greatly value our role in the local community and our annual Open Day is our favourite opportunity for fundraising because it’s when we can open our doors, set up stalls and a show and invite our community to join with us for a day which puts the FUN into fundraising.

If you would like to know more about us, and why our fundraising is so important, please click the button below for our fundraising and donations page.

Why we rely on fundraising and donations - and how you can help!

And of course, 2020 is particularly special for us because it’s the 50th Anniversary of the Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat.

We’d be absolutely blown away if we could achieve a total on the day which includes a 5-0 at the beginning, so if you think you can help in any way, please do get in touch. Meanwhile, please keep checking back for updates on progress and for news on the activities lined up for Open Day!

We truly appreciate all help we receive and look forward to sharing our day with you.

                                         
                                        

Support from the Community – Robin Hood Bonfire Society, Icklesham

Feb 23, 2020

Last week we received the kind invitation to visit the Robin Hood pub in Icklesham, to receive a charity donation. The event was the combination of a charity presentation and quiz night and, although we were a little short of quizzers, we were very pleased to be invited and to be offered a charity donation of funds raised by the hard working Robin Hood Bonfire Society.

Receiving the cheque, PLIRB volunteers John Brooker, Kev Nuttall, Shaun O’Hara and Nigel Carter.

All the events held by the Robin Hood Bonfire Society raise funds for local charities, and we were delighted to receive a cheque for £350 to support the work of Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat. We have considerable running costs as well as plenty of fundraising projects for new equipment, training and to support our community activities, so this kind of donation makes a real difference to what we can afford to do.

After the presentations, the evening then moved onto refreshments and the quiz. As usual, our team was enthusiastic and had a great deal of fun but of course were well beaten by local quiz teams! Note to selves: get into training for this quiz in the future!

We sincerely appreciate all of the hard work the Robin Hood Bonfire Society do to support local charities such as ours and for the local community as a whole. Looking forward to 2020’s display – we’re sure it’ll go with a bang, so don’t forget to follow the Robin Hood Bonfire Society Facebook page so you can be aware of the date as soon as it’s announced.

Thank you so much to the Robin Hood Bonfire Society, for the charity donation and also for inviting us to their fun evening, it’s great spending time with you!

 

 

Support from the Community – Thanks to Corbeau Seats UK

Feb 9, 2020

It’s been a busy start to February, and we’re very pleased to share some fabulous support from our local community.

When it comes to gifts that support a charity such as ours, sometimes it’s not all about money. This week, we’ve been particularly grateful to receive a very special kind of donation.

Pictured from left to right: Kathryn Allum, Vehicle Volunteer Kev (who is mostly in the driving seat and will be glad to do it in comfort) and Helm Shaun O’Hara.

Our visitor was Kathryn Allum, from Corbeau Seats UK, who came to see us with the gift of a fabulous RS1 vehicle seat. As our friends and followers know, with our ongoing quest to refit our ‘new to us’ Reserve Launch and Recovery Vehicle is at a crucial stage in terms of funds and affordability. With this in mind, Kathryn has stepped in with the donation of the brand new, high specification RS1 vehicle seat, so that our launch and recovery crew will be able to sit in comfort and safety on the new vehicle when it’s finally finished.

The gift of a gift

Every donation to us is welcome, and we’d like our supporters to know that help is always appreciated. Whilst financial donations certainly help to keep us going and reduce the amount of costs we have to fund ourselves to keep going, it’s also great to know that some companies think carefully about ways to donate gifts that support a charity such as Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat.

With several vehicles to keep maintained, as well as our two rescue boats, we invariably have a long shopping lists. These invariably include essentials needed for maintenance and items that need replacing or upgrading. We also have a cheeky wish-list (or two) of ‘the latest’ items which would be welcome additions to our existing equipment.

Receiving a brand new item which means we can tick the cost off our budget is a great help to us. When it comes to our very costly vehicles, we’re certainly very grateful to Kathryn and Corbeau Seats UK for their support with this.

We’re also especially grateful to Kathryn for braving Storm Ciara to come and present us with the seat. Hopefully in the summer, we’ll be able to invite Kathryn back in much better weather, to enjoy the moment when the seat is in action for the first time. Thanks Kathryn and Corbeau Seats UK.

Support From The Community and Fairlight Stores

Feb 7, 2020

Graeme and Leonie Gambrell of Fairlight Stores are always ready to support our charity and, thanks to them, 2020 has kicked off with another donation.

As we’ve shared previously, Graeme and Leonie are regular supporters of Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat as an independent rescue charity. Fairlight Stores hosts one of our donation bottles and encourage customers of the store to donate their small change. This time around, Graeme and Leonie and their customers have managed to raise over £100 for us!

 

 

 

Members of the Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat committee, Treasurer Stella Dunn and committee member David Martin, visited Graeme and Leonie recently to present a certificate and a PLIRB calendar as a thank you to this great couple who always remember us as one of their local community causes.

And of course, whilst Graeme and Leonie look after the donations, it’s those members of the Fairlight community and customers of the Fairlight Stores who contribute many of the donations. It’s proof indeed that small change can be a big way to support our charity and we very much appreciate the Fairlight community supporting us.

Thank you all very much.

 

 

 

Support from the Community – Rother Police Property Fund

Feb 3, 2020

We value all charity support received from local community services and businesses, and on Sunday 2nd February 2020, we were delighted to have another visit from local Rother Police Community Support Officer Daryl Holter.

 

 

This isn’t the first time Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat has received charity support from the local Sussex Police, through the Police Property Fund. In 2019, we received funds to help us buy hardware including helmet cameras, so that we can record our activities and create training videos for our crews, plus a laptop, projector and portable screen, vital hardware for our sea safety and awareness presentations in the community.

On this occasion, PCSO Holter presented us with a cheque for £90 which will be going towards our Reserve Launch and Recovery Vehicle fund. We still have a shortfall of several thousand pounds, which is needed to help complete the repairs and reconfiguration needed before the vehicle can be finished and ready to use.

The Police Property Fund is made up of monies the police receive when items that have been confiscated by order of courts and are then sold on. All monies in the Police Property Fund are then passed on to community causes and charities. As such, PCSO Holter is our community link for the fund, and shared: “I am delighted to have been able to help the Pett Level boat, based between Hastings and Rye. Its rescue work is crucial and supporting these lifesavers is the least we can do”.

As ever, everyone at Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat is grateful for this type of charity support. We really couldn’t do without it, as it not only helps towards our running costs but also enables us to replace and update our equipment as needed. Thanks so much to Sussex Police. 

PCSO Holter is shown in the photo, along with crew members Ethan and Martin (at either end of the group) PLIRB Chair, Fiona Johnson and Trustee John Pulfer.