PLIRB and Rescue Services Attend Pett Level Incident

Jul 15, 2020

On Tuesday 14th July, Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat teams were called out following reports of a swimmer in difficulties just off the coast at Pett Level.

At approximately 18:07, our teams were tasked to attend and prepare to launch. Rescue services colleagues from Hastings and Rye Bay Coastguard teams, RNLI Rye Harbour and the Search & Rescue Helicopter 163 team from Lydd were also tasked to attend.

Our volunteers responded quickly to the call for assistance. Base and boat crews arrived at the Pett Level slipway and boathouse within minutes off pagers going off.

Happily, soon after arriving it was confirmed that the individual who had been in the water was already ashore. The swimmer was being attended to by Hastings and Rye Coastguards, who were first on the scene. The winchman from the Lydd Search & Rescue helicopter  team also gave support.

At this time, boat-based rescue services were ‘stood down’. Emergency medical teams arrived quickly on-scene to take over the care of the casualty, as reported in the Observer Online.

Thanks to everyone who was able to respond in this incident. Although it turned out that it wasn’t necessary for us to launch, it’s always good practice for us to arrive #rescueready at the boathouse. And of course, we’d always rather respond to a ‘shout’ and not be needed because a casualty is safe.

We’re pleased to have been of assistance in this incident and hope that the swimmer makes a good recovery.

*Images courtesy of Martin Geldart – do not use without permission* 

Your donations are welcome, thank you

Whilst you’re here …

As an independent rescue service, we are run by volunteers and fundraise to buy all of our own equipment and to pay our considerable running costs.

If you like the work we do and would like to support us, your donation would really be appreciated and would, ultimately, help us to help those in danger on our local coastline.

Thank you so much, from the volunteers at Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat.

Barb’s Charity Shed & The ‘New Normal’

Jul 12, 2020

For those who have been missing Barb’s Charity Shed for their charity shopping, there’s a little bit of good news. Barbara is now re-opening the Charity Shed on Sunday mornings.

But, in the context of the ‘new normal’ there are a few things to be aware of … 

 

The Charity Shed is a significant fundraiser for us through the peak seasons of the year. With lockdown lifting, and more visitors coming to the local beached, Barb is keen to reopen the Charity Shed.

However, the ‘new normal’ means it’s impossible to run the shed as before. So, please could all visitors, supporters and customers of the Charity Shed could be aware that:

  • The shed will only open on Sunday mornings when the weather is fine to do so. In the event of any local flare up or additional risk in the area, the shed will not open. As such, opening times may be irregular compared to previous seasons.
  • The shed is open for charity shopping sales only. Please do not bring items down as donations (see below).
  • Customers are asked not to handle goods unless they are wearing gloves, or actually buying the item.
  • Social distancing guidance should be respected at all times. Customers should take turns browsing the tables at the shed.
  • Customers are also asked to respect Barbara’s social distancing and money-handling requirements.
  • Barbara’s without her mask for the photo so she could share her welcoming smile! However, whilst masks outdoors are not mandatory at the moment, wearing a mask whilst browsing at the Charity Shed would be appreciated.

No donated items thank you

The biggest change for the foreseeable future is that the charity shed is not open for donation of items to sell. Please do not drop off items at Barbara’s home or the boathouse. Donated good cannot be accepted, handled, quarantined or stored in a way which is safe for Barbara and her household.

Barbara’s an amazing volunteer who has raised thousands for Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat  in the 7 years she has been running the shed. So please, help us to keep her safe by respecting that the ‘new normal’ for the charity shed.

Thanks to everyone for their understanding and on-going support.

 

 

 

Whilst you’re here …

As a charity, everyone who’s involved in our independent rescue service is a volunteer. Our team constantly fundraise to cover all of our running costs, but CV19 has had a major impact on our ability to fundraise in the community.

Barbara’s charity shed is an example of this. Normally, the shed would have been open since Easter and would have raised a significant amount by now. The ‘new normal’ means that funds raised by the charity shed are likely to be around 95% down on previous years.

Instead of being able to support us through the Charity Shed, if you like the work we do and would like to support us, please consider a donation. Even the smallest donation helps and could make a real difference to those in danger on our local coastline.

Thank you so much, from the volunteers at Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat.

Donations are welcome, thank you so much.

Launching The PLIRB Charity Lottery Campaign

Jul 1, 2020

As many of our friends and supporters know, recent events mean we’ve had to expand our horizons when it comes to fundraising. And the exciting news is that we’re now onboard for online fundraising with The Weather Lottery.

Why an online charity lottery?

As is the case for many other UK charities, the CV-19 pandemic has seriously affected fundraising 2020. As an independent rescue charity receiving no government funding, this has had a major impact. At the very least each year, we have to maintain a level of fundraising to meet our running costs, which are around £8,000 a year and rising.

So, how could we help fix 2020’s fundraising fail?

Expand our horizons and move into the unchartered waters of online fundraising!

And how could we put a bit of FUN into online fundraising?

By joining the Weather Lottery!

The fun twist on this is that the weather is usually the thing that impacts on our fundraising when it comes to fetes and Open day! As stalwarts who supported us during the absolute downpour on 2018 ‘s Open Day know well)! In the case of the Weather Lottery, the weather is going to be nothing but helpful for us!

“Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat are one of our most recent societies to start their lottery fundraising journey. We are extremely excited to work with Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat.”

                                                                                                                                    Weather Lottery Team.

How to join in

For just £1 a week, our friends and supporters could win £25,000 in each weekly draw. As this is a charity lottery, all profits raised will come to Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat and will be vital in helping us to save lives at sea.

  • If you’d like to get involved, it’s very simple. The dedicated Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat page at the Weather Lottery can be found here.
  • If you’d prefer to look at the Weather Lottery to see what’s involved and how it works first, you can also visit the Weather Lottery’s How It Works page.
  • If anyone prefers a leaflet, these have just arrived (photo below). These will be placed in our leaflet box outside the boathouse for collection from 4th July 2020 – our official lottery launch date. If friends and supporters would like to help us with this campaign by sharing our leaflets at work, please contact us and we’ll get some dropped off to you (in a socially-distanced way, of course)!

Like what we do? Please support this campaign in whichever way you can

The service we provide, along this beautiful but hazardous stretch of the UK coastline, makes a difference to people on local beaches and in the water. It also supports the work of other rescue and emergency services who we work with regularly. These include local HM Coastguard teams, HM Search & Rescue based at Lydd, plus RNLI services at Hastings, Rye and Dungeness. We also work with Sussex Police and Border Force, and are recognised by these services for the role our volunteers fulfil along this part of the coastline.

Every penny raised from the Weather Lottery will help keep us afloat and saving lives, and we’d love your support in this. Here’s our page link again (yes, we’re a bit excited about this)!

Any support you can offer for our charity lottery campaign would certainly give a much-needed boost to our funds. And here’s the big plus, if you sign up to play in support of us, you also stand the chance of winning that £25,000 weekly prize! 

We realise that not everyone wants to participate in lotteries and of course we totally respect that. However, if you can’t participate yourself but would like to help us out that would be amazing. Sharing this blog post and our social media updates or passing on a few leaflets to friends who might like to join in would all be appreciated by us.

Looking forward to sharing more on this later but in the meantime, a big thank you from all of us at Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat.