Total raised at our SOS Events 2012

We'd like to say a really big thank you to all the people who donated money, had their car washed or came along to the 'Soup & Sweet' event over the weekend.

The collection in the Co-op supermarket raised £132

Soup & Sweet raised £368

and the car wash raised a record breaking £970!

Making a grand total of £1470.

All the money that we raised this year will be going to the RNLI's Lifejacket appeal, there's still time to make a donation online if you weren't able to attend one of the events. Thanks to all the volunteers that gave their time and energy it was a great effort.

SOS events - 28 Jan

We'll be holding two events on Sat 28 Jan.

Soap our Saloons - A charity car wash at Jewson's Yard, High Street, Swanage. 09:30 - 16:00

Soup & Sweet - The Roman Catholic Hall, Rempstone Road, Swanage. 12:00 - 14:00. Tickets £5, available from Corben & Son Estate Agents, Station Road Swanage, for more information contact Ann Tiller on 01929 427947

All of the money raised by our SOS Day events this year will go to our Lifejacket Appeal. If you're not able to attend one of the events perhaps you'd consider making a donation online using this JustGiving link.

Gold badge for Lifeboat Operations Manager

In the first week of January the RNLI announced the names of the awardees that will be honoured at the annual presentation of awards later this year. Swanage volunteer, Captain Neil Hardy, has been recognised for his service to the Institution and is to be awarded the RNLI Gold Badge.

The RNLI Gold Badge is awarded to volunteers to acknowledge significant contribution to the Institution. Neil is the Lifeboat Operations Manager, responsible for the overall running of the station, a role he began in 1989. He comes from a family of RNLI volunteers with his uncle being a former Swanage Lifeboat Coxswain for many years.

Neil began his maritime career in 1967 at Nautical College and it was a natural progression for him to get involved with the workings of his local lifeboat station in later years. He was approached by a former Chairman of the Swanage Lifeboat branch to ask if he would consider getting involved to help re-kindle the level of interest at the station. This was a challenge that Neil took on and has held for over 23 years.

Despite having been involved with the RNLI for many years Neil was surprised to receive this special award saying, “I have enjoyed being a part of the Swanage RNLI, using my past experiences to assist this wonderful group of volunteers. There are very few organisations today that rely on the generosity of the public and dedicated volunteers, as opposed to government funding, to provide such a comprehensive service. This makes what the RNLI achieves truly remarkable and something I am proud to be associated with”.
Neil will be attending the RNLI National awards at the Barbican in London to receive this honour on 17 May 2012. He will be joined by an array of volunteers from around the Country include some volunteer crew and lifeguards who will receive coveted gallantry awards from the Institution for their acts of bravery helping to save the lives of those in trouble on the sea.

'appy new year

Happy New Year to all our supporters, followers and volunteers.

To make it easier for those of you with smart phones to keep up to date with what's going on here in Swanage we've created an app for those of you with Android phones. Sadly the cost of getting the app on to iTunes is too high for us but we've created a special iPhone friendly webpage instead, it looks just like the app.

Android users need to search the market for 'Swanage Lifeboat' and install the app from there.

iPhone users can simply visit - www.swanagelifeboat.org.uk/iphone

Here's a preview of the home screen.

Let us know what you think!