SCOTS Co-operative Society, Scotmid has pledged to donate £21,000 to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
This donation will fund recently recruited RNLI volunteer crew members at 15 lifeboat stations across Scotland a full year of training funded by Scotmid.
Dedicated volunteers make up 95% of people in the RNLI with nine out of ten RNLI crew members having no previous maritime experience.
RNLI crew members rely on their training to be able to continue to save lives at sea and return home to their loved ones safe and sounds after every rescue.
Training hones boat handling skills, encourages teamwork and enables lifeboat crews to make the right decisions at key moments in any rescue.
Intensive initial and ongoing training takes place at our lifeboat stations throughout Scotland and is complemented by specialist courses delivered at the RNLI College in Poole, Dorset.
It costs an average £1,400 to fully train one crew member each year.
Scotmid, a co-operative society based in Edinburgh has committed to supporting local communities through this investment.
This will fund a full year of training for one volunteer crew member at each of the 15 lifeboat stations in Scotland that are within five miles of a Scotmid and/or Semichem store.
The support will ensure that volunteer crew have the best possible chance of saving everyone, every time.
Paul McKeown, Fundraising Lead for RNLI in Scotland, says: “We rely on donations to power our lifesaving work and our volunteers are the lifeblood of the RNLI.
“It’s important to make sure they are equipped with the right skills and the training so we can continue to provide the service that we have done for nearly 200 years.
“The support from Scotmid will see training happen for lifeboat crew members at 15 different lifeboat stations across Scotland. On behalf of the RNLI, I’d like to say a big thank you to all the members and customers of Scotmid for supporting the RNLI and helping us to continue to save lives at sea.”
One of Aberdeen’s youngest volunteer crew members, Arron, will benefit from Scotmid’s donation, has had his sights set on going on a shout alongside his father, after joining the crew over a year ago.
A painter and decorator by trade, the youngster grew up surrounded by the RNLI and began his crew training when he was 17 years old, knowing that he had been waiting for this opportunity since he was a child.
In a recent shout, Arron described how his training helped him to identify a red distress flare and consequently, allow the volunteer crew at Aberdeen RNLI to save two lives at sea: “We had a shout back in March to a vessel out at sea that was taking on water.
“We had been called initially to go out and escort it back to the harbour but as we were getting ready, we were told that it was sinking.
“We got out into the bay, and we were looking for flares and life rafts. We kept on going out further and I spotted a flare in the distance so I told the Coxswain, and we went over to it as quickly as we could.
“There are several different types of flares and it’s so important to be able to recognise each one, which is something that we learn through our training on site as well as at the RNLI College in Poole.
“Unfortunately, the vessel went down but we all knew and had regularly practiced how to get casualties onboard the lifeboat and ensure that everyone is safe and accounted for.”
Without continuous crew training and assessment, the RNLI lifeboat crews across the country would not be able to respond as quickly and efficiently to emergencies out at sea.
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