Meet the Weston-super-Mare RNLI crew and Help Raise Vital Funds

RNLI volunteer lifeboat crews from Weston-super-Mare will be meeting the public this weekend.

The crews will be collecting outside Sainsburys in Worle on Saturday December 10 in order to raise money for their new lifejackets.

They will be there to talk to visitors about what they do and to show their demonstration lifeboat, which will also be present.

Lifejackets are essential for the lifeboat crews, who go out to sea in all weathers, whenever there is someone in distress.

They often have to enter the water to save someone and without the best lifejackets they could be in serious danger themselves.

The current lifejackets they wear are becoming out of date and need replacing.

A new design of lifejacket will be made available to every RNLI crew member by the end of 2012.

Providing this safety clothing is costly, but the charity believes it owes its volunteer crews the best possible equipment and lifeboats available, as they often put themselves in difficult and dangerous situations to help others - and the public and supporters expect nothing less.

Don Sutherland, chairman of the Weston Lifeboat Management Group said: "This event is in keeping with the long history of the RNLI volunteers working with the RNLI Fundraisers to raise funds to continue their work of saving lives at sea."

The new lifejackets provide increased safety for all sizes and shapes of crew member and improves their comfort leading to increased efficiency and effectiveness in lifesaving.

The cost of providing the new lifejackets just for the Weston-super-Mare station on Birnbeck Island is at least £5,000.  

The RNLI aims to recycle every part of the old lifejackets that have now come to the end of their operational life, from steel and brass components to the fabric.

This ensures the charity will generate some money to offset the cost of the new lifejackets, while the disposal is environmentally friendly.

These innovative lifejackets, incorporating the latest material technology, were designed through joint collaboration between the RNLI and the manufacturer, Crewsaver, specifically to meet the RNLI's current search and rescue operation requirements.