Generous members of a Co-op in Cumbria have given up their dividend points and have so far raised more than £2,000 to help a lifesaving service.
The generous members of Egremont Co-op have given up their dividend points (loyalty points collected after purchases) and to date donated over £2,000 to help fund the volunteers at St Bees RNLI.
This will help the charity in their aim to reduce preventable loss of lives at sea.
On Tuesday, two representatives of Egremont Co-op Donna Quayle and Chris Bowes came along to the lifeboat station in St Bees to present a cheque for £2,065.01.
This total will hopefully rise throughout the year as the members of the Co-op continue to donate a percentage of their dividend to St Bees RNLI.
Like many charities, the RNLI have found it very difficult fundraising in the last twelve months as many of the regular fundraising activities have had to be placed on hold due to the pandemic.
The Co-op has found a great way to raise money in a COVID-19 safe environment. Co-op members just need to click on https://membership.coop.co.uk/donate, choose how much they want to donate and select a good cause.
The RNLI volunteers at St Bees rely on their training, kit, rescue equipment, lifeboat and launching tractor to save lives at sea. Donations like this received from generous members of the public helps support our crews with this.
Donna Quayle from Egremont Co-op said: “Living so close to the sea many of us regularly visit the local beaches with our friends and family, so it’s reassuring to know that St Bees RNLI are ready 24/7 to come to our rescue if we are unfortunate enough to get into difficulty.”
Dick Beddows St Bees RNLI operation manager said: “What a fantastic amount of money raised, a huge thank you to everyone involved.”