Volunteer plea from New Quay RNLI (From Tivyside Advertiser)

Volunteer plea from New Quay RNLI

11:33am Thursday 6th October 2011 in News

The volunteer crew at New Quay RNLI are calling on local people to help them out as they launch a new project.

The station has been allocated a helmet camera to capture dramatic lifesaving rescues on film, in a bid to increase public support.

Now the crews are keen to find more people to keep the station afloat, including a media volunteer to help bring the camera project to life.

Daytime cover at the station is currently a problem, with many of the volunteer crew working outside the area between the hours of nine and five.

They are also keen to strengthen the management of the overall RNLI group in New Quay and the team of volunteer fundraisers who help raise essential funds to enable the crew to save lives.

Lifeboat operations manager Roger Couch said: “With a greater variety of water based activities and better equipment, people are visiting the seaside throughout the year and there is an increased demand on the RNLI’s services. Many of our existing crew are employed outside the area, so we are appealing to anyone with an interest in joining to get in touch. The RNLI provides the very best training and equipment to ensure its volunteers can do their job in the safest possible way.”

He added that the charity relies heavily on the work of its fundraising volunteers.

“At New Quay we are very keen to recruit people who have experience of working in senior management and more fundraising volunteers to raise these funds,” he said.

The station is also keen to recruit a volunteer with an interest in media to assist the current press officer in editing and delivering camera footage to the media. Training is delivered to crew members and editing software is installed on station PCs.

Glyn Griffiths, lifeboat press officer at New Quay said: “As a charity, the RNLI relies on public awareness and support to continue operating. The RNLI has experienced some great exposure as a direct result of rescue footage being readily available to download online. The footage has been regularly used on national and regional news programmes and incorporated into major television series such as the new ITV series Mayday! Mayday!”

Anyone interested in volunteering with the RNLI at New Quay should contact Roger Couch on 01545 560311, or mobile 07768 663 666.