RNLI Cromer

Awarded a £4,000 grant in 2018, the money has gone towards funding the vital lifeguard services the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) provides at Cromer beach, Norfolk. With approximately 95% of RNLI crew serving as volunteers, funding is essential – and has gone a long way to helping the lifeguards in Cromer beach.

Lifeguard Supervisors Sam Kendrick and Ted Morgan cover 19 beaches across North Norfolk, and get training tests every 30 days. They’re also trained to first responder level, which has proven to be a lifesaver – literally:

“A few of our current and ex-colleagues have actually used their first responder training to save a life on dry land. One lifeguard resuscitated a man who had a heart attack in a pub. He performed chest compressions for 45 minutes until the paramedics arrived.”

Above all, the RNLI’s most important mission is to educate.

RNLI Fundraising Manager, Ben Black, explains:

“We have all the high-grade equipment but we don’t want to use it. We want to educate people so that they don’t need to be rescued.”

The Norfolk lifeguards also hold free sessions for schoolchildren to learn the dangers of the sea and what to do if they get in trouble.

Cromer Lifeboat Operations Manager, Richard Leeds, has been volunteering with the lifeboat association for 25 years now. Its residence is the RNLI Lester, which is used for rescues that are further afield.

He says:

“We rely a lot on public funding so, considering that a boat like this costs around £2.5 million to make, schemes such as Tesco’s Bags of Help are a brilliant help.”

To find out more about the RNLI, visit https://rnli.org/.