A charity saving the lives of those who get into difficulty at sea will be helped to continue its vital work with the support of an East Midlands rail maintenance firm.
MTMS has pledged its support to the Freshwater Independent Lifeboat, which is based on the Isle of Wight, to help it continue its vital work for the next three years.
The organisation’s operations include helping vessels in trouble in the waters around the Isle of Wight, recovering people from cliffs and searching for people or animals in distress.
It is based 180 miles away from MTMS’s headquarters in Moira, Leicestershire, which at first glance makes it an unlikely good cause for the firm to support.
However, the decision was made by Malcolm Prentice, the company’s group chairman of MTMS, who splits his time between living in South Derbyshire and the Isle of Wight and wanted to make a difference for the community at his island home.
He said: “The Freshwater Independent Lifeboat does such vital work which has saved countless lives. It does not get any government support so community and business donations are needed to keep it going.
“The Isle of Wight is a special place to me, somewhere where I have made many happy memories. It is an honour for us at MTMS to be able to help such an important and worthwhile cause over the next three years.
“Smaller charities desperately need our support to keep doing what they are doing and we must help them where we can.”
The Freshwater Independent Lifeboat was founded in 1972 in the village of Freshwater, on the Isle of Wight. Its volunteers are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and they cover an area of up to 30 miles offshore from Hurst Point near Lymington on the mainland to St Catherine’s Point, the island’s most southerly point.
Rod Adams, Freshwater Independent Lifeboat’s principal fundraiser, said: “This is such an important sponsorship for us, and the first time a major company from the mainland has stepped in to help us maintain our operation on a regular basis.
“Knowing that the amazing sum of £3,000 will be available every year for three years provides a real boost to our planning. Everyone helps charities in some way but often small independent units such as ourselves miss out on regular support as we do not have the massive nationwide media power that large charities can avail themselves of.
“The help from Malcolm and MTMS will hopefully spur other companies to step in and help the smaller charities, not necessarily on their doorstep.
“I would also like to mention the amazing support from Malcolm’s wife Cherril who has provided a huge number of copies of her two children’s books to sell next year in our lifeboat shop.
“Thank you again Malcolm, Cherril and all at MTMS. We look forward to your support in the coming years.”
The Freshwater Independent Lifeboat is not part of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) so gets no funding from the organisation or the Government. It depends entirely on funds from the local community through donations, business sponsorship and community grants.
