A Rye Harbour company has come to the rescue of a local independent rescue boat charity whose fundraising for 2020 was shut down due to the pandemic.
Static Trader, a local company which prides itself on “going the extra mile”, is in the unique position of having two employees who also volunteer for Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat (PLIRB). After chatting to his colleagues, General Manager Byron Whiteside realised that the pandemic has left the charity a real problem in raising the service’s running costs of £10,000 a year. However, Byron also realised that Static Trader might be able to help.
Recognising only too well that costs are something which have a major impact on success, Byron offered a sponsorship donation, to be used for printing the charity’s promotional merchandise and informational materials, as well as general printing costs.
Byron said: “Giving my time is something I would have preferred to do, and something I’d love to do with Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat – I recognise how valuable their work is through my colleagues who volunteer there,” Byron shared. “But although I can’t give my time in the same way they do, what I can do is give a donation and a helping hand to the charity.”
This sponsorship support has come just at the right time to help the PLIRB volunteers rescue what is left of 2020’s fundraising opportunities. The gradual lifting of restrictions is slowly making it possible for PLIRB to re-start selling some of their charity greetings cards and calendars at local events.
Presentation at work
Due to work and time constraints, a formal charity cheque presentation at the Pett Level boathouse has not been possible. Instead, Byron made an online donation of £1,000 to the charity at the end of August.
This was celebrated with a quick photo at work alongside PLIRB volunteer John Crowther, who is also Static Trader’s Transport Manager, during which Byron was emphatic about his reasons for helping this particular charity.
He said: “If you are going to volunteer, and you are going to donate, why not do it for a charity that saves lives? Especially a rescue charity that isn’t government funded, but has to rely on fundraising.
“So this sponsorship idea is all about helping the rescue boat charity get its messages out there. In business, it’s important to be visible and, in the same way, printed products help the charity to be visible and raise awareness about the dangers of the coastline. It’s also a way for the charity to raise even more funds, through the products themselves.”
A donation that keeps on giving
PLIRB Treasurer, Stella Dunn, agrees that a donation which keeps on giving in this way is immensely helpful for the charity.
Stella said: “The treasurer’s role in a charity is always a fine balancing act – we need to raise funds continually and promote our services but often the cost is prohibitive. The sponsorship of our promotional fundraising goods by Static Trader is most welcome and generous, especially in this most challenging year when other avenues and opportunities have been so limited.”
In terms of the charity’s overall running costs, having merchandise printing now sponsored by Static Trader means that money raised through selling the items can go straight towards meeting all of those other running costs. In this way, Static Trader’s donation will certainly keep going the extra mile, enabling the charity to generate additional funds in the longer term too.
If you would like to know more about Static Trader, please visit statictrader.com. You can find out more about Pett level Independent Rescue Boat at https://plirb.com.
Image Credits: Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat .