Telling our colleagues: why the lifeboats?

At this year's Civil Service Live, instead of having a static stand and hoping delegates would pop by, Sir Peter (the charity's Chair) suggested we take The Lifeboat Fund out to them.

The aim was to twofold:

• to raise the profile of The Lifeboat Fund among a ‘captive’ audience of civil servants and
• to fill our collection buckets with their 50p coins, £1 coins, £5 notes, £50 notes....

Three intrepid volunteers – Diane Wailes from HMRC, Rebecca Noyce from the Department for Education and me – leapt to the challenge.

Kitted out in Lifeboat T-shirts and bright yellow RNLI jackets and rattling our collection buckets, we roamed between the exhibition stands, among the coffee points and outside the seminar rooms, to accost (in a nice way) as many delegates as possible.

It was clear lots of our colleagues support the RNLI but we handed out leaflets explaining how The Lifeboat Fund (their own charity) supports the RNLI, plus lapel stickers – which went down very well.

Jude, a fantastic crew member from the Tower Lifeboat Station, who had brought his kit to wear and show, attended for several hours in the morning to support the promotion. A man in a bright uniform always attracts a crowd!

All in all, we raised £90.25 and, most importantly, learnt lots to help us develop the idea to make an even Bigger Splash at future events.

It’s an easy, fun way to support The Lifeboat Fund.

Whay not take the plunge and join us next year?

For more information, contact Angela Saunders (or on 0131 244 8488).

Nicola Baker
Ministry of Justice and Lifeboat Fund Trustee

Photo shows Diane Wailes and Nicola Baker at CS Live 2012