Stilgoeing strong On 5 March Riegate and Redhill branch and guild held an Anniversary Dinner at Reigate Manor Hotel.

Nearly 120 people attended the event and guest of honour was entertainer and High Sheriff of Surrey, Richard Stilgoe, who cut the cake and amused the audience with his poem The Reigate and Redhill lifeboat'.

During the evening there was a Silent Auction, for four sessions on a flight simulator and a flying lesson, which raised £1,500 - taking the evening's grand total to £2,700.

Gala event Blackpool, St Annes and Fleetwood guilds organised a Gala Evening in the Paradise room at Blackpool pleasure beach in April to celebrate the 175th anniversary.

The event was a great success, with over £1,600 being raised and Pleasure Beach Manging Director, Geoffrey Thompson, swelling the coffers by donating a further £1,000.

The picture shows Geoffrey presenting the cheque to guild representatives.

Anniversary on air Mike Soars of Brierly Hill and Kingswinford branch set up a special amateur radio station for the RNLI's anniversary to help spread the word.

During the day contact was made with hundreds of radio stations around the world and Coxswains, crews and branch VIPs from all over UK and Ireland chatted over the airwaves.

Donations from radio amateurs have been flooding in ever since! Karting coincidence Fundraisers from opposite sides of the UK had the same idea for raising cash over the birthday weekend - in the form of sponsored go-karting! Six teams of Scottish drivers took part in North Kessock branch's Go-karting Endurance Race on 6 March which raised over £2,500. A day later Cornish lifeboat crews competed against each other at a similar event in Newquay raising almost £3,000.

Apparently there were many skids and bumps at both events but thankfully no injuries! The picture shows members of the local lifeboat crew who took part at North Kessock.

Bangor's supermodel auction In April over 170 guests ate, drank and danced the night away at a 175 Dinner Dance organised by Bangor branch.

The evening was sponsored by local companies and funds were raised from the sale of tickets and by an auction of select items, including a year's marina berth and a model Ferrari signed by Eddy Irvine.

Assisting proceedings was supermodel Claudia Schiffer, (well actually a life-size cutout of her supplied by Bangor's local Citreon dealers) who was herself eventually knocked down at £65. We have it on good authority that Claudia's new owner shows her off by standing her in his bedroom window with the curtains slightly parted! Bangor lifeboat crew were also presented with engraved tankards on behalf of the branch to mark the RNLI's 175th anniversary.

Alderney's 65 promises The ladies of Alderney lifeboat guild marked the RNLI's anniversary with a sellout Birthday Bash Dinner and Auction of Promises which raised some £5,000.

Bidding was fast and furious for 65 unusual promises which ranged from a champagne picnic on the nearby deserted island of Burhou and a dental scale and polish, to helicopter trips for four to Jersey and Guernsey and an 'arresting' morning spent with the local constabulary.

The picture shows Alderney Coxswain, Steve Shaw and branch VIPs hosting the proceedings.

Along with lifeboat stations and their crews, the RNLI'sbest friends are its branches and guilds.

Throughout the course of this century they have worked tirelessly to raise the funds needed to run the lifeboat service.

Although branches are always keen to increase their membership they sometimes find it difficult.

People seem less willing to join a branch (especially on the committee!) and this is a trend which all organisations with an active membership are tending to experience.

Understandably, it is sometimes easier to see the problem than come up with a solution but a number of branches are realising that they can gain lots of fundraisng support from within their community by asking individuals and groups to do a fundraising activity or event for their branch without necessarily joining. A good example of this at the moment is where branches are placing the 175th anniversary badges in locations throughout their towns and villages.

There are lots of examples like this where branches are winning 'fundraisng friends' by simply asking people they know to fundraise for them. Lots of people enjoy fundraising especially if they are asked to do something they enjoy.

On this page are some examples of groups and individuals doing just that.

New York runners Gilly Sapseid and Jenny Bell of the Selsey Runners entered the New York Marathon in November last year to raise money for Selsey lifeboat. Gilly and Jenny both successfully completed the race and have so far raised over £2,500 in sponsorship.

The Selsey Runners, who have a good friendship with Selsey lifeboat crew, organised a 5km race in conjunction with Selsey's 1998 Lifeboat week, raising £300, and it is hoped to make this an annual event.

Photo: © Essex County r Clubbing together Weymouth Working Mens Club have been raising cash for Weymouth lifeboat station branch for the past three years. Last year the club raised over £4,700 from many events including a 12 mile sponsored walk, a golf match, cribbage and pool competitions, the RNLI lottery bonus ball and various raffles held throughout the year.

Weymouth Station Honorary Secretary, Coxswain and crew were recently invited to a cabaret night at the club where they presented the club's fundraising organiser with a framed picture as a token of thanks.

Pub partners In March Caterbury and District branch decided to collect in all the pubs in their area. What they hadn't realised was that there were 110 pubs in their patch so they enlisted local supporters to help.

Collections averaged £10 per box but as a spin-off many pubs organised their own events including, a boot fair, darts matches, an auction (which included the barmaid and dinner as one lot!), and a ceilidh.

In total over £3,300 was raised. The branch were delighted with the support but wouldn't tell us how much was drank in the process! Yellow brick rowed Maldon Little Ship Club held their annual sponsored row on New Years Day which raised £9,000 for Maldon and District branch.

Forty-two boats entered the race and rowers - many of who were in fancy dress - included a lady with two artificial hips, a man with an artificial knee and a lifeboat crew. There were ladies in lilac leotards, Christmas fairies and Vikings, but the fancy dress prize went to Dorothy, Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow collectively known as 'Over the rainbow'.

Over the past five years the event has raised £37,000 for the lifeboats.

Get the beers in! The Celebration Ale is brewed especially for supporters to celebrate the RNLI's 175th anniversary. Brewed by the small Suffolk brewery Tolly Cobbold, the beer has a full rounded flavour and is ideal for any occasion.

For every bottle sold, the brewery will donate 8.5p to the RNLI and some retailers such as Sainsburys are also promising an extra donation - so it's the perfect fundraiser.

The beer is available in many major supermarkets including Tesco and Sainsburys. However, it is not available everywhere so if you have trouble tracking it down, call Diane Leach at Tolly Cobbold on (01473) 231723 who will help you find your nearest supplier.

Tesco's Summer promotion - buy three and get one free! In July, Tesco are running a great promotion offering RNLI supporters and Tesco customers great value. Simply buy three bottles of the ale and they will throw in the fourth absolutely free. The promotion won't last forever, so make sure you stock up whilst the promotion lasts.

Win a case of Celebration Ale We are looking for the best description of our Celebration Ale to use in publicity material and would welcome your suggestions.

In no more than 15 words describe what you enjoy about the beer in your own words. Send your entry on a postcard to Joy Hillier by 31 July at the following address: RNLI, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH151 HZ.

The winner will be judged by RNLI managers and the brewery and will be notified by post within three weeks of the closing date.

No purchase necessary, entrants must be 18 or over and be prepared to release their names for publicity purposes. Promoter: Tolly Cobbold Brewery Ltd, Cliff Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IPS OAZ.

...In Brief...

Since ils launch on 4 March. BBC' RacfioCleveland's Lifeboat 2000 Appeal is w e l l on target, with ihe current total standing at over £13.00(1. Various events arc planned to take place throughout llic vear to reach the target of £7.5.000 before the millennium.

Radio Cleveland is also appearing at various regional events o er the summer months, including the Hanlepool Lifeboat Harbour Festival on 24 and 25 July.

Floating keynngx have been specially commissioned for the appeal and are available at a cost ot £1.30 by post lo:- Lifeboat 200(1. BBC Radio ( lev eland. PO Box 95 FM, Middlesbrough.

TS1 5DG.

Mi'mtxMsot S inchesterand District branch celebrated the RNLI's birthday bv throwing a •party' in the centre of Winchester and making a big birthday cake - pieces of which were giv en to members of the public in return for a donation.

Members and supporters of Tavistock and District branch used their annual skittle-* cv ening to throw a 175 parly - raising £400. It was by no means the biggest anniversary party but at 1,426ft above sea level, probably the highest! In April, seven branches in and around Plymouth combined to organise a Choral Concert at the Plymouth Guildhall which railed £1,400.

In March residents of the Si Clements Heights were presented w ith a certificate of thanks hv London Area Organiser. Rebecca Connor, in recognition of their many yeats supporting Ihe Lewisham branch in souvenir sales and collection boxes.

Members of Hitehin and District branch report that during the last financial year they have raised almost £13,000 - bringing the total raised since their formation in 1"S2 to £122.357! During November Theatre 2000 produced a play entitled "The Northern Trawl' with all proceeds going to Kastbourne branch. The show ran lor six evenmgx to u packed audience whilst the branch sold souvenirs and the Sea Cadets sold programmes.

Two local artists also donated pictures which were sold during the week and in total the event raised £2.om.

Notice to contributors: We arc alw av s pleased lo receiv e any material intended for publication.

However, due to space restrictions and the hugequaimiv of submissions received, it is impossible lo publish every article received.

In order to keep administration costsdown. contributions will not usually he acknowledged.

I e r v contribution is considered and we do try to be as fair as possible. So keep those articles coming in - yours could be featured next time.

Virgo cuts the ribbon Snooker celebrity John Virgo took time out of his busy schedule in April to support the RNLI in Plymouth.

John paid a visit to the RNLI shop on the Barbican and, with his customary style and flourish, cut the ribbon opening the shop for its summer trading season.

A good crowd turned up to be first to buy some of the new 175 Anniversary lines on display. The shop sells only new goods and is very important to the local branch and station - taking over £21,000 last year.

Albert's skydive Last August a dream came true for disabled pensioner Albert Moss when he parachuted from 13,000ft above the Yorkshire coast - boosting lifeboat coffers by £700 in the process.

Albert, 85, lost both his legs through an illness but had always wanted to sky dive so friends helped arrange a jump with the British Sky Sports Parachute Centre near Bridlington. After safely landing Albert said, 'It was brilliant, I was not worried at all. Now I want to have a go a Bungy Jumping!' A night at the opera...

Harrogate ladies lifeboat guild organised an evening entitled 'a Patchwork of Song', celebrating the RNLI's 175th and Opera North's 21st birthdays.

Four members of the Opera North's chorus and their accompaniment entertained a very appreciative audience to a wonderful concert with along with canapes and wine which were served in the interval.

The event proved to be a great success, raising £1,900 for the lifeboats.

A 'day' at the races...

Garford branch held a Race Night on 20 March which also included supper, dancing and a raffle.

A celebration cake, made by Chairman Christine Pitchfork and iced by the Treasurer's daughter, was cut up and distributed to the assembled guests. A fun packed and enjoyable evening was had by all and a total of over £560 was raised for lifeboat funds.

The picture shows branch members together with Area Organiser Julie Mounty who attended the evening's entertainment.

Cash cycle Last May Ella Brett from North Yorkshire undertook a sponsored cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats. With no accommodation arranged, Ella pitched her tent each evening and after 21 gruelling days, often in bad weather, she finally reached her destination.

Ella's efforts to raise funds for the RNLI, Imperial Cancer Research and Parkinson's Disease, resulted in sponsorship of £4,356 being raised, with over £1,400 going to the RNLI.

Having a ball Following almost a year of planning the Aughton branch raised over £12,500 from their Anniversary Ball in March.

The event was a complete sellout with 260 guests attending and the accompanying souvenir booklet was a great success attracting much advertising and support.

The branch committee, pictured right, were delighted with the result and hope to make the ball an annual event.

Physical peak A team from Bristol University Officers Training Corps completed the Three Peaks Challenge last June raising over £300 for lifeboat coffers.

The challenge involves climbing the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours! Appealing branch In April Broadstairs branch and shoreline club launched their part of the national pin badge appeal at Morelli's coffee lounge in Broadstairs.

The cafe also held an Easter Egg raffle for the branch which raised over £200 from the draw on Easter Monday The badge appeal is being run throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland and is raising money towards a new Severn class lifeboat..