Burnham RNLI Home Page > Burnham RNLI News Archive

January 28, 2005
RNLI lottery winner picks up prize at Burnham-On-Sea RNLI station

An RNLI supporter from Wellington in Somerset has won first prize in the charity's winter Lifeboat Lottery draw and picked up her prize at Burnham-On-Sea RNLI station.

Mrs Maggie Simons can now look forward to a 12 day St Petersburg and Baltic Capitals cruise for two onboard the MV Van Gogh.

Mrs Simons received her prize during a VIP tour of Burnham-on-Sea lifeboat station on Thursday 27 January 2005 when she also met some of the RNLI's volunteer crew members and took a ride down to the lifeboat launching area on the station's new soft-track launching vehicle.

Mrs Simons says she couldn't believe her luck: 'I regularly enter the RNLI lottery but I never look to see what the prize is, so when I received a call confirming I'd won a cruise I thought it might be a joke. I sometimes win WI raffles, but this cruise is the grandest prize yet. I have enjoyed holidays in Cornwall for many years and have seen lifeboats and their volunteer crews going out to sea to save lives. Watching a lifeboat launch for an emergency is quite an experience and as a result I've been a regular RNLI supporter.'

The winter RNLI lottery, which was supported by Travelscope, proved popular with supporters of the RNLI who purchased tickets and made donations worth more than £546,000 - money that will go directly to saving lives at sea. The total income from the RNLI lottery in 2004 was more than £1.6 million.

The RNLI's Fundraising and Communications Director, David Brann, says: "The Lifeboat Lottery is a great source of funds. It's raised millions of pounds since it was launched in 1977 and this enables us to provide our volunteer lifeboat crews with the best possible boats, equipment and training."

He added: "The RNLI relies on donations to raise the £110 million we need each year and so supporters like Mrs Simons are invaluable. I send her my congratulations on her win, and thank her for her continued support of the RNLI."

The RNLI Lottery currently contributes more than £1.6 million a year to the RNLI. The RNLI's annual running costs are around £110M - approximately £300,000 per day - and, as a registered charity, the organisation continues to rely on voluntary contributions and legacies for income.

Back to the Burnham-On-Sea RNLI Home Page