Lifesavers at RNli in bid to stay afloat
Charity makes desperate help plea
Desperate pleas for kind hearted volunteers have been issued as a life- saving charity branch struggles to keep afloat.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution ( RNLI) Ayr branch urgently need fundraisers as committee members fear they could be on the brink of closure.
The branch, which has been around for over 40 years, relies on donations collected by those willing to stand at supermarkets and stores in their free time.
But with numbers dwindling and a shrinking committee, the team are issuing a volunteer call- out appeal.
Committee member and Secretary Robin White, 72, said the branch are now in a “dire situation”.
The dad- of- two said: “Ayr branch is in a sticky wicket.
“We just can’t get volunteers and we are struggling.
“We now are in a dire situation.
“Not helped by the fact that Ayr doesn’t have a lifeboat.
The former seafarer and Stena Line Ferry Master has noticed the decline and is desperately urging others to get involved to help keep the charity saving lives at sea.
Robin said: “Over the last five years it’s been going down.
“I’ve been doing the rostering for collections and it’s more and more difficult.
“People have been saying ‘ we can’t stand for two hours’ and ‘ sorry take me off your list’.
“Money doesn’t grow on treesvolunteers don’t come out of thin air.
The team are appealing for a younger generation to pitch in to save the Ayr branch for generations to come.
But Robin recognises that doesn’t come without its problems.
He said: “My daughter who is in her forties is the age group we’d like to get.
“But you’re married, you’ve got kids, the supermarket shopping, the washing to do and a Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm job.
“The younger people are not able to or don’t have the time nowadays that they did in days gone by.
“I was a crew member in Port Patrick for the whole of the ‘ 80s.
“Life in the village revolved around the lifeboat - and if you didn’t get involved, you stuck out like a sore thumb.
“I came to Ayr in 1990 and was roped into the RNLI Ayr branch.
“We had 30 odd volunteers in those days.
“The bulk of those were collectors.
“Gradually over the years, committees changed and for the last four or five years- there’s been five of us in the committee. “But two are moving away.
“I was a seafarer for my career so it’s very important.
“Having been involved with it for 40 years and been a crew member, a chairman and a secretary- it’s part of my life.
“I’ve got sea in my blood.
“And if it has to close then I’m afraid that’s life but I don’t want it to close. “It could be you one day.”
• Anyone looking to get involved in volunteering or becoming a committee member, contact Robin on 01292 440064.
The younger people are not able to or don’t have the time