Brentford fans give £2,000 for Chiswick RNLI in match day collection

RNLI volunteers with their collection buckets at Brentford’s Gtech stadium

Continuing the tradition of Brentford fans making regular donations to RNLI at home games

The local RNLI crew raised nearly £2,000 at Brentford FC’s home game against Brighton on Saturday 21 February. In the two hours before kick-off Chiswick RNLI crew and fundraisers received £1,946 in buckets and on card readers.

“Just over half of the proceeds was in cash, showing that cash is not yet dead”, said Chiswick Lifeboat Press Officer David Clarke.

Brentford Football Club has invited volunteers from the Chiswick RNLI station to come and make collections at the ground on match days going back to when the Bees were at their old stadium, Griffin Park.

Now established in the Premier League, Brentford’s shiny new community stadium is within hailing distance of the river. Many fans congregate before the match at nearby riverside pubs, where Chiswick lifeboat crew regularly exercise.

“The club generously gave pitch-side tickets to the collectors who enjoyed a thrilling match against Brighton”, said David.

Lifeboat volunteers with Bees mascots sporting matching yellow

Chiswick RNLI station manager, Andy Mayo added:

“All the collectors had a great time; we exchanged lots of cheerful banter with the fans. We enjoyed being right next to the action on the pitch during the match along with 17,000 fans”.

The RNLI is leaving Chiswick this summer, moving to a new purpose-built base at Battersea. Chiswick RNLI lifeboat station is the second busiest in the UK and Ireland, the busiest being the one at Tower Bridge. Run by volunteers, the Lifeboat Institution provides a 24-hour search and rescue service, operating 238 lifeboat stations around the coast of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches.

Since the RNLI search and rescue service on the Thames started in 2002, Chiswick Lifeboat has attended over 4,900 incidents and rescued over 2,500 people.

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The RNLI is entirely funded by public donations.

Chiswick Lifeboat Station website

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