Car manufacturer Nissan has shown its support for Sunderland’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station.
Nissan presented the volunteer lifeboat crew based at Sunderland’s RNLI station a cheque for £1,000.
It was presented by its staff council at the Sunderland plant and received by James Jamieson, the local operations manager for Sunderland’s RNLI at the charity giving presentation.
The money will be important in supporting the continuing work the cities lifeboats continue to do.
Martin Andrew, from Fulwell, has been employed by Nissan as a Planning Engineer since 1988 and has been a volunteer with the RNLI at Sunderland for almost 20 years; acting as a crewman and Helmsman before taking on the role as a Launch Authority.
He said: “On behalf of the management and crew at Sunderland RNLI lifeboat station I would like to thank my work colleagues for deciding to continue to support the RNLI through their charity giving.
“Funding like this is essential to allow the RNLI to provide a first class joined up rescue service from the beach to the open sea.”
In recent years the local charity has received several separate donations from Nissan.
The RNLI is a charity that relies on voluntary donations and legacies from the public for its income, as they receive no government funding.
Donations like the one from Nissan are crucially important to maintain the professional lifesaving service.
During 2015 the volunteers at RNLI’s Sunderland Station were again the busiest RNLI station in the North East launching on 70 occasions, rescuing 93 people.
The RNLI station is currently looking for new volunteers for lifeboat crew, the retail shop as well as the fundraising guild. Current volunteers from the charity organisation will be present on the day to talk about what it is like to be a part of the organisation and what it involves.
Nissan and Sunderland’s RNLI lifeboat station have been contacted for comment.