Parents and staff from Cranleigh Preparatory School sailed in to action to raise funds for the RNLI on Saturday. Led by Headmaster Michael Wilson, the group of 48 abseilers raised almost £20,000 to help fund new lifeboat equipment. Event organiser and current parent, Penny Tawse, said: “It was brilliant to see such a great turnout of family, friends, and members of the public to cheer us on and help us raise funds for the amazing lifesaving work of the RNLI’s volunteers.
“Lots of the volunteers were terrified at the prospect but everyone enjoyed it and we raised so much which is fabulous for such a good cause. It was pretty nerve wracking leaning out over the edge but nothing compared to some of the things that these lifeboat volunteers go out to. It’s much scarier to think about responding to the pager and launching in the dark, not quite knowing what to expect or what lies ahead. They really deserve our support.”
Each year group at the School chooses a different charity to support for the academic year, generating funds with a mixture of activities, from cake sales and film nights to sponsored runs, Easter egg tombolas and many other ideas. The pupils enjoy learning about different charities and helping to support them but this time the safety issues around a 400-foot abseil meant they had to rope their parents and teachers in to help instead.
Donations are still coming in and the school hopes that when it comes to fundraising, the sky’s the limit. Penny added: ‘“Everyone knows that the RNLI relies entirely on donations and saves lives every year, so it was a little easier than I’d hoped to persuade people to throw themselves off a building!’ Anyone wanting to help support the work of the RNLI can donate to the Form 5 JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/cranabseilrnli
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For more information on the RNLI visit: http://www.rnli.org
