Christchurch Life Saving Club, whose members volunteer as lifeguards at many of Dorset’s popular beaches, has been able to purchase £1,000 worth of essential lifesaving equipment thanks to a donation from Saxon Square Shopping Centre in Christchurch.
The funding was used to purchase several items including rescue tubes, flotation devices that are used in water rescues, as well as a trailer to help them transport their life saving equipment to where it is needed most.
The equipment has already been put to good use, remaining on hand in case of emergency during the Club’s regular patrols of Friar’s Cliff Beach, and as part of training simulations adopted to teach the next generation of RNLI lifeguards.
The donation was awarded to Christchurch Lifesaving Club following their application to Saxon Square Shopping Centre’s Community Donation Campaign, which aimed to find one deserving community group or organisation to benefit from the £1,000 award.
The Centre, with support from its 28 high street and independent stores, launched the annual competition as a way of giving back to the local community that supports it. Christchurch Life Saving Club was chosen because of the hugely important role in plays in protecting people from the surrounding community.
Simon Lancaster, Treasurer of Christchurch Life Saving Club, said: “We are hugely grateful to Saxon Square Shopping Centre for helping us towards our ultimate aim as a club that enables visitors to enjoy our beaches safely by providing highly trained lifeguards to the RNLI’s local lifeguard service.
“This equipment will be invaluable in helping us carry out the vital work we undertake training lifeguards for the RNLI at Friar’s Cliff & the local beaches at Christchurch. The busy summer season sees a huge increase in tourists to the area, making lifeguard patrols more important than ever.”
Bryan Taylor, Saxon Square Shopping Centre Manager, said: “Christchurch is such a tight-knit community that we felt the need to give something back to those who support the Centre throughout the year, and most recently during our multi-million pound refurbishment.
“We are so pleased to have been able to help a group that makes such a difference in the local area. The volunteers at Christchurch Life Saving Club are really worthy recipients, and we hope that our donation can help them continue to provide this vital service to the community.”
For more information, as well as details on how to enter your group or club into next year’s Community Donation Campaign (to be launched this autumn), please visit the Saxon Square website at www.saxon-square.co.uk.
