Despite Jersey Lifeboats not even being registered as a charity yet, the joint chairman of the committee behind the group has said dozens of Islanders have signed a ‘pledge form’ promising to give cash once charitable status has been achieved.
Paul Battrick, joint chairman of the Jersey Independent Voluntary Lifeboat Service Committee, said: ‘The pledge form has been going down very well. There are hundreds of thousands of pounds on there from 40 or 45 people.
‘We have a couple in the pipeline that could push it over the half-a-million-pound mark.’
The committee, which was established after a fallout out between the RNLI and the volunteers in St Helier led to the temporary closure of the St Helier station, estimate it could cost at least 2 million euros (£1.8 million) to buy two new boats for the station. Further cash would be needed for equipment and training.
At a meeting in the Town Hall more than a fortnight ago, the committee said it hoped to set up a charity and charter an inshore lifeboat from France within a month. Mr Battrick said they were still aiming for that target.
‘We are over the moon with the support we have received,’ said Mr Battrick. About 7,000 Islanders have signed a petition calling for the States to back the independent crew, and Jersey Lifeboats have about 3,000 followers on Facebook.
‘The whole community support we are getting is just amazing. I thought the movement against the new hospital support was a lot of people but this is something else,’ he added.
‘The charity is being set up as we speak and we have various sub-committees set up. We have a PR team, which is leading on all the media, and we are about to appoint a professional media company to work with us.
‘We have an amazing fundraising team which is made up of former members of the Women’s Guild who have left the RNLI and some other new people.
‘We have a finance and legal team and a treasurer on-board – Ian Jones. We also have an operational team which is looking at new boats – both temporary and permanent – and equipment.’
Meanwhile, a recruitment drive to to get the RNLI St Helier Lifeboat Station fully operational by the spring has led to more than 80 responses.
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