RNLI sees record fundraising year after rightwing attacks on Channel rescues

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Online donations have increased by more than 50%

After more than a year of targeting from the right of the political spectrum, the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) have now recorded their highest ever donations tally in their near-200-year history. As reported by The Guardian, the institution, founded all the way back in 1824, is well on course to break its highest ever fundraising records, with an uptake of 50% more donations this year compared to 2020. https://twitter.com/RNLI/status/1476935530533298182?s=20

The RNLI’s fundraising director, Jayne George, said that while stunts from protestors - like blocking lifeboats from leaving storage - hoped to derail the group's work and garner support for those opposed to their efforts, it seems to have had the opposite effect.

This comes a month after the group staunchly declared they would continue to carry out their Channel rescues despite political opposition, especially following vociferous campaigns from the likes of Britain First and Nigel Farage.

George stated: “We’ve had a better response to almost everything that we’ve done in 2021. At the end of the year, we’re going to have more members, we’re going to have more cash donors and more people who give to us via direct debit”.

Moreover, she went on to state that the charity’s database of supporters has also grown by a significant amount, with the organisation now in regular contact with more than 300,000 people.

Furthermore, the UK Court of Appeals recently ruled that asylum seekers did not break any laws by crossing the channel, with three men being cleared of their charges and the precedent now set for many more. If you want to help the RNLI and their hugely important work, you can donate here. Once again, for those at the back: People, not migrants.