Northumberland Freemasons raise over £3,000 for RNLI Blyth with charity walk

Northumberland Freemasons organised the walk from North Tyneside to the RNLI’s Blyth lifeboat station as part of the Mayday Appeal fundraising campaign, after a previous visit and water safety talk.

Carl Birkenshaw from Northumberland Freemasons said: “What a pleasure it was to be part of the walk for the RNLI.

“Helping to save lives at sea is so important. It is a worthwhile organisation and raising money to help the Blyth crew was a pleasure.”

Henry Thompson, RNLI Blyth visits officer, said: “We are very grateful for the donation that the Northumberland Freemasons have made.

“We welcome their involvement in assisting to spread the word about our water safety messages following their visit to our lifeboat station.”

A total of £3,390 was raised, and the group is now planning an even bigger walk next year involving local schools and the wider community to mark 200 years of the RNLI.

Joe Mitchell, area lifesaving manager at the RNLI, said: “It is fantastic that the Northumberland Freemasons wish to assist RNLI Blyth in saving lives at sea through our volunteers at the lifeboat station.

“We will ensure that the money raised will be put to good use.”

The RNLI is a lifeboat organisation that helps save lives at sea, and is run by volunteer crews.

Other organisations can visit RNLI Blyth lifeboat station to see what the volunteer crew do and learn about water safety by emailing [email protected].