Winchelsea school joins fundraising drive to help RNLI

Pupils and staff at St Thomas’ Primary School are filling up special pots with 5p coins in aid of their local lifeboat station, Rye Harbour RNLI.

The fundraising team at the station has embraced the task of raising funds by distributing Betty’s 5p pots.

Betty Frith was the honorary secretary of the Hartford branch of the RNLI and while visiting Bexhill on holiday, staying at a guesthouse, she came up with the idea over breakfast of washing out the little pots with jam in and getting people to fill them with 5p pieces.

She had been doing this for many years when the Durham branch of the RNLI heard of the idea and ran with it.

They have so far raised £123,000, the equivalent of 2.1 million 5p coins.

Pupils and staff at St Thomas’ Primary School are having a competition to see which class can collect the most coins with their pots.

Carol Gardiner, headteacher, said: “The children are very excited about raising funds for the RNLI. We feel, as a school community, very strongly about supporting our local charities and in particular this one that encourages us to Respect the Water.”

In the fundraising drive Rye Harbour station has also received support from the Rye branch of Boots, Rastrum Wharf, the Monday Club and the village stores in Rye Harbour, and in Winchelsea from The Ship and Cats Whiskers, NISA in Camber and a large number of individuals locally.

Jamie Wickens, owner of The Ship, said: “We are always happy to raise funds for the RNLI and encourage our customers to fill as many pots as possible. This enables the lifeboat volunteers to carry on their wonderful work of saving lives at sea.”

Anyone who would like to support this venture by having a tray of pots can contact KT on 07789 818878.

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