Brentford FC are pleased to announce that the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) is one of the preferred charities this season. The RNLI is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. To raise awareness, a group from Chiswick RNLI, the nearest Lifeboat station to Griffin Park and our new stadium, attended our Christmas with the Bees event. They will also be on site on Saturday, 7 March, when we face Sheffield Wednesday, collecting for Chiswick RNLI.

Founded in 1824, the RNLI is entirely funded by legacies and donations with most of the members of its lifeboat crews unpaid volunteers. There are 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and RNLI Lifeguards operate on more than 200 beaches. The Lifeboat station on the Thames in Chiswick had 235 callouts in 2019 and rescued 75 people plus a number of animals.

Considerable effort is put into crew training as well as education for young people; more than 6,000 children a year are spoken to by Chiswick RNLI education volunteers. Chiswick RNLI crews have attended more than 3,750 incidents and rescued over 1,750 people since the station was opened in 2002. The Institution as a whole has saved some 140,000 lives since its foundation, at a cost of more than 600 lives lost in service.

David Clarke, from the RNLI, said: “Chiswick RNLI is delighted to be a charity partner with such an important presence in the local community as Brentford Football Club, especially as the new stadium will be even closer to our patch on the Thames. We welcome this opportunity to raise awareness of the RNLI and spread information about water safety to a large group of people.”