Lough Neagh Rescue Sixmilewater was delighted to welcome Antrim’s Mayor Paul Michael to Junction One International Outlet Shopping Centre to inspect the Lifeboat Gary Breen and to present crewmembers with certificates from the Equalities Commission for recent training received. Junction One have named Lough Neagh Rescue as their Charity of the Month for September 2011. To date this has raised just over £3900 through donations and raffle tickets for Lough Neagh Rescue. This is a major boost for Lough Neagh Rescue Sixmilewater volunteers who have since September 2009 have been working in conjunction with the existing members of Lough Neagh Rescue to fundraise and to train crewmembers for a Lifeboat Station on the banks of Antrim’s Sixmilewater. The Mayor will be making the draw for the Lough Neagh Rescue raffle early in October. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the customers of Junction One International Outlet Shopping Centre and the staff on site who have been very helpful and supportive during our visit to Junction One. The expectation for September fundraising at Junction One is now around £5000 which is simply amazing
The station at Antrim will not only offer immediate assistance to incidents in Antrim Bay , but also will have a Resilience Unit to cover Swift Water Rescue and flood response, with crewmembers trained to Swiftwater Rescue Technician level. Support from the local community has been tremendous, with £15,000 in cash donations given freely by people from every walk of life. Local politicians have shown massive support and been on hand ready to offer help or advice when needed. Antrim Borough Council has offered to provide £12,000 towards annual running costs for the new Station. The Enkalon Foundation has also been generous towards our efforts. The Council have also identified land for the new Station at the Lough Shore Park. Planning for this is now at an advanced stage. The MOD have also added their support in that they have kindly gifted 2 Portacabins’, to help us quickly establish a presence in the Borough.
The list of supporters for this project grows day by day, it is humbling to those of us intent on seeing a Lifeboat Station in Antrim, that the generosity of Council, Public, MOD, PSNI, and even our Euro MP’s never seems to wain.
