2016 has been a busy year already in fundraising terms, with lots of activity planned or already having taken place.

Chris Makowski kicked off his year with his ‘Banuary’ fundraising efforts. Chris gave up alcohol for the month of January, raising £466 for RLSS UK.

Rebecca Ewers and members of the Warwick University Lifesaving Club took part in a 24-hour CPR Marathon, raising more than £680 whilst raising awareness in their community too.

Super adventurous Nils Johnson completed his Ice Mile Swim challenge on 27 February in just over 35 minutes. Nils underwent acclimatisation training in order to be able to complete his swim, which took place in water of just 4 degrees Celcius. He has raised more than £1,000 so far.

The Dover Divas, a team of six past and present Presidents from Kent Branch, began fundraising towards their Cross-Channel Challenge due to take place in July.

Community Drowning Prevention Co-ordinator Helen Bowker has organised an RLSS UK Skydiving Day to mark the Society’s 125^th Anniversary, inviting representatives from each of the Southern Branches to take part. Gabbi Simmonds, Hannah Steer & Helen herself have so far signed up, pledging to raise at least £400 each.

To mark her 16^th birthday, Danielle Wells will also be completing a skydiving challenge on 9^th April. Danielle has set herself an ambitious target of raising £1,250 to support RLSS UK.

Michael Hobbs will be looking to gain Elite status from his run at the Brighton Marathon this year. An exceptional long-distance runner, Michael is a member of the Crawley Lifesaving Club, and will be attempting to cross the line in under 2 hours and 45 minutes!

Having made fantastic progress with his training, our London Marathon runner, Adrian Mills is looking forward to his big day, with a curry evening and a band night planned in order to boost his fundraising.

Jemma Reid has pledged to complete the 5K Colour Obstacle Rush in memory of her friend Michael Scaife, who lost his life to drowning last year.

Michael’s father, Mark, has also pledged to support the Society in his son’s honour, by taking part in the 100K Thames Path Ultra Challenge in September.

Josh Roberts and his team from Lancaster University will be hosting a ‘Cycle Challenge’, setting up a stationary cycle and a Top Gear-style leaderboard, challenging students to see who can cycle the furthest in just one minute.

Paige Thomas and her mum have committed to swimming 30 miles in 30 days throughout April, and will be raising funds specifically in support of our Save a Baby’s Life workshops.

RLSS UK HQ Staff Members, including Stuart Haynes and Vicki Hartley-Kite have pledged to raise at least £125 each by completing an activity of their choice to mark the Society’s 125^th Anniversary. Vicki and Stuart have pledged to swim 125miles each over the course of the year.

HUGE congratulations and many thanks to all of our fundraisers, and to everyone who has supported them by making a donation. There are loads of ways that you can get involved with fundraising for RLSS UK, so please take a look at our website, or contact [email protected] for more information.