Northumberland RNLI Volunteer Recognised as a Hidden Hero
Local Seahouses RNLI Volunteer, David Fordy has been recognised as a Hidden Hero thanks to his 27 years of commitment to the local lifesaving lifeboat station.
David was awarded the accolade of Hidden Hero by hotel industry charity Room to Reward and will now receive a complimentary short break in a participating hotel in recognition of his dedication and often heroic efforts in the water. This reward follows on from David’s recent nomination as ‘Volunteer of the Year’ in the Towergate Care Awards 2017. Winners of each category will be revealed at the Dorchester Hotel on March 23rd, in a ceremony hosted by Denise Van Outen.
A spokesperson from Seahouses RNLI explained why David is so exceptional: “David has been instrumental in training new crew, attending training courses and exercises himself and responding emergency call outs in all weathers 24/7. One such emergency call was last summer. David responded to the pager as usual but on arrival at the boathouse he found both boats were fully crewed. Following a discussion with the duty coxswain, David offered to launch his own boat to assist in the search. After 2 hours of searching David and his son Kieran located the casualty. He had been in the water for over 4 hours and was barely conscious. Thanks to David's dedication to saving lives at sea, his local area knowledge and expertise on the sea and our unique local tidal currents have saved countless lives including this casualty.”
The RNLI has saved some 140,000 lives since its foundation in 1824, at a cost of more than 600 lives lost in service.
Room to Reward’s Charity Director Adam Terpening commented: “David’s nomination was hugely compelling. RNLI volunteers put their lives at risk to keep us all safe in our waters. David makes an outstanding community contribution and as such to be able to acknowledge this with a short respite break has been an honour.”
‘Room to Reward’ work with many registered charities, including ‘Mencap’, ‘Macmillan Caring’, ‘Autistica’, ‘Maggie’s Cancer Centres’, ‘Hearing Dogs for the Deaf’ and ‘Wales Air Ambulance’, the programme is supporting charities to give something back to key individuals, who make such a difference to the lives of others.
If you would like to find out more about the ‘Room to Reward’ scheme you can visit www.roomtoreward.org or email Adam Terpening, Charity Director, at [email protected]
Notes for Editors
RNLI are separate from the Coastguard, independent of the Government and rely on volunteers and supporters to run their lifesaving service. It cost around £460,000 a day in 2015 to run the RNLI, all of which was generously donated by the public.
Registered Charity: 209603
‘Room to Reward’ is an exciting new registered charity that was launched in July 2015. Since its launch, over 70 hotels are now supporting the scheme. Over 50 hidden heroes have been nominated from various charities. ‘Room to Reward’ is the first of its kind in the hospitality industry. Hotel partners donate their anticipated unsold rooms to reward deserving charity workers with complimentary hotel breaks. across the UK.
http://www.roomtoreward.org/
Registered Charity 1160675
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PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Seahouses RNLI Volunteer David Fordy
Room to Reward Logo
Seahouses Lifeboat During Recent Rescue
For further information, contact [email protected]