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A team of intrepid volunteer members of the Hotel Booking Agents Association (HBAA) will be cast adrift in waters off the port of Poole on Wednesday 2 May.
The members of the HBAA are raising money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), the nominated charity of this year’s chairman, Chris Peacock.
An as yet unconfirmed crew consisting of HBAA members and industry figures will be raising funds for the life-saving maritime charity. With their mobile phones as the only contact with land, the crew will be cast adrift in an RNLI training boat at sea, as part of a rescue exercise. They will have two hours to be rescued from the boat, which will only happen when a target figure is reached in donations from their mobile phone and social media contact books of colleagues, business acquaintances, friends and family.
Founded on 4t March 1824 as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, the RNLI is a charity that saves lives at sea, the majority of whose lifeboat crew members are unpaid volunteers. It is funded by voluntary donations and legacies.
The HBAA’s chairman, Chris Peacock, said: “We are extremely excited to announce details of the ‘HBAA in a Boat’ campaign to the industry. We greatly admire the work the RNLI does around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, and our aim this year is to raise enough money to fully fund the training of two lifeboat stations for a year. None of us knows as yet who will be stranded at sea but at least we know we’ll be in safe hands!”
Last year, the HBAA raised over £26,000 for the past chair’s nominated charity, Wheelpower. The ‘HBAA in a Boat’ initiative commences the association’s 2012 philanthropic calendar of projects in aid of the RNLI. The HBAA welcomes donations on the association’s fundraising page www.virginmoneygiving.com/hbaa
To keep up to date with announcements of the crew members who will be cast out to sea on 2 May, and for regular updates on funds raised for the RNLI, follow the event’s official hashtag #HBAAinaboat
