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Three local charities are set to benefit by £30,000 from Le Mont Saint Garage’s celebration of its 30th year of doing business in Guernsey. The garage has donated a brand new Fiat 500, which is being raffled to raise funds for Channel Islands Air Search (CIAS), St John Ambulance and the St Peter Port Lifeboat.
Managing Director of Le Mont Saint Garage, Dave Beausire, explained why he chose to organise the raffle to celebrate the milestone anniversary, “During our three decades in business we’ve become part of the community so we wanted to do something special to mark our 30th anniversary. The three charities that are benefiting from the raffle are all lifesavers for islanders and we wanted to show our support of them.”
It’s an initiative which has been warmly welcomed by the charities involved, who all stand to benefit by £10,000 each this year thanks to the raffle. Jim Le Pelley, Chairman of the Guernsey Lifeboat Management Group, said, “Fundraising is never easy, although people in Guernsey are so generous. As in the UK, the lifeboat in Guernsey depends entirely on voluntary contributions and we need to raise funds to cover the cost of the lifeboat and its equipment, maintenance and fuel. Alongside that, we need to ensure that our crew is kept trained and up to date with the latest technology, which alone costs around £20,000 per year. This initiative is very welcome; both for the help it will give to our fundraising efforts, but also for the boost to morale it will give our crew and supporters.”
David Hugo, President of Guernsey Friends of Airsearch, agreed that the fundraising will be a real boost to their charity. He said, “We’re very grateful to Dave Beausire and Le Mont Saint Garage for donating the car and choosing us as one of the beneficiaries. We provide an important service but running an aircraft, even with a volunteer crew, is expensive; we need to raise around £140,000 per year so this £10,000 will make a real difference. We particularly appreciate the fact that all the proceeds of the draw will go directly to the charities and we’re delighted to be involved.”
Alex Jenner, Fundraising Officer at St John Guernsey, emphasised how important donations like this are for them, “Apart from the States of Guernsey grant for the road ambulance, St John has to raise the funds to cover the costs of all its services. Our marine ambulance, the Flying Christine III, is manned completely by volunteers, including the paramedics, but it still costs £140,000 a year to run it. This year she also needs a refurbishment so we’re going to be busy fundraising for that. Le Mont Saint Garage’s support is going to make a big difference and we thank them wholeheartedly for it.”
A maximum of 1,200 tickets will be issued and more than half have already been sold, so islanders are being encouraged to not leave it too late to buy one. If all tickets are purchased, each charity will receive £10,000 as the car has been donated by Le Mont Saint so all proceeds go directly to local good causes.
Tickets for the raffle cost £25 each, with the draw for the car taking place at 9pm on Saturday 31 July 2017, during a party to celebrate Le Mont Saint Garage’s anniversary.
Tickets can be purchased from Le Mont Saint Garage, the St John Healthcare shop, the Harbour Office, Fitzgeralds Photographics and both Fletcher Sports outlets. In addition, they will be available at various events throughout the island during the summer where the charities are represented, or can be bought by contacting the charities directly.
