A Port Talbot resident who hadn’t won a competition since 1961 was amazed when she recently received a letter informing that she had won the top prize of the Autumn RNLI Lifeboat Lottery.
Ms Joyce Pollard-Ovens visited her local lifeboat station yesterday (Wednesday 20th) as part of her prize to learn more about the charity that saves life at sea.
Ms Joyce Pollard-Ovens from Port Talbot visited her local station and was welcomed and congratulated by some of the volunteer lifeboat crew. Ms Pollard-Ovens admitted that this was the first time that she had tried the RNLI Lottery. She had bought two sets of tickets, one from the local RNLI and the other from another charity, and thought nothing more of the competition.
Ms Pollard-Ovens said:
‘I couldn’t decide from which charity to buy the tickets, so I halved the money and just thought of it as a donation, I never thought that I might end up winning!’
Ms Pollard-Ovens and her sister had a chance to visit their local lifeboat station as part of her prize. Even though they had attended various RNLI fundraising events over the years, they had never been inside the station before. Members of the volunteer lifeboat crew and station committee gave the ladies a guided tour of the inshore lifeboat and of the station, and they were amazed by the sense of community within the boathouse.
Ms Pollard-Ovens commented:
‘I’ve never been inside the station before. I always though that it might be more like an office, I never imagined that it would be so homely but also informative – I think it’s absolutely wonderful!’
The RNLI is a charity that relies on public donations to run its lifesaving service. For more information on fundraising events, Lifeboat Lottery or how to support the volunteer lifeboat crew, please contact your local station.
