The teams at Portrush RNLI were delighted to hear that one of their fundraisers, John Martin, has been chosen as one of the 490 Platinum Champions due to his outstanding commitment to volunteering.
The Platinum Champion Awards were launched by the Royal Voluntary Service, of whom The Duchess of Cornwall is the president, to celebrate extraordinary volunteers Individuals and organisations were asked to nominated people who go the extra mile and deserved to be recognised in Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee year.
John was nominated by Nuala Muldoon, RNLI community manager for Northern Ireland.
John had been a frequent visitor to Portrush on the North Coast on holiday for many years, and when he moved to the area 10 years ago, he called into the lifeboat station to see if he could contribute in any way, which is where his fundraising story began.
Since then, John has been an integral part of the Portrush RNLI fundraising team, even going so far to having his head shaved in public to raise funds.
At that stage and during the early days of the pandemic, John was chair of the fundraising team, and in April 2022 he took over as the lifeboat shop manager, bringing energy and innovation to the outlet.
During the first months of COVID-19, the public could not come into the shop so John and his team took the shop outside the lifeboat station with a gazebo — operating in all weathers.
The ‘Pop-Up Shop’ became a fixture in the town as well as a real focal point for people walking to and from the harbour. As well as raising much-needed funds for the station, the gazebo also helped raised awareness of the RNLI.
Beni McAllister, Portrush’s lifeboat operations manager said: “The team at Portrush RNLI are delighted that John has been recognised in this way. He has been a real powerhouse in terms of keeping the shop going during the pandemic and exploring other ways of raising funds for the station during a very difficult time.
“We look forward to presenting him with his badge and certificate at a ceremony at the station.”
