Upwell lad Johnathon takes turn on Tesco till for Hunstanton RNLI
A young RNLI supporter from Upwell took a turn on a supermarket till to raise funds for the charity that saves lives at sea.
Johnathon Jarvis served shoppers at Tesco in Hunstanton on Saturday as volunteers from the nearby lifeboat station joined him in collecting tins.
He told customers about the work of the RNLI as he scanned their shopping.
“It’s been going great,” said Johnathon, who is aged just eight. “I’m really enjoying it and we’re raising money for the RNLI.”
Julie Bushby, who is the community champion at the store chain’s Wisbech branch, set up the day for Johnathon, complete with a Tesco outfit like those worn by check-out staff.
“We’ve been working together for about a year now, and he’s just amazing,” she said.
Johnathon has previously raised funds at the Wisbech store, where he also proved to be a hit with shoppers.
“Two ladies came over one day, and he was explaining all about what he was raising money for, what the RNLI do, and they just started crying,” said Julie.
“They said they’d lost their faith in the younger generation ages ago, and he’d just given it all back to them. It had me in tears, too.”
As well as a fundraising stall run by the lifeboat station, Johnathon’s parents, Lee and Kayleigh, also ran a tombola.
The day looks set to have raised more than £800, while one RNLI volunteer went home happy after winning a colouring book in the raffle.
Johnathon, Lee and Kayleigh are now limbering up for their next fundraiser - a four-day sponsored walk from Happisburgh lifeboat station, some 50 or so miles along the Norfolk coast from Hunstanton.
The family are setting off on Thursday, visiting lifeboat stations along the way, before ending up at Hunstanton RNLI on Sunday.
A slightly shorter walk they did from their home to Hunstanton last summer raised more than £3,000, while this year’s trek has already attracted more than £1,200 in donations via Johnathon’s GoFundMe page.
Johnathon, who started raising money for the RNLI when he was six, hopes to join the Hunstanton crew when he turns 18.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts.
The RNLI operates over 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and, in a normal year, more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands.
The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service.
Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.
