Kyle Anderson

What inspired you to volunteer? Stranraer is a small seaside town. I have been brought up here all my life. I decided to give something back to the community and to the lifeboat whom I had helped fundraise for, for some years prior to joining as crew.

What are the benefits to you and your community of volunteering? We are the charity that saves lives at sea, we provide a 24/7, 365 days a year rescue service, ready to help those who require help at sea or around the coast, whether they are swimming, fishing, boating, kayaking, working. Many dangers await those at sea, so by being on call we are always ready to help those in need.

What do you gain from it? A great sense of pride. There is no better feeling than returning from a call out after rescuing someone or saving a life, who without our help may not be here today. But also, a sense of family. We get called out in the worst of weather conditions to some dangerous call outs, sometimes putting ourselves at risk and the bond that we all get as a team is like a second family. At the end of it all there is no better felling that being part of an organisation that helps people, but also develops me as a person, mentally, physically but also provides me with life skills and new skills along the way that I can use throughout my life.

Why should other students try it too? Everyone should do a little bit more volunteering, the rewards from volunteering are worth a lot more throughout life than a pay-check. The skills, life lessons, bonds of friendship and things you learn about yourself and others gives you a different look on life.

What impact has Covid-19 had on your role as a volunteer? COVID-19 has had a huge impact on our services, we are so used to training regularly as a crew to be ready for all possible call outs. But covid-19 has stopped us training as regularly. but yet we are still providing a 24/7 365 day a year rescue service, we are still being called out we have a bit more PPE to wear and we are limited to how many crew can be involved in a rescue but the main thing is that around the UK and Ireland we are still able to provide a full service and carry out rescues.