Pride of Britain: Bernie Le Gallais shortlisted as 2024 Channel Islands Fundraiser of the Year

  • Bernie Le Gallais explains why he is fundraising for the RNLI

Bernie Le Gallais from Guernsey has been nominated for a Pride of Britain Regional Fundraiser of the Year Award.

The local fisherman raised £22,400 for RNLI St Peter Port with a Christmas raffle in 2023.

The year before he made £17,500, making a fundraising total of almost £40,000 for the lifesaving charity.

Bernie explains how it all started: "I put on my social media to see if anyone was interested in supporting me to do a fundraiser and everyone told me to go for it. I was getting like, after like, after like so I thought I had better go ahead with it.

"We get a lot of prizes given to us from restaurants, we had about 137 prizes last year."

Bernie's family often help him to sell raffle tickets all over the island. Credit: Bernie Le Gallais

When asked why he chooses to support the RNLI, Bernie says it is because anyone could need their help at any time.

He adds: "We all live in an island so we may need the lifeboat one day and in our industry, I've used it before.

"One day I was fishing with my father at St Martin's Point for turbot but as we got there, the boat broke down and we had no way of getting back. Luckily we called the lifeboat and they came and got us and left us in the Harbour.

More than 130 prizes were donated for the 2023 Christmas raffle. Credit: Bernie Le Gallais

Celia Allen is Chair of the Fundraising Committee for the Guernsey Lifeboat and says people like Bernie are essential.

She adds: "It's really the only way the RNLI exists as a charity, by having donations and legacies, primarily with fundraising all over.

"It's absolutely wonderful to have someone come along and offer to raise some money.

"Bernie asked if we could do a raffle for us which we thought was lovely and then it just sort of grew and grew. Now it's an enormous raffle making a huge amount of money for us and we're profoundly grateful."

The regional winner will be announced during ITV Channel's 6pm news programme on Friday 20 September 2024 following a judging process.

View the other Pride of Britain Regional Fundraiser of the Year nominees from the Channel Islands as they are announced here.

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