East of England Co-op lend their support to life savers in Felixstowe

The East of England Co-op are throwing their support behind local charity, Felixstowe Volunteer Coast Patrol Rescue Service (also known as Guardian Rescue) after they were forced to suspend their services due to a lack of funding.

As well as encouraging members and customers in Felixstowe to donate when they shop and use their services, the East of England Co-op have provided Guardian Rescue with free fuel for three months until the end of July. 

Roger Grosvenor, Joint Chief Executive at the East of England Co-op, said, “Guardian Rescue provides an invaluable service to the people of Felixstowe and visitors coming to enjoy the coast. As a community retailer, we are only too pleased to be able to offer the charity our support to continue their fantastic work.”
Last summer, Guardian Rescue, an independent charity run entirely by volunteers saved nine lives at sea.

John Cresswell, Operations Manager and 1st Coxswain, said, “We are very grateful to the East of England Co-op. They have been very helped to us over the last 22 years. The good old Co-op is what I call them. They are always very helpful to local community groups and they’ve been particularly good to us.

“The Co-ops efforts so far during 2018 have enabled the service to attend six rescues involving 24 people and one Muntjac deer.”

Members and customers can donate at East of England Co-op branches in close proximity to Guardian Rescue’s base including Felixstowe Supermarket, the food stores in Walton, King Street and Wadgate Road, the Co-ops Forecourt, and their optical and funeral branches in Felixstowe.