‘Small’ raffle raises £17,500 for the RNLI

Bernie Le Gallais came up with the idea in November, initially intending it to be a small one for friends and family.

He decided to raise money for the lifeboat due to his long affiliation with the sea, having worked in the fishing industry since the age of 14. He is currently one of the owners of A1 Crab Supplies.

‘I approached a couple of friends and customers in the hospitality business, and we were hoping to raise maybe a few hundred pounds.

‘However, as we advertised it on our Facebook page we became inundated with messages of support and offering help,’ he said.

News of the raffle spread quickly, and Mr Le Gallais soon realised that he would need to apply for a licence to promote it

‘We were bombarded with donations from businesses and the general public. Everybody was so incredibly generous, if not with donations then offering their time or advice,’ he said.

Once his licence was granted on 16 November, Mr Le Gallais was able to start selling the 6,000 tickets, leaving him just over a month before the draw on 18 December.

The donated prizes included flights, overnight stays in hotels, and vouchers.

Thanks to Mr Le Gallais’s numerous business and customer connections, all 6,000 tickets were sold within two weeks, leading him to buy and print 3,000 more.

‘It snowballed into a much bigger draw than we anticipated very quickly,’ he said, adding that the whole experience was a steep learning curve for him.

Mr Le Gallais paid tribute to all those who had bought a ticket or helped him organise the raffle, singling out his son Axel, 8 – nicknamed Little Ted – for special praise.

‘He sold lots of tickets and was at various stalls. He also donated £24 to round the overall figure raised up to £17,500,’ he said.

Lifeboat Management Committee chairman Jim Le Pelley was delighted with Mr Le Gallais’s fundraising efforts.

‘I’m amazed. He’s done a magnificent job. This money will go a long way to helping maintain the lifeboat in Guernsey,’ he said.