In December the local community of Sovereign Harbour donned their boats and houses in festive lights for Sovereign Shines 2020, which raised more than £500 for the local RNLI lifeboat and Defiant Sports – a not-for-profit organisation which believes in getting and keeping people active to improve their well-being and quality of life.
Celebrating its fifth year, this year’s Sovereign Shines was a collaboration between Premier Marinas, the Sovereign Harbour Berth Holders’ Association and The Rotary Club. As well as helping raise funds for both charities the aim was to give boat owners and the local community some festive fun.
Daniel Heckford, Sovereign Harbour’s marina manager, said: “This year we wanted to channel positive energy into a good cause, and the community really embraced the challenge to make the harbour light up for Christmas. It has been incredibly hard for charities to raise funds in this Covid climate, and so we set up an online fundraising page.”
Managing director of Defiant Sports, Loretta Lock was incredibly grateful to receive the donation: “We are currently raising funds towards an interactive touch table, which is particularly useful for those with dementia or learning disabilities. The total needed is around £6,000 and with the money from Sovereign Shines we now have just under £2,000 still to find. A huge thank you from Defiant Sports for helping us support those with barriers to participation to get active.”
Mark Sawyer, full time Coxswain at Eastbourne RNLI Lifeboat Station added: “We are incredibly grateful to Premier and all involved in this event. These are difficult times for charities and every penny counts. All the money goes straight toward saving lives at sea.”
