The Mayor's Charities

Mayor's Charities

Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Jennifer Gilmour, will be supporting a number of charities during her Mayoral term:

• K9 Search and Rescue is a canine search and rescue team that specialises in providing certified area search (live victim) and victim recovery canines for coastal, urban, rural and disaster response. Established in 2017 and based from Bangor, it is a completely self-funded charity that helps to find missing people in Northern Ireland and further afield.
• The Royal British Legion is a national network that supports our Armed Forces community. It provides expert advice and guidance, and can help with everything from recovery and rehabilitation through to transitioning to civilian life. The branches in Ards and North Down are at the heart of a local network that supports the Armed Forces community.
• The Royal National Lifeboat Association (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea and on inland waters. Since it was founded in 1824, RNLI volunteer lifeboat crews and seasonal lifeguards have saved over 144,000 lives, with its volunteers providing a 24-hour search and rescue service. Last year, RNLI lifeguards in County Down and along the Causeway Coast saved 13 lives, aided over 450 people and responded to over 300 incidents, while lifeboats at the RNLI’s 10 Northern Ireland stations launched 265 times and saved 17 lives. Ards and North Down has 115 miles of coastline that is served by lifeboat stations in Bangor, Donaghadee and Portaferry. In March next year, the RNLI will celebrate its milestone 200th anniversary.

Charity fundraising events will be announced over the coming months.  All funds raised during the Mayoral year will be split between the three charities. 

If you wish to make a donation to the charities, you can do this online via this link - Donate to the Mayor's Charities 

Commenting on her choices, the Mayor said:

“I am proud to be supporting these three charities. They provide so much assistance to the people of Ards and North Down as well as those further afield. I am looking forward to hosting some fundraising events that will help to raise as much money as possible and I would encourage people to support us, either by donating some much-needed funds or by hosting events.”

“Please get in touch with the Council and let us know if you have anything planned. We can help promote this for you as part of the calendar of events we are developing alongside the three charities.”

For more information about upcoming charity fundraising events and how to get involved or by contacting the Mayor’s office on 0300 013 3333 or email mayors.office@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk