[ARRL-OK] SOS radio Week

[ClayMayrose at aol.com]

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a very special  
organisation.

Volunteer RNLI crew members receive no wages – yet they  have to be 
prepared to be regularly called away from their families, beds  and 
work. They make themselves available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year  
to save lives, braving high winds and heavy seas, up to 50 miles from  
the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The crews rescue on  average 22 people a day, yet fewer than 10 per 
cent of new crew members come  from a professional maritime 
background. For this reason, the RNLI  established the 'Train One, 
Save Many' campaign to help ensure that these  crew members are given 
the highest standards of training as well as the  knowledge, the 
dedication and the team spirit all needed to be part of a  lifesaving 
crew.

For the last two years, the RNLI have organised SOS  Day, when 
everyone is invited to wear their trainers, casual clothing or  fancy 
dress for the day wherever they are (be it at work, school, at home,  
or even out shopping) and make a £1 donation to the RNLI's training  
fund. Next year's SOS Day will take place on the 26th January, 2007.  

Two Radio Amateurs from the Southport & District Amateur Radio Club,  
Derek (G7LFC) and David (M3LFC) Hughes, thought they could mobilise 
the  Amateur Radio community into fund raising mode by asking them to 
do what  they do best - communicating. They are inviting all Radio 
Amateurs in the  United Kingdom and Ireland to take part in SOS Radio 
Week.

SOS Radio  Week will start at 00:00 UTC on Saturday 20th January, 
2007, and conclude at  23:59 UTC on the evening of SOS Day itself, the 
26th January. During that  time, Amateur Radio operators will be 
challenged to make as many unique  contacts as they can. Sponsorship 
forms are available now on the SOS Radio  Week web-site, as are 
special log sheets and a leafet that can be printed  out and given to 
those who sponsor you.

Certificates will be  available for all operators who take part in 
return for a £1 contribution to  the costs of printing and postage - 
any surplus will be added to the amount  raised by those taking part 
and presented to the RNLI at an Amateur Radio  rally later in the 
year. Certificates can be endorsed for single bands and  modes and QSL 
cards need not be submitted to confirm the  contacts.

Special certificates will be presented in the following  classes:

Most money raised by a minor (under 16) 

Most contacts  made by a minor (under 16) 

Most money raised by an adult (16+)  

Most contacts made by an adult (16+) 

£10 purchases a training  video, £272 provides a crew member with 
first aid, radio, radar, or  seamanship training, whilst £1,372 will 
enable an inshore lifeboat crew  member to train for a week at the 
RNLI's state-of-the-RNLI's state-of-the-<WBR>art college in  Poo
Amateur Radio community raises helps to train  one more crew member.

Further details of the event can be found on the  SOS Radio Week web-
site at www.sadarc.org.site at www.sadarc.org.<WBR>uk/rnlisos. Details 
be found at  www.rnlisos.be foun