West Australians have dug deep to support Surf Life Saving, with the annual SLSWA Street Appeal raising $70,000 for WA clubs.

The annual Street Appeal was held on Friday December 2 and saw the Perth CBD, the greater metropolitan areas and parts of regional WA a sea of red and yellow as over 1,000 volunteer surf lifesavers shook collection tins.

“It is great to see that the Street Appeal was once again well supported by the public and with all money raised going directly back to the clubs the funds can be allocated to priority areas of need,” said Surf Life Saving WA Fundraising Coordinator.

“Recent survey results show that only 41 per cent of Australians realise that Surf Life Saving is a cause that needs public support and the annual Street Appeal has always been a chance to ask the public for help and show that SLS is a cause.

“There is a perception out there that Surf Life Saving is fully funded by the government or doesn’t need community support because it is a volunteer run organisation, but the fact is we rely heavily on the support of West Australians to survive,” said Bruce.

Last summer alone, surf lifesavers volunteered for over 93,000 hours along the WA coastline and performed 673 rescues, treated 5,060 people with First Aid and prevented 5,801 incidents occurring in the first place via preventative actions.