DWP is the biggest supporter of theLife Boat Fund, which was set up by civil servants 150 years ago to raise moneyto pay for a new lifeboat for the RNLI.

To mark the 150th year of the CS charity, DWP's Permanent Secretary has challenged colleagues up and down the country to raise £150, either on their own or as a team, to contribute towards the purchase of a brand new Shannon-class lifeboat.

Finance Group loves a challenge, so is taking part! Please HELP!

Individuals and teams in DWP have started to embrace this challenge, which runs until December 2016, for exampleSurrey cluster have so far worked together to raise a mammoth £1k through various fundraising events. There are a couple of teams in FG that have volunteered to help raise funds by baking cakes, holding quizzes, but much more help is need - especially outside of the London hub - please get involved and spread the word.

Finance Group has circa 3900 staff,and the majority of colleagues I have met are a generous, fun, driven and a competitive bunch of people. I have every faith that FG will easily achieve the required amount if we pull together. If you'd like to help FG achieve,hopefully beyond, it's £150 goal by baking cakes, climbing walls, sing ingsongs ...........anything and everything you can think of will help.

Please let me know know what you planto do/have done and where you are based - especially if using this page to donate the funds you have raised. It may inspire others in other locations to follow suit!

RNLI may not be a charity close to your heart, but you could use this opportunity to do something collectively - and it really is great way to network amongst colleagues you may not ordinarily get to speak to on a daily basis.

Thanks for taking the timeto visit and read this page.