The Mayor of Douglas Sara Hackman has launched her mayoral charity appeal.

The three charities chosen are Junior Achievement Isle of Man, Manx Breast Care Unit Appeal and the RNLI. ‘All three are very important to me,’ she said and issued a call to action for local businesses to pledge their support in whatever way they could.

The occasion also provided an opportunity for each of the charities to outline their work.

Junior Achievement chief executive Sue Cook said that with the help of its volunteers, who now number in the region of 400, the charity’s goal was to develop young people’s skills for the workplace, financial literacy and entrepreneurship through programmes the volunteers delivered in schools. In closing she said: ‘We don’t save lives, but we have the power to change lives.’

Manx Breast Care Unit Appeal’s president David Gawne said the patient was ‘at the forefront’ of the charity which aims to raise more than ?1.6m to equip the unit at Noble’s Hospital, which would widen the range of treatment options and allow cancer sufferers to be treated ‘with dignity and sensitivity.’

RNLI coxswain mechanic Tony Radcliffe said the charity relied almost exclusively on donations and legacies and depended on volunteers and supporters in order for crews to continue their lifesaving work.

Photo - The Mayoress and Mayor of Douglas, Carol Malarkey and Sara Hackman with representatives of the three charities that will benefit from the 2015-2016 mayoral charity appeal. Picture Andrew Barton.