Anna MATHEWS
MOTHER & DAUGHTER THREE FALL SKYDIVE CHALLENGE
Fundraising for RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Story
MOTHER & DAUGHTER THREE FALL SKYDIVE CHALLENGE
As part of the Blumentals Murren Inferno ski group (you know who you are!) we wanted to help support Chris Copeland, Chairman of the RNLI Branch at Sherborne, get even closer to reaching his RNLI fund raising target of £100K….
I was delighted to do this skydive as part of my 60th birthday celebrations. Joined by my youngest daughter, Elodie, we committed to jumping out of a plane together at 15,000ft! It was a bonus to have Chris on board with us in the plane, to achieve his 786th solo jump!
On Thursday 18 August we jumped at the Free Fall Parachute Centre at Dunkeswell East Devon, where Chris knows the very experienced instructors. My instructor, Ryan, has done over 12,000 jumps!!
Our target is £2,000 and we will be thrilled to bits if we manage to achieve this through your generosity. We have funded the actual jump so that all donations that kind friends and family make will go to the RNLI.
OUR STORY and WHY THE RNLI? I have known Chris Copeland through skiing and taking part in the annual Inferno ski race in Murren, Switzerland. Chris is the Chairman of an RNLI Branch at Sherborne and encouraged me to volunteer to do a free fall jump with him. I was delighted that my youngest daughter Elodie came and jumped with me.
In 2021 it cost £139.2m to run this life-saving service. The RNLI relies solely on voluntary contributions for its income, receiving no UK Government funding. Your support is vital, it enables them to train and equip the lifeguards and volunteer crew. With your support an average of 23 people are rescued every day. During Covid the ability to carry out vital fundraising activities was dramatically curtailed and with more people choosing to holiday off the coast and on the beaches of the UK, rather than abroad, the need is as acute as ever.
Too many people are still drowning. More than ever we need the RNLI’s help. As a charity, the RNLI depends on our donations so it can go on saving lives and keeping us and our loved ones safe.
RNLI lifesavers are our lifeline. They’re the lifeboat crews who provide 24-hour search and rescue right around the UK and Ireland. The lifeguards keeping watch on 240 of the busiest beaches in the UK and Channel Islands. And the RNLI safety teams and educators working tirelessly to stop people getting into trouble in the first place.
THREE FALL PARACHUTE JUMP CHALLENGE. The Three Fall Challenge is the brainchild of Chris Copeland, who is not only an extremely experienced skier and sailor, but also a free fall parachutist who has completed over 785 jumps. As Chairman of Sherborne Branch, he raises money for the RNLI by persuading unsuspecting innocents such as myself to do Tandem Jumps from 15,000 feet with a highly qualified instructor. We cannot jump higher than 15,000 feet because after that we would need oxygen (15,000 feet sounds scary enough)! Chris jumped with us as we fell for 60 seconds before opening our parachutes and floating down to the grounds for 5 minutes.
DONATIONS. Any donation to our Just Giving page, no matter how small, will be very gratefully received.
To donate is a very simple matter and only takes a few minutes. And should you kindly agree to Gift Aid as well, this will add a further 25% to your donation.
If you want to try The Three Fall Challenge yourself, in aid of the RNLI, you can contact Chris by email, chriscopeland777@btinernet.com
Thank you so much for reading our page.