Is raising money for charity by jumping out of a plane impressive or crazy?
A little of both if you ask Accountant Vala G., Accounting Supervisor Barrie K. and Intern Gwenan P. from Enterprise Southwest England, who all went skydiving to raise funds for the U.K. Pituitary Foundation.
Vala learned about the opportunity when staff from the Pituitary Foundation visited their office.
“I like trying new things and thought skydiving would be fun. I did have some doubts when I was hanging out of the plane, but by then it was too late,” says Vala who convinced Gwenan and Barrie to jump with her.
“The worst part is the unknown,” says Barrie. “We jumped in tandem with an instructor, and once we were in the air, it was an exhilarating experience. All the fear went away as we put our trust in the instructor and the equipment.”
Gwenan agrees, “My initial fears disappeared once we jumped. It was great to share that energy and experience together, and we all want to do it again. When we got to the ground, we couldn’t stop smiling.”
Through the generosity of friends, family and coworkers, the team raised more than 1,000 pounds ($1,500) for the Pituitary Foundation. “Our Group feels like a family, and this event brought everyone together, cementing that feeling even more,” says Vala. “As part of our fundraising efforts we had a cake sale, dress-down day and a raffle. It was very nice for everyone here to chip in and support us, even though some people thought we were crazy.”
The trio would like to thank the Pituitary Foundation for the opportunity as well as their Enterprise team and everyone who sponsored them. They would also like to thank everyone who came to the airfield to show their support the day they made the jump. “We couldn’t have done it without them,” says Vala.