Four work colleagues from a consultancy firm in Lincolnshire have raised over £1,500 for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women, by skydiving from 14,000 feet.
Olivia Sharpe, 22, and her three colleagues from EW Solutions, completed tandem skydives on 15 August at Langar Airfield in Nottinghamshire and have raised £1,545.
Olivia says:
“We decided to support Blind Veterans UK as we are a small company; half of our staff are veterans so supporting veterans is important to us. On Armed Forces Day in June we held a bake sale for the charity and have now followed it up with this challenge.
“This was my first skydive and I was lucky to be able to complete it with my colleague Jim who is a qualified instructor. I think overall this helped to ease my nerves and made me feel more comfortable.
“Jim took the full lead when it came to manoeuvring to the door of the plane. The only time the nerves kicked in was while hanging out the door of the plane with the pressure of the wind hitting my face. The first five seconds of the freefall were probably the scariest part as I felt quite disorientated but after that it felt amazing.”
Olivia explains what it means to her personally to have raised money for Blind Veterans UK:
“I’ve enjoyed raising money for the charity and learning all about what they do and how they help blind veterans. I have family and friends who’ve lost their sight and I know how hard it has been for them to carry on with their day-to-day activities and therefore, having a charity supporting veterans going through this is so important for their mental and physical wellbeing.
“I feel so proud and amazed to have been part of this group who’ve raised this money and I’m honoured to have so many fantastic family and friends who have donated to support me and to support the charity.”
EW Solutions have already raised £1,545 for Blind Veterans UK. If you would like to support them to raise even more, please visit their Just Giving page: justgiving.com/page/ewscharityskydive
Fundraising with colleagues is a fantastic team building experience. If you are inspired by Olivia and her colleagues and would like to take on a challenge for Blind Veterans UK, visit the charity’s website: blindveterans.org.uk/fundraise
Blind Veterans UK supports thousands of blind veterans across the country, but knows there are many thousands more who still need its support to rebuild their lives after sight loss.
If you, or someone you know, served in the Armed Forces, including National Service, and are now struggling with sight loss, then please get in touch. Call 0800 389 7979 or visit blindveterans.org.uk/gethelp
