Three brave employees from Focus
Consultants are taking the plunge for charity with a tandem sky dive in aid of
a cause close to their hearts.
The parachute jump will also be part of the
celebrations to mark the 21st birthday of Focus Consultants, which
is based in Nottingham and has offices in Leicester, London, Boston and Aubourn
near Lincoln.
The team will be raising money for St
Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, which gave care and support to the wife and
family of Focus senior building surveyor Darren Booker. Elizabeth Booker was 47
when she passed away last year following her diagnosis of a rare form of Non
Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
Darren, who works in the Boston office of
Focus, will be joined by two colleagues, 16-year-old admin apprentice Victoria
Bell, who also works in the Boston office, and sustainability surveyor Gareth
Morris, who is based in Leicester. Their tandem parachute jump is scheduled to
take place at Langar Airfield near Nottingham on Sunday 13th
September.
Darren, from Bassingham, near Lincoln,
said: “This is my personal challenge in tribute to Liz, who was so very brave
in facing her illness and no matter how she felt she would always have a smile
for you.
“St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice gave us
both the support and care that was so very priceless at the most difficult of
times. They were not the only organisation to help Liz but they were there
right to the end. This challenge is what I have wanted to do for many years but
Liz would not let me for fear of something going wrong and losing me.”
Between them, the trio hope to raise more
than £1,200. Focus Consultants, which offers a range of services, including funding and economic
development, regeneration expertise, energy consultancy and chartered surveying
services, is donating £300 to the cause as part
of the firm’s 21st birthday celebrations. The company has also
chosen St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice as its charity
for 2015/2016 and earlier this year it handed over £230 after staging its
annual golf day.
It will be the first experience of its kind
for all three volunteers when they take the plunge next month.
Victoria, a former pupil of Haven
High Academy in Boston, said: “I wanted to do the challenge for the experience.
It is for a great charity so I thought there's no better time to do it as I'll
be able to raise money to help at the same time.”
Meanwhile, Gareth said: “I am doing the
jump because I feel passionate about the charity in question and have always
wanted to do a skydive. This is an opportunity to do something from my bucket
list but also help the less fortunate at the same time.”
Housing group Longhurst has also donated
£100 to the challenge. Liz Booker had worked at the group for 23 years and was business
development co-ordinator there before she passed away.
Trevor Newton, Focus partner based at the
Boston office, said: “We are full of admiration for Darren, Victoria and
Gareth, who have stepped forward for this challenge and are raising money for
such a deserving charity. Everyone at Focus Consultants wishes them all the
best.”
The intrepid trio will take part in a 10,000
feet freefall parachute jump, reaching speeds of more than 120mph as they dive
through the air. They will freefall (without the parachute deployed) for
several thousand feet, harnessed to a professional parachute instructor at all
times throughout the descent, with the instructor in control of the landing.
St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice has been
providing specialist palliative and end-of-life care for more than 30 years
across Lincolnshire. In the last 12 months St Barnabas has cared for and
supported 1,215 people within the Boston area through their day therapy, hospice
at home, out-patient and in-patient services. The charity has to raise more
than £4 million this year to be able to provide these services to its patients
and their families.
Each of the three volunteers has their own
fundraising page and would welcome any donations:
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