£3,200 was raised in aid of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance by a courageous team of seven representatives of Bath based businesses who jumped from a plane in a charity sky dive.
The tandem jump from 12,000 feet on Wednesday 16th May was taken by staff members from Bath Building Society and Geometry PR, who manages the public relations of the Society, and was organised with the Silver Stars, Royal Logistics Corps Parachute Centre based at the Duke of Gloucestershire Barracks,South Cerney in Gloucestershire.
Six employees of Bath Building Society: Gill Orchard, Tracy Pemberton, Anne Hopkinson, Lynn Bartlett, Ben Hutchings and Louise England leapt at the chance of doing the jump earlier this year as part of Bath Building Society’s Charity of the Year commitment to the Wiltshire Air Ambulance. After an anxious wait and one no-go attempt due to poor weather conditions in April, the group successfully completed their jumps this week. Emma Sparks from Geometry PR joined the team.
Anne Hopkinson, Customer Service Advisor at Bath Building Society, who came up with the idea to complete the jump said, ‘It was an amazing, once in a life time opportunity and I knew many of my colleagues would complete it with me. We decided to tackle this challenge to raise money for a very worthwhile cause. The waiting was the worst part as I was one of the last to jump and I had the opportunity of hearing how everybody else had found it first. It was an experience that I shall never forget.’
Caroline Corrigan, Head of Fundraising at the Wiltshire Air Ambulance commented, ‘We are so proud of all of the jumpers. There were some very nervous faces at the start of the day and it was brilliant that they all completed their jumps and landed safely with big smiles. The Wiltshire Air Ambulance needs to raise over £700,000 a year to cover the cost of the helicopter and the support from Bath Building Society is invaluable.’
Bath Building Society will continue to raise funds for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance throughout the year. Its next fundraising event will be a 55 mile long White Horse walk taking place in July.
If you would like to donate to the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, please visit their website and follow the links: http://www.wiltshireairambulance.co.uk/