Colleagues from Churchill Retirement Living and Millstream Management Services have raised over £22,000 for local causes, including Bournemouth charity Hope for Food, by taking part in a charity tandem skydive.
31 brave team members took part in the ultimate test of nerves, and Chairman & CEO Spencer McCarthy was one of them. The daredevils jumped from 15,000 feet and were free-falling for around 60 seconds before coming safely down to earth.
Organised by the Churchill Foundation, the challenge took place at GoSkydive in Old Sarum, the specialist first-time tandem skydiving centre.
Churchill’s Chairman & CEO Spencer McCarthy led by example in completing the jump himself. Afterwards an adrenalin-filled Spencer said:
“I’ve never shirked a challenge, and I’m a strong believer in giving something back to the community, so when Churchill Colleagues suggested a charity skydive of course I jumped at the opportunity! Hope For Food is a fantastic charity that does some excellent work in the local area, and we’ve been involved with them for some time now as a key partner of the Churchill Foundation. I’m proud of all our Colleagues’ efforts to raise these vital funds to help continue to make a real difference for those less fortunate than ourselves.”
The impressive total raised will go towards a number of charities around the country, including Hope for Food which is based in Bournemouth and run entirely by volunteers, and aims to provide life’s basic essentials on a day to day basis to people in need of help.
Hope For Food’s Founder Claire Matthews also took part in the skydive and said:
“When I heard about the challenge I thought ‘Ok let's do this!’ I am scared of heights and can just about go down an escalator without panicking, but the homeless face their fears everyday sleeping on the streets and I see families struggling to feed their children day in day out. So I told myself ‘I CAN DO THIS’ – and I did! It was an amazing experience and I was proud to be part of the Churchill team.”
The Churchill Foundation is a registered charity set up to enable Churchill Retirement Living to support the many local communities where it works. Other charities to benefit from the skydive include Willen Hospice and Woking & Sam Beare Hospices.
