On Tuesday, I was looking through the top posts on Facebook and came across a request from Wood Green Animal Shelters for volunteers to jump for charity.
Yes! I thought, I'm up for that.
Back in... well about 10 years ago... I travelled to Australia and wow that was a fun trip in which I kept challenging myself to do things. When I got to Queensland the hostel I was staying in was organising tandem skydives. I'm doing that, I thought, and signed up. But then it was cancelled because it was too windy. I signed up again for the following day. But later on, walking around town, my mind started thinking... what if it was cancelled for a reason... what if I'm not supposed to do it... what if I crash into a tree... blow out to sea... the chute doesn't open??? Yep, I cancelled it.
On Tuesday, I thought I'll give it another go. It's a good cause. It's funny how as you get older, things seem a bit scarier! Do you agree? Maybe, maybe not? Things I used to do before, now I think oh god, what if I injure this or that, or what if I look an idiot. Actually that last bit never bothered me too much. Looking an idiot seems to come naturally.
So, the upshot is that I am hoping to raise money for Wood Green Animal Shelters by chucking myself out of an aeroplane on Sunday 2 October with some poor guy who will hear my screams all the way down. I also have vertigo, but I'm thinking it's so high up that maybe it won't matter! I'll be jumping from 10,000ft, freefalling 5,000ft at 120mph and then riding the parachute down to the ground. And then probably heading for the nearest pub.
I know there's a lot of worthy charities out there, but this one does a lot of worthy work to help our furry friends. They have a website and a facebook page. Wood Green Animal Shelters is a registered charity. It takes in and rehomes around 5,500 unwanted and mistreated animals every year.
http://www.woodgreen.org.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/WoodGreenTheAnimalsCharity
Here's how you can help...
By sponsoring me at http://www.justgiving.com/vickie-johnstone/
Every penny will go directly to Wood Green Animal Shelters.
Books...
After donating, if you'd like free copies of my two books, which are about animals (mainly cats), please let me know and I'll send you a coupon as a thank you for donating. The books were written for children, but adults have enjoyed them. I am also aiming to make a special edition book to raise money for charity - at some point.
Donating through JustGiving info -
Donating is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer.
More info about Wood Green Animal Shelters...
In 1924, Miss Louisa Snow opened the first centre in a small house in Lordship Lane, North London. She was concerned at the large number of abandoned and injured animals on the streets of London following the First World War.
Stats & facts for 2010...
We cared for over 5,500 lost and unwanted animals.
- We rehomed 2507 cats and kittens and 1469 dogs and puppies.
- 53 puppies were helped by our fostering volunteers.
- We saw a 47% increase in the number of strays arriving at our centres.
- 38% of animals we rehomed were neutered by our veterinary team.
- 22,000 medical checks and over 2,000 neutering procedures were carried out.
- Over 16,000 people were reached through our 'Hands On' educational scheme.
- At any one time we can accommodate up to 950 animals across our three centres.
- We aim for an average stay for a dog of 21 days and a cat of 14 days.
- 40% of all animals we take in require veterinary care.
- 95% of animals are successfully re-homed.
- 79% of our income comes from legacies and donations.
- At 52 acres, our Cambridgeshire Centre is one of the largest rehoming centres in Europe.
Information on Skyline - the parachute company -
in case anyone fancies doing a jump for charity....
Skyline was founded 14 years ago, specialising purely in organising parachute jumps for first-time jumpers. We are now one of the largest organisers of Parachuting and Skydiving courses in the UK with over 7000 people a year making their first time jump with us. Many of these jumps are made for charity and we are delighted that Skyline jumpers have so far raised £4.5million for over 1,500 charities.
I'll keep you updated and post a photo of my scary face on landing :)
Cheers
Vickie
I'll be interested to hear from anyone who has done this.... :))
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