WIGTON veteran Mark Harding is encouraging members of the public to take the plunge and join in with a charity tandem freefall later in the year.
15 people have already signed up to the challenge, which will take place at Carl Airfield at Flookburgh on Sunday, September 18.
Sponsored by travelling company AFJ Limited, Mark is on the lookout for 15 more recruits to raise money for charities, including Calderwood House, CFM’s Cash for Kids campaign and The Soldiers’ Charity and Walking with the Wounded.
Updating the News and Star on his year so far, Mark shared: “We’ve given ourselves a massive £2.5 million fundraising target which is going to be helping these charities. We’ve set up the Project Belief Foundation to support the two army charities but also some in Cumbria as well.
“The money raised will go towards helping people like a six-year-old girl called Isabelle who has Type 4 neuroblastoma cancer and is fighting for her life. The emphasis is to achieve something people think they might not be able to do.”
Once everyone has finished with the dive, a barbecue and live music will take place to enjoy the rest of the day.
Discussing the idea behind the skydive, Mark continued: “I’ve skydived when I was in the army and have friends who are instructors and we thought that it was something we can do once or twice a year. I’d like to have people get in the same mindset as I am, we take words from doctors as gospel, but I want to show that people are capable of anything.
“I don’t want people to overthink it. We did an abseil down the Pepsi Max rollercoaster at Blackpool and one girl started to cry. When I found out that she was doing it for her brother I told her to ignore everyone else, focus on what she was doing it for and to listen to me helping her. Once you conquer the fear, you’re on such a high that you’ll feel like a better person.”
If you fancy taking part in the charity dive, the organisers request a non-refundable £50 deposit, with a minimum fundraising commitment of £400 which also includes the contribution to the fees for the jump.
Contact mhprojectbelief@gmail.com for further information.
READ MORE: Walking with the Wounded thank Mark Harding for fundraising
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel