CharitiesNews

Care Staff Take On Charity Skydive To Raise Money For The Alzheimer’s Society

A team of 3 brave carers from a domiciliary agency in Godalming took to the skies this weekend in a bid to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society.

As care workers they usually have their feet firmly on the ground, but on Saturday 5th September, CHD Care at Home carers Emma Leahy (39), Emma Packer (27) and Emily Reynolds (23) travelled to Hinton Airfield where they took on a new challenge – diving 10,000 feet from a plane, and raising over £1,500 for the Alzheimer’s Society in the process!

The team, who provide support to individuals and their families living with Alzheimer’s and dementia on a daily basis, were inspired to take part to raise awareness of the conditions and the effects that they have on the lives of individuals and their families. Furthermore, they wanted a special way to show recognition for those with Alzheimer’s and dementia who will have struggled with self-isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.

Discussing their reasons for taking on this challenge, Emma Packer said: “We support individuals in their own homes who are living with Alzheimer’s, and we’ve seen first-hand how it can change somebody and the difficulties they face on a daily basis. We never class our job as work, it’s a privilege to spend our time with our service users. We laugh with them; we cry with them.”

Emily Reynolds also had a more personal reason for taking part. She said: “The cause is so meaningful to us because we visit so many people who are living with Alzheimer’s and dementia and they all mean so much to us. They’re the reason we do this job. But I also wanted to skydive in honour of my grandad, who suffers with Alzheimer’s himself. On the days he looks at me and isn’t quite sure who I am, I know he is just holding our memories so tight he can’t let them out. I hope I’ve made him proud today.”

Speaking after the skydive, Emma Leahy added: “The skydive was an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone. I can’t wait to do it again and hope to get even more team members and my manager involved next time!”

Owned and operated by CHD Living, CHD Care at Home aims to enable service users to retain their independence and to live autonomously with the assistance of carers in daily living. They offer a range of services and support packages, all focussed on delivering dedicated, high-quality care to service users in the comfort of their own homes. They provide care to people of all ages, including individuals with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and other special needs.

Rebecca Connolly, Regional Manager for CHD Care at Home said: “We are incredibly proud of Emma, Emma and Emily for their fundraising efforts and for the bravery they’ve shown by completing this skydiving challenge. We see them go above and beyond every day in taking great care of our service users, and this just shows the level of dedication they have to improving the lives of others too. We’re honoured to have them as part of our team.”

 

Nestle