Workmates take the plunge to raise £4k for NSPCC

A team of thrill-seeking colleagues have taken to the skies to raise £4,000 for the NSPCC.

John Mills, Paul Bliss, Zoe Rush and Jordan Hoy, who all work for housing association L&Q, took workplace bonding to the next level as they jumped out of a plane together for charity.

The team all work at the Arbour, which is located within the award-winning Beaulieu development in Chelmsford.

Senior Site Manager John, 60, said:

“It was the thrill of a lifetime, unbelievable. It was a cloudy day so you couldn’t see the ground which made it a lot easier. I watched the video from my GoPro afterwards and counted 23 seconds of falling through the cloud. There was a lot of bravado in the plane beforehand from Paul but it was all good. We had a beer afterwards and everyone was so thrilled about what we’d just done, and looking forward to telling people about it.

“I really wanted to get involved because the NSPCC is such a good cause. L&Q matched all the money we raised, and if a company are prepared to do that then people should be eager to jump out of a plane!”

Site Manager Paul, 31, said:

“It was great for team bonding – you see a different side to people. I signed up because it was on my bucket list. I’ve done bungee jumps before but never a skydive. I was nervous on the way up, and it was daunting seeing people falling out of the plane. John went before me and he was there one second and then gone and that was a bit surreal, but I’d do it again for sure."

The Beaulieu development will deliver 255 Shared Ownership Homes to this expanding community in Chelmsford once complete.

The team fundraised over £2,000 for their jumps at Sibson Airfield in Peterborough, which was match-funded by L&Q. A total of £15,000 has been raised for the NSPCC by L&Q employees doing skydives so far.

Zoe Rush, 29, a Design and Technical Co-ordinator added:

“I’ve done a skydive before, but it was much better doing it in a team to raise money together for such a valuable charity. It was fun getting to see if people got scared or excited and getting to know each other better outside of work.”

Matt Corbett, Head of the L&Q Foundation, said:

“Jumping out of a plane is not an easy thing to commit to, and we are all so proud of our colleagues across the organisation who have helped raised £15,000 for the NSPCC.”