Burnham-on-Sea RNLI fund-raiser’s sponsored parachute jump
Courageous RNLI volunteer fundraiser Sarah Hand undertook a sponsored par-achute jump to raise much needed funds for her local lifeboat station at Burnham-on-Sea.
She started volunteering at the Burnham-on-Sea RNLI shop in 2019 after being recommended by friend Tina (Who is a member of the Burnham-on-Sea shore crew), and being bored after having to give up work due to MS.
Sarah said before the event; ‘I thoroughly enjoy my time working in the shop and love all the people I work with. I have always wanted to do a parachute jump and was given the OK by my doctors (so I'm doing it before they change their minds!)’.
Sarah completed her jump on 4th October, accompanied by husband Wayne. At a recent crew training evening, she met with operational volunteers to present the completed amount raised, of one thousand, two hundred and sixty five pounds, which greatly exceeded the original target of three hundred pounds.
Sarah said after the presentation; ‘ I really enjoyed the experience, and if the opportunity presents itself, would love to do it again.’
Burnham Lifeboat Operations Manager Matt Davies replies; ‘That is an amazing amount raised for our lifeboat station. We are indebted to Sarah for her support.
ENDS
Notes for editors
Images with short release
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Burnham Lifeboat Operations Manager Matt Davies receives the donation from Sarah and Wayne
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The cheque presentation with fundraisers, crewmembers, Sarah and husband Wayne
The Back story:
In 2006, Sarah was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, this immediately limited her functions and has been steadily declining over the last 17 years. Despite daily tasks being a struggle, she never let her disability consume her and worked in schools over the years until 2019 when she sadly had to make the difficult decision to give up work as she no longer had the mobility to fulfil her job at the standards she held herself to.
It was at this point that she insisted that she was not completely useless and therefore could volunteer somewhere. The RNLI has always been a charity that her family have all felt strongly about and anyone local to Burnham-On-Sea must agree that the work they do is vital.
She began volunteering in the RNLI shop in 2019 and has since become very passionate about doing everything she can to raise money. This now includes a
parachute jump from 16,000 feet. Sarah has always aspired to do a jump and has fought for years to get the go ahead from her doctors and had, this year, finally been given the green light.
Her family says; Of course, she decided that it should not just be for fun but is a fantastic opportunity to raise some money for our brilliant team at the RNLI.
We understand that money is tight for everyone at the moment and we really appreciate any and all donations. These people are life savers and do so completely
voluntarily - they deserve far more than we could ever give them but we’d love to give them a helping hand.
Thank you for reading
The Hand Family
RNLI Lifeboats at Burnham-on-SeaA 8.5m Atlantic 85 named Doris Day and Brian plus a smaller 4.95m D class IB1 inflatable named Burnham Reach The station was opened officially on 15th May 2004, but has been operational since December 2003
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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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