**After being rescheduled a few times, today (11th October) I completed my challenge, reaching 125mph, with a 60 second freefall from 15,000ft to around 7000ft before making our way back to earth. A massive thanks to everyone who had supported me so far. If you’ve been waiting to see if I’d manage it first then now is your time to hit the donate button! Thanks everyone!**

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I work for an incredible, independent charity- Age UK NSWD. I genuinely love my role because aside from the amazing work we do in the community I'm part of a great team. One that supports each other...So when our fabulous fundraising officer Holly came up with the idea of a sponsored Skydive I supported her- and I now find myself having agreed to throw myself out of a plane at 15,000 ft!!

Those of you who know me will know how passionate I am about people, that I'd never ask anyone to do something I wouldn't do myself, however, I have to confess to being terrified of heights so perhaps I'll learn to sit things out from time to time (or not!?)

If you're unsure of what we do as a charity or have a view that Age UK is nothing more than a day centre that serves roast dinners mid-week, sells bric-a-brac and only looks after the 'old' then I ask you to take a fresh look. We support everyone over the age of 55 and believe that Dorset is a great place to get older, where people feel valued and can live with dignity and choice. Where all service providers and statutory agencies are seen as helpful, supportive and caring.

We believe that growing older is something to be enjoyed, and not feared. Furthermore, and as with many charities, the COVID Pandemic hit the charity and the community it supports hard. 

When the government imposed a stay-at-home order on March 23rd they moved from a head office-based centre to working from home. Investment in training and equipment enabled all teams to begin working remotely, and from the 24th March 2020 all calls were taken remotely. 

A dedicated, 7 day a week call handling centre was introduced to support the community. At its peak, in this first lockdown, the charity was receiving nearly 400 calls a day from distressed older people. 

Between the 23rd of March 2020 and 31st, March 2021 Age UK NSWD received over 25,000 calls to its single helpline number. The Covid support team (including volunteers) has made nearly 40,000 outbound calls in the same period.

In addition to the busy phone calls, Age UK NSWD deployed 100 employees as emergency responders in the first lockdown. This team, combined with volunteers coordinated a community response to thousands of people in need with more than 9,000 individual visits being made, helping with tasks including delivery of essential shopping and prescriptions. 

Age UK North, South and West Dorset are actively working in partnership with other organisations to create a society that inspires, supports and enables older people to live the lives they want. From information and advice, to support in the home. We have a portfolio of services to help. Please visit our website, or view our current online guide for more information.

AUKD2 (fliphtml5.com)

Age UK North South and West Dorset

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