Skydive Success!

A huge congratulations and thank you to our skydivers Lucy, Melissa and Robin who took on a tandem skydive for Star Throwers on Saturday 29th January 2019 at Beccles Airfield. Together they have raised over £1600 to support local people affected by cancer.

Robin Rodger, Director of Aviform and employee Melissa Wilson took on the skydive in support of their colleague Wendy Greaves. A cancer diagnosis can be a worrying and stressful time for all involved and this can be made even more so if you have a career to factor in; time off work for appointments, treatment and recovery can be hard to manage. So, when we heard how a local business was supporting their employee by taking on the Star Throwers Skydive Challenge we wanted to celebrate this.  The money raised through this daring endeavour will go towards providing free information sessions and complementary therapies to cancer patients and their carers at the Star Throwers cancer support centre in Wymondham.

Macmillan estimates that more than 125,000 people of working age are diagnosed with cancer in the UK each year and the thought of returning to work can be a motivator for patients to get back to every day life.

Wendy said: “I had to take 8 months off work to recover from surgery and chemotherapy. My family, friends and work colleagues were very supportive throughout my treatment. It was the thought of going back to work that kept me going; I just wanted to be ‘normal’ again.”

Robin said:  “I have always wanted to undertake a skydive and what better way than combining it with raising money for such a deserving charity as Star Throwers, who offered so much support for my friend and work colleague Wendy during her cancer treatment”.

The full effects of receiving a cancer diagnosis, treatment, operations and side effects are not always fully felt until the ‘next steps’ of the cancer journey are taken, which can often be when returning to work. This was true of the journey Wendy found herself on and how Star Throwers was able to offer support for this next stage:

“I finally returned to work in February 2018. It was then that the enormity of what I’d been through hit me, so I turned to Star Throwers for help. I was apprehensive about going there at first but I needn’t have been, I walked into Star Throwers and was greeted with a smile and a cup of tea. Everyone there is so understanding. I had counselling, complementary therapies and attended group sessions. They really helped me and my family through my cancer journey.”

If you would like to donate to support Robin and Melissa in their skydive challenge completed in support of their friend and colleague Wendy, please visit their online fundraising page:  https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=Robinandmelskydive&pageUrl=1.