Georgia and Jo’s Skydive

September 30, 2024

Fundraising for Birmingham Youth Club

On Friday the 27^th of September, staff members Georgia and Jo completed a skydive from 13,000ft (2.5 miles) to raise money for our Birmingham Youth Club!

Jo set up the current Youth Club over 10 years ago for D/deaf and hard of hearing children and young people. She has watched it grow and develop and has seen so many children and young people come through the doors to enjoy fun, accessible and educational activities. She’s seen firsthand what a lifeline it has been for the young people who attend, watched friendships blossom and even welcomed back volunteers and staff who used to attend the club themselves.

“Youth club provides positive deaf role models, activities free from barriers and most importantly…it’s great fun!”

Jo no longer runs the youth club but often attends the sessions as one of our in-house British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters. She has always wanted to skydive and thought fundraising for a worthy cause would give her the push she needed to do it! Of course, she wasn’t too keen on the idea of doing it by herself which is why she asked Georgia to join her.

Their original target was £500 but they have reached £881!

This money was raised through generous donations from their families and friends. Georgia also got crafty by personalising clothing with names spelt in BSL fingerspelling – all of the profits were donated to the club.

On the day of the skydive, they were advised that there was a 50/50 chance the jump would get cancelled as it had been raining heavily and the staff at the centre had received weather warnings for high winds later in the afternoon. Georgia and Jo decided to take a chance, drove to the centre and hoped that the weather would clear up. Turns out luck was on their side as the sun started breaking through the clouds and the winds had slowed down enough for them to safely jump!

“The most incredible experience, and one I will remember forever. When nerves set in a little in the morning, I pictured the smiley faces of youth club and the activities they’ll be able to do with our fundraising money.” – Jo

“I would HIGHLY recommend a skydive to anyone who wants to get out of their comfort zone. I’m so happy with the amount we’ve raised and I can’t wait to see how this money is put to use and the impact it will have on the children & young people! I’d love to do it all over again”. – Georgia

We would like to say a big thank you to Georgia and Jo for raising so much money for our youth club and to everyone who donated, every pound really does make a difference!

Skydiving is a great way to fundraise for a charity but there are lots of other ways to raise money! Why not try a bake sale, a fun run/marathon or selling crafty items? If you’d like to fundraise for our charity or a particular service, please contact the fundraising team who will be happy to help you get started!

Email fundraising@bid.org.uk