Pictured above: Lisa Birchall and Michele Windsor prepare
for charity skydive
A brewing storm failed to clip the wings of a group of
Stoke-on-Trent daredevils who raised £1,200 for charity in a
sponsored skydive.
The four thrill seekers, who work at employment and training
specialists Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG), at Albany
Works, Moorland Road, Burslem, took part in the jump at Whitchurch
Airfield.
Michele Windsor, Phil Ball, Abi Haq and Lisa Birchall all leaped
out of a plane at 12,000ft above the Shropshire countryside.
However, the day didn't go according to plan. The plane which
took off carrying Lisa and Michele had to go straight back down due
to storm fears.
Lisa said: "We got to about 8,000ft when we received a message
from the pilot saying we couldn't jump because there was a storm
coming so we had to basically nosedive back down. It was quite
scary."
Michele added: "We had psyched ourselves up for the jump and
then we went straight back down to earth again without having left
the plane. We managed to set off again about six hours later when
it was safe to do so. This time we were ok. When the doors of the
plane opened it was just terrifying. But the sensation you get when
you jump out of the plane is the most incredible feeling you could
ever experience. The adrenaline rush was amazing and I have to say
it was one of the best experiences of my life."
Phil and Abi were the next to complete the jump as they took off
in another plane and both had the time of their lives. The team
raised around £300 each for their chosen charities. Lisa
chose Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
She added: "It was a fantastic experience. We all completed the
jump with huge smiles on our faces and in the process managed to
raise a good amount of money for our chosen charities."
Michele raised money for the Douglas Macmillan Hospice and
Phil's total will be donated to Help for Heroes. Abi will donate
her money to charity Hope for Children.
Staff at PPDG regularly hold events to raise money for charity
and the company operates a Give As You Earn (GAYE) scheme which
each year donates thousands of pounds to charities and other good
causes. Employees make a donation to the scheme each
month.
PPDG's team of employment experts provide advice on benefits,
confidence building, one-to-one support, CV and interview
preparation as well as finding the right job or training course. In
partnership with DWP, the Ministry of Justice and Jobcentre Plus,
PPDG delivers a diverse range of employment and training
initiatives including Flexible New Deal, Working Neighbourhoods
Fund, Learndirect and many ESF funded programmes. More than 100,000
job seekers have been helped into sustained employment by the
company since the projects began. It has trained 130,000
people in vocational skills, and over 175,000 people have
benefitted from professional information, advice and guidance
services.
PPDG came fourth in The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For
2011.
For more information about Pertemps People Development Group,
please visit their website here: www.ppdg.co.uk