Four friends will soon be taking to the skies to perform a 10,000 ft skydive in aid of Southern Area Hospice Services.
Behind the free-falling fundraising effort are Armagh men, and close companions, James Berry, Glenn Falloon, Ryan Morton and Tim Kinnear.
Tim, who sadly lost his father John to pancreatic cancer in 2017, had long been brainstorming ways to repay the Southern Area Hospice for the care and support they had provided to his family and father in the four weeks leading up to his passing.
Tim said: “The four of us were all out for drinks one night and I had been talking about things I wanted to do to fundraise. I had thought about growing a moustache but one of the guys said we could all do something better than that.
“We went onto the website and looked up different ideas and eventually we landed on a skydive.”
The quartet will be taking the plunge on September 9, at the Skydive Ireland Airfield in Garvagh.
A JustGiving page was set up to collate funds with the initial target of £2,400, which has now been surpassed.
Said Tim: “Our new goal is to raise as much money as possible. We are sending all the donations to the hospice. There’s a fee of £300 each to do the skydive but all four of us are paying our own way, so every penny raised will be donated.”
In a final personal touch, Tim plans to request a cheque presentation with Rev Matthew Hagan, who is part of the Hospice Chaplaincy team, and who had himself completed a skydive in May of last year.
Related: Co Armagh clergyman taking to heavens for skydive in aid of Southern Hospice
Of Rev Hagan, Tim said: “He had been close to Dad and often called in to see him. It meant a lot to us. It would be nice to do a handover with him in person but, in all, the Hospice couldn’t have done more for Dad.
“They were amazing and we as a family couldn’t have got through and faced this journey without the outstanding support and care Dad and the whole family received.”
A link to the JustGiving page can be found here.
