Last month, some more fabulous fundraising took place for the Frenkel Topping Charitable Foundation, although this time the experience was a somewhat more…elevated affair, with six intrepid adventurers undertaking a skydive in the pursuit of fund raising.
The idea of a skydive was first raised at the 2023 Frenkel Topping Charitable Foundation Ball. Richard Clarke (CFG) threw down the gauntlet and was met with a huge response multiple pledges on the evening convinced more people to take part. This response included fellow Richards, Fraser and Forth who ‘happily’ went along with it until it turned out they weren’t able to do the jump on medical grounds. They didn’t even try to fake their disappointment.
Frenkel Topping’s outstanding Executive Assistant Alice Mitchell, following up on the “morning after the night before”, swung into action, organising all the logistics and smugly booking the highest jump in the UK…before ultimately finding herself in a position of having to undertake the jump!
The final line up – Richard Clarke (CFG – aka the instigator), Mark Duffell (CFG), Alice Mitchell (FTG), Stephanie Webster (FTG), Sana Aslan (Porche Preston) and Pippa Wachter (Porche Preston) – then had to go through the gruelling experience of a failed first attempt, where the weather stopped play having waited for much of the day for the conditions to improve. Our jumpers were keen to get the jump out of the way as soon as possible, so this was a huge blow and resulted in a further two week wait until they could return.
But the second date (11th June) soon came around and this time the sun was shining and things moved quickly. Before the team knew it, they were suited and booted and walking over to the plane. As our Head of Group Marketing, Stephanie Webster, said: “The whole experience from that point onwards was surreal with the experts taking charge, going through all their safety checks and making sure we were all in the right place. Once in the plane we watched as it climbed higher and high, much higher than I had envisioned, bringing to life just how high 3 miles actually is. When at the right height the door was opened and things then happened extremely quickly and within seconds we were positioned at the edge and with little warning the jump or “fall” began!”
Mark Duffell commented: “There’s no point lying about it. I was absolutely terrified. I’m scared of heights on a house roof so the idea of being 3 miles up and – here’s the tricky bit – leaving the plane was troublesome to say the least.
“In the end, it was a brilliant experience. There are no words to describe how it feels to fall that far that fast. There just aren’t. But when you get to the ground, the buzz and sense of achievement is incredible.
“Glad I did it. Glad I faced my fears. Glad I helped to raise the money for a great cause – but no, never again. Once is enough for me.”
Alice Mitchell confirmed: “On the way up I have never been as terrified in my whole life and couldn’t believe how high we actually went. Sitting on the edge of the plane dangling out above the clouds is a feeling like no other and my entire being was begging me to go back inside. However as soon as we tipped off it was incredible! I cant even begin to describe the feeling. It was over it what felt like seconds and I immediately wanted to do it again.”
Stephanie concludes: “If there’s even a niggle in the back of your mind that you think you’d like to experience a skydive then I would 100% encourage you to do it. Doing it with such a wonderful group of people for an incredible cause makes it even more worthwhile and worth the entire experience.”
Together, our skydiving team managed to raise a brilliant £6,660 for the Frenkel Topping Charitable Foundation, a result that they were delighted with. As will be the many beneficiaries of the Frenkel Topping Charitable Foundation.
