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In June last year I did a skydive to raise money for a charity. I particularly wanted to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Relief but unfortunately they do not support extreme sports, their insurance doesn't cover that. So I decided to do it off my own back.
I phoned up my local parachute centre at Weston on the Green to request information on the courses they do. I decided I would do the solo skydive as it was more daring than a tandem. I also decided that I was going to pay for it myself, as it was something I had always wanted to do anyway. That way at least all of the money I raised would go to my chosen charity.
Don't fool people into thinking that their kind sponsorships are going to charity.
As I was walking out of my local sports centre the other day, I noticed a poster about doing a charity skydive for Mencap. I thought that I'd love to do it again but go one better and do an Advanced Free Fall course. And even better, I could raise money for a charity whilst doing it, so I had a look at their website.
However, I was horrified to discover that you need to raise a minimum of £530 and which only around £140 will actually go to the charity because they take the cost of the course and booking fee out of the money raised. I have to say that I didn't actually find this information on their website. I just did a search under Google for charity skydive's to find out.I think that this is terrible, as people have sponsored you thinking that their money is actually going to charity when most of it actually isn't but is going towards the individual have a few minutes of thrills.
If you really want to do a skydive and want to raise money for charity, pay for it yourself. Don't fool people into thinking that their kind sponsorships are going to charity.
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thanks for the info.
but you know what. it kinda makes me sick that "charities" take more of the money donated for themselves and all of these hidden fees, rather than giving it to the people they're supposed to. where's BBCs panorama when you need them?
Maybe it should be compulsory to show what deductions are being made?
I quite like visiting the opera, so should I ask sponsors to stump up enough cash for me to go regularly?
PS.
MY children will cover the cost for my sky dive ( haven't told them the will is in a charities favour)
All this site is rising plenty through ad clicks.
When I did my Charity Skydive I had to raise the amount to pay for the jump through sponsorship, and I openly told people that a portion of their money would go towards paying for the jump, with any excess sponsorship going towards the charity. This was made clear to me by my local dropzone, Skydive North West (Cark). On top of this I also had to raise an amount equal to the cost of the jump both from any excess sponsorship and any other charitable donations I received, part of which involved me performing a street collection in manchester city centre.
But despite some of the other comments, lets face it that there are many cheaper things you could do to raise money for charity. If you are serious about charity, I think skydiving is a bit of a bum deal. To be honest I did my first jump for charity as a student just to get out of paying for it myself.. Does a sponsored skydive attract more sponsorship than free or cheaper sponsored events? I don't know about that, maybe it depends on the personn. I'm considering doing the 3 peak challenge this year, I think people would give me far more cash for that as it involves a lot of effort, and a much higher percentage of the funds will go to charity.
Skydiving certainly attracts people into charitable sponsorships who otherwise wouldn't bother, so perhaps thats where its power lies as a positive thing for charities in general.
You mention in the article above that ONLY £140 goes to the charity... I think your missing the point... £140 is going to your chosen charity!!! Thats £140 more going than if you didnt do anything.
Some people (especially in todays ecomonic climate) cant just afford to do pay for a sky dive. So why not kill 2 birds with 1 stone and raise money.
Get a grip and stop moaning about people raising money for Charity. I wander if Help 4 Heroes will get annoyed with me for raising £140 for them when I do my skydive? I would guess not.
I wonder how much of the cost is insurance, as your normal "life cover" almost certainly does not cover such activities.
collar