Daredevils prepare for action

Daredevils prepare for action

Daredevils at a Stoke-on-Trent employment and training specialist will literally be jumping for joy after committing to participate in a 12,000 ft charity sky dive to raise money for four worthwhile causes.

The thrill seekers are all employees of Pertemps People Development Group’s (PPDG) Burslem office who hope to raise thousands of pounds for their chosen charities.

The event is the idea of employer liaison co-ordinator Lisa Birchall after she and fellow colleague Michele Windsor made the suggestion during a team meeting.

Two other staff members, Phil Ball and Abi Haq, have also pledged their support and the four will make the jump on May 7th at Whitchurch Airfield in Shropshire.

Lisa is raising money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer in memory of her mother Karen Birchall who died from the disease 10 years ago aged just 40.

She said: “We had previously chatted about supporting a charity and a sky dive seemed like a good idea at the time. We’ve paid our deposits and although everyone is committed, the day is fast approaching and the nerves are beginning to set in. However we’re all looking forward to an amazing experience in the knowledge that people will benefit from our efforts. We have all chosen our particular charities and mine is very close to my heart for personal reasons.”

The company encourages fund raising for charity and will also make a contribution to the overall amount raised.

Raising monies for Help for Heroes, Phil said: “I have friends who have served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and the thought of jumping out of a plane terrifies the life out of me. Then I think of what they must have experienced over there and tell myself I can do this to support our brave boys and girls. We are a very close team at work which will undoubtedly help us overcome our fears.”

Michelle was given a taste of what she was letting herself in for on a recent trip to New York after visiting the Empire State Building.

“When I was up there looking down I thought well this isn’t too bad having to fall 1200ft but it wasn’t until I got home that I realised I would be falling 10 times the distance,” she said, “But the money I’ll raise for  the Douglas Macmillan Hospice  makes it all worthwhile.”

Abi will be raising money for Hope for Children, supporting children in war torn Somalia. “It’s a passion of mine where we’ve built two village schools; children are our future so I’m delighted to be doing something to help.”

People can sponsor the team by visiting

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/ppdg2011. All money donated to the website will then be split equally between the four chosen charities.

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.