A grandmother is set to leap 4,000 feet from a plane to raise money for the Lewy Body Society.
Jennifer Halliwell, 69, from Shevington, Wigan, will take part in a tandem skydive at Cark Airfield, Cumbria, on Sunday, 7 September, in aid of the Lewy Body Society.
The semi-retired funeral director with her family firm R Banks & Son, in Pemberton, hopes to raise at least £1,000 to support research and awareness of Lewy body dementia.
She met our CEO Jacqui Cannon at the newly formed Wigan Swallows Soroptimist group and later discovered that an employee’s father had died with the condition.
Jennifer said: “I wanted to do something daring before my 70th birthday. I’m scared of heights and I’m always glad when the plane lands – but being strapped to someone else means I can’t back out now!
“Meeting Jacqui from the Lewy Body Society and learning more about the condition gave me the push I needed. Lewy body dementia is more common than people realise, but so few have heard of it. Then I found out one of my employees had lost her father to it. It’s something people don’t talk about enough – even doctors often don’t recognise it.”
Her husband Brian, who she describes as “the backbone of our family business”, died three years ago aged 67. Jennifer says the jump is her way of doing something positive in his memory.
Friends, family and fellow Soroptimists will be at the jump to cheer her on.
Jennifer added: “My grandchildren think I’m crackers, but they’re proud of me. I’m not a normal grandma. Why be boring?”
Jennifer has already raised nearly half her target through her JustGiving page. Donations can be made at: www.justgiving.com/page/jennifer-halliwell-1.
