New Oscott Village resident sky dives to raise money

A 76-year-old New Oscott Retirement Village resident took a leap of faith when she participated in a tandem sky dive.

Margaret Glen was raising money for new gym equipment for The ExtraCare Charitable Trust’s New Oscott Retirement Village in Birmingham where she lives.

She was joined by Matthew Barnes, who is Fitness Instructor at New Oscott, and between them they raised nearly £1,000 to buy a new Smith Machine for the gym.

This equipment will benefit residents by helping them to strengthen their leg muscles, which in turn will reduce their chances of falling or developing osteoporosis.

The idea for a sky dive came about when staff and residents were discussing fundraising options and Margaret mentioned she would like to do a parachute jump. Matthew thought this would be a great way to raise the money they needed for the new equipment.

They gathered support through sponsorship forms and by raising awareness of the dive in the village’s monthly street meetings and newsletter. They also had support from local community people who use the village’s gym and other amenities.

The money raised was enough to purchase the Smith machine and update other pieces of equipment in the gym.

The sky dive is just one of the fundraising activities that ExtraCare residents take part in to raise money for their village communities. The charity has over 3,000 volunteers who all work to help it achieve its goal of helping older people live better lives.

Find out more about New Oscott Village.