Article by Willow and Bronte C., Lower Sixth

This May half term, we’re jumping out of a plane from 13,000 feet!

Why? Because we want to raise money for Kettering General Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), the amazing team that looked after us when we were born eight weeks early.

We spent the first five weeks of our lives in the SCBU. Thanks to the incredible care we received, we’re here today, almost 18 years later, ready to take on this huge challenge.

As our 18th birthday approaches, we wanted to do something meaningful. We’ve always known how important the SCBU was to our family, and we felt it was the right time to give something back. The unit supports hundreds of premature babies every year and is constantly updating its equipment and improving its facilities. Any money we raise will go straight to helping other families who are going through those first fragile weeks.

Our skydive will take place at Sibson Airfield near Peterborough with UK Parachuting. After a 20-minute briefing, we’ll take off in a small aircraft for a 15-minute climb to 13,000 feet. Then we’ll freefall at 120mph for around 40 seconds before the parachute opens and we enjoy a gentle six-minute descent. We’ll be strapped to experienced instructors the whole way down, and we’ll also be learning the basics of steering and landing a modern square parachute.

This will be our first time skydiving — we’re excited to do this, especially knowing that it’s for such a great cause.

We’d be so grateful for any donations, no matter how small. Every little bit will help the SCBU continue to do its amazing work.

Thank you so much for your support!