Last month, two of our colleagues, Claire Redmond and Kieran Hyland jumped head first out of a plane as part of their efforts to raise money for a charity close to their hearts, Midland’s Simon Community.
Kieran describes his experiences of the day: “Big Vinny; The man tasked with taking my life into his hands suited me up and strapped me into the harness and there wasn’t much more instruction after that, to which I was worried about. It was hard to admire the scenery around us, because I felt so sick! I could hear Claire’s instructor yell “there’s Portarlington, there’s Dublin Bay”, with the weather we got we were lucky to be able to see such scenes, clear blue sky in front of us and lush green and yellow fields and every shade of brown of the bogs of Offaly. It was an amazing view.
When the door flung open one guy just sat up up from the bacl, gave us a wave and lunged out of the plane without batting an eyelid. It was clear to me then, these guys are nuts! The freefall lasted about 15 seconds but it’s hard to describe the rush of adrenaline, it’s a crazy experience! My eyes were watering and I was unable to breath (partly because I was screaming my head off). As the shoot got pulled up we glided towards the beautiful green pastures of Offaly in about 5 minutes. When we landed softly a feeling of pure joy and elation came over me, I tried to stand up but my legs turned to jelly, my heart was pounding out of my chest, ears were ringing and I had tears rolling down my face.
I guess in the grand scheme of things, jumping from a plane is easy, compared to living on the streets not knowing where your next meal is coming from with no roof over your head and nobody to help you.
In a show of appreciation to all those who supported their fundraising efforts, Claire and Kieran also held a prize draw for all those who donated on their Just Giving page. Prizes were donated from local businesses in and around Portlaoise and Portarlington and were greatly appreciated by all those who won.
Claire and Kieran took the decision to hurl themselves out of a plane to help raise money for Midland’s Simon Community, a charity working in communities throughout Ireland to provide the best possible care, accommodation and support for people experiencing homelessness and those at risk. Their endeavours were ultimately worthwhile, when their donations were calculated the duo realised they had raised a fantastic €882.77 for their charity! In recognition of their fantastic efforts, Mallon Technology has generously matched the amount raised by Claire and Kieran to make a final total of €1765.54 raised for the charity.
A huge thank you must be given to all those who supported Claire and Kieran and supported the pair through their generous donations or for taking part in their raffle. To see the pair in action, make sure you check out some of the fantastic pictures in the gallery below!
