The Mayor of Elmbridge, Councillor Richard Williams, is skydiving to raise much needed funds for his chosen charity, Oasis, which supports local families in crisis.
The Mayor is aiming to raise £5,000 from his skydive at Old Sarum Air Field in Salisbury on Saturday 13 April.
“Charities are finding it very hard to raise money at the moment because of the cost of living crisis, so I thought I would do something special to attract attention.
“A former Mayoress I met at an event told me that she had done a skydive and loved it, so, I immediately decided to do one myself. I am pretty terrified of heights, but perversely, I am looking forward to it immensely”.
Oasis, based in Cobham, supports vulnerable families and children in Elmbridge and the surrounding area facing a range of issues including financial hardship, abuse, addiction, physical and mental health illnesses.
It is a charity close to the Mayor’s heart: “I wanted to help a small charity which was less visible as they tend to find it the hardest to survive. Oasis is a small local charity doing fantastic work.
“I have a friend who got into some serious family difficulties a few years ago and Oasis gave her a tremendous amount of help.”
The Mayor will be strapped to an experienced skydiver, known as a tandem dive, and will receive about 15 minutes training before they set off!
“We will practice falling out of the plane, free falling and landing. I think it will be a thrill,” he said. “My brother is a hot air balloonist and I’ve been up in those but it is quite sedate. I think this will be a touch more challenging.”
Having decided to hold his Mayoral Ball at the Hilton Hotel in Cobham, General Manager, Richard Hopton and Director of Operations, Prash Santha are skydiving with Richard and his son-in-law, Ben Bobroff.
His family, including his wife Agnieszka - the Mayoress, and some of his grandchildren will be watching the 74-year-old fall from the sky, which he said will hopefully inspire them and others to “face their fears”.
You can sponsor the Mayor’s skydive on his Just Giving page.