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What’s scarier than jumping out a plane?

By Izzi Whelan
April 7, 2009 at 11:35 am

Open parachute

I’m not known for my bravery – as my housemates would confirm, given the number of times I’ve asked them to get rid of (possibly deadly) spiders from my room for me.

So I don’t know why, when my colleague Chloe Day asked the other day if I wanted to jump out a plane, I said yes straightaway.

But since I did, I’m officially doing a tandem skydive for the Red Cross in June. So now I’ve got to get on with the bit that really does scare me – raising the sponsorship money.

I’ve got some ideas – as a fundraising writer it’s part of my job to speak to people every week who have raised money for us, and so I can copy some of their fundraising ideas. But I don’t think I’m really suited to running a marathon on a treadmill in a shopping centre or growing comedy facial hair.

I’ll definitely be able to set up a Justgiving page, but beyond that I’m stumped.

A friend of mine who’s doing the London Triathlon set up a swear box at work, which has raised a fortune so far. Unfortunately, I don’t work with anyone nearly as foul-mouthed, but I reckon they’d be up for some delicious red-themed cupcakes so I might turn my hand to baking…

But I basically need some outlandish fundraising ideas to help me reach my minimum total of £395. So let me know the best thing you’ve ever done to raise money for charity and I’ll keep you posted with how it’s going.


Comments (6) »

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  • http://redcross.org.uk/ Katrina Crew

    You’ve got nice hair. You could shave it off and sell it to a wig-maker. Or get sponsors to pay you to dye it red. I’d definitely pay to see that.

  • http://redcross.org.uk Katrina Crew

    You’ve got nice hair. You could shave it off and sell it to a wig-maker. Or get sponsors to pay you to dye it red. I’d definitely pay to see that.

  • Anna Brewster

    I’m sure you could grow comedy facial hair if you tried … you could do a quiz night! Everyone loves a good quiz night.

  • Anna Brewster

    I’m sure you could grow comedy facial hair if you tried … you could do a quiz night! Everyone loves a good quiz night.

  • Helen Dowd

    I would pay good money for red-themed cakes AND a quiz night! Although, as an official spider monitor I think you’d have to donate at least one home-baked treat for free.

  • Helen Dowd

    I would pay good money for red-themed cakes AND a quiz night! Although, as an official spider monitor I think you’d have to donate at least one home-baked treat for free.