High-flying hero Keitan makes a leap of faith for Teesside Charity!

On Sunday 14^th April, Thrive and Personal Development lecturer Keitan Beech took the big jump and skydived to help raise money towards Teesside Charity!

Keitan and his Engineering students completed a social action project a couple of months ago to raise money for a chosen charity. Keitan said: “We chose Teesside Charity due to the work they do in the local community. All money raised goes into Middlesbrough whether that be helping the homeless, funding mental health activities, or even providing grants and funding for vulnerable people and families that require financial support.”

After raising money for the charity with his students, Keitan decided that he wanted “to help them continue the absolutely amazing work they do” and had a meeting with members of the charity on how he and Middlesbrough College can further support Teesside. Keitan told us “The charity had come to me with an opportunity to skydive to raise funds from the college. Scary jumping out of a plane at 10,000 feet? Yes, however, I simply couldn’t turn this down! Why not try and fundraise for such an impactful cause? So, I agreed!”

At 9 AM on Sunday at Peterlee Parachute Centre Keitan geared up, put on his brave face, and did the skydive! He told us “I ended up jumping out at 15,000 feet high! I was scared going up, but as soon as we were skydiving, I really enjoyed it. The feeling was so surreal and exhilarating!”

The fundraising target was £400 and Keitan exceeded expectations by raising a total of £501! After the down-to-earth experience, Keitan said “It’s very rewarding to be working with the Teesside charity. After finding out about the work they do for this community it also felt personal as I have watched friends and family experience the issues and life circumstances that this charity is helping to resolve. I hope that the skydive and other fundraisers we plan to do with them in the future will help raise awareness and help grow the donations they receive.”