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General information about skydiving for St Luke's Hospice
Information about Skydive Weston
Skydive Weston terms and conditions
Booking and payment form
Fitness form
Skydiver's pledge form
Skydiver's vest order form
St Luke's looks after people with cancer and other serious progressive illnesses, such as motor neurone disease and heart, lung and kidney failure. At St Luke's, no one is just a patient, and we never lose sight of the person behind the disease. We help people feel that they do matter, that they are cared for, and that they can still make a valuable contribution to the lives of those around them. The team at our Hospice help people live life to the full, for whatever time they have, no matter how long or short, at what is often an exceptionally difficult time. We focus on adding life to days, even when days cannot be added to life.
Care is provided at St Luke’s either in our outpatient clinics or within day care, or within our 12-bed inpatient unit. However, as a result of feedback from local people, St Luke’s now provides elements of its service to patients in their own homes enabling patients to remain in familiar surroundings rather than being admitted into hospital or to St Luke’s inpatient unit.
Services provided include 24-hour specialist clinical care along with social work and bereavement support, complementary therapies, physiotherapy, spiritual care, and art and music therapy.
Everyone is welcome at St Luke’s, whatever their race, religion, beliefs or lifestyle. Our clinical staff and spiritual care coordinator are specially trained to respect and facilitate the spiritual, religious and cultural needs of any patient or family.
We look after around 500 new patients each year. In addition, our Bereavement and Hospice At Home services provide 625 and 6,000 episodes of care respectively each year.
This June, St Luke’s celebrated its 21st Birthday. Our sole purpose is to serve our community, by offering free Hospice Care and with the support and contributions we have received from people like yourself, we can all agree that the founding of St Luke’s is a true community story.
St Luke's is not a NHS Hospital, nor an exclusive private facility; we are an independent charity and are proud to be able to offer all our services to patients and their families free of charge. This standard of care is expensive to maintain. With government funding under a third, in 2008 we need to raise an additional £2.5M to maintain our services of clinical excellence. We are increasingly reliant upon the generosity of our supporters; individuals, groups, companies and trusts to raise the additional funding. Put simply, we need to constantly raise funds and could not survive without help from people like you.
Over 80p of every pound of our income is spent on the costs of patient care.
Tandem skydiving is the best way to experience the thrill of freefalling from 10,000 feet whilst strapped to a qualified instructor, giving you the peace of mind of having someone else in total control whilst you enjoy the view! Tandem skydiving is a taster of why the experienced skydivers love it, this is a simple stepping stone for you to try it, and you never know, if you love it, you could also catch the bug!
The whole experience from take off to landing is about 25 minutes. You will experience 40 seconds in freefall and you will have approximately 5 minutes under the parachute. Just imagine freefalling at 120mph, even falling past or through the clouds, just like flying! When the canopy opens, you may be allowed to help with the steering and landing, all under the guidance of your tandem master or just simply enjoy the beautiful scenery of Oxfordshire.
Skydive Weston is located in Bicester, Oxfordshire. It is a privately owned club operating from RAF Weston on the Green. The club has a wealth of experience with military and civilian instructors, along with members, that are all trained and instructed under the guidance of the British Parachute Association. All instructors have over 500 skydives and a minimumof 4 years in the sport.
You can choose to jump on a day that suits you, however it has to be at a weekend up to the end of September. Please provide two choices of dates that you are able tojump, on your reservation form.
Anyone aged 16 years or above can jump. Anyone under the age of 16 is required to have parental or guardian’s consent in writing. A parent and guardian must also complete the medical form on their behalf. All skydivers must present a signed medical form before they can jump, which can also be downloaded. Anyone above the age of 40 or with pre-existing medical conditions will need their doctor to complete their medical form. The principal medical restrictions are diabetes, epilepsy, fits, recurrent blackout, heart or lung disease, mental illness, recurrent blackouts, and some cases of asthma. The maximum weight is 16 stones. Pre-existing physical conditions will not necessarily prevent you from taking part but please let Skydive Weston know of any condition as this may affect the location of your jump. If in doubt please contact SkydiveWeston on 01869 343 201.
You will automatically be covered for up to £2,000 third party insurance but this will not cover you for personal injury. Should you wish to take out cover for personal injury you should either arrange this through your own broker or you can contact Skydive Weston on 01869 343 201 for further information.
The total cost of the Tandem Jump is £210 per person, which includes a non-refundable deposit of £50 and £160 for the actual jump. This is a discounted rate, which would normally be £210 per person. This is inclusive of training, equipment and third party insurance.
It’s simple. Raising double the cost of the jump through your sponsorship means not only have you raised enough money to cover the cost of the jump, but also enough for St Luke's Hospice to receive a minimum donation of £210. Put simply, you will need to raise a minimum of £420 to be able to jump free, with a target of £500. Alternatively, you can pay the total cost of £210 yourself and raise whatever you can for St Luke's. Please do not think that it is it not possible, we at St Luke's will help you make the impossible into a possible for you!
Simply print and complete the reservation form and Declaration of Fitness, and send it to St Luke's Hospice together with a non-refundable deposit of £50 payable to Skydive Weston.
Once St Luke's have received your reservation form, you will receive your sponsorship pack. This pack will include:
You will also receive separate confirmation from Skydive Weston on your jump and date.
The balance of your skydive is required two weeks prior to the date you have booked. Should circumstances prevent you from paying your balance 2 weeks before, payment can be made on the day. This can only be authorised by Skydive Weston Management and you will need to notify your fundraiser at St Luke's in advance, they will confirm this on your behalf. Payments can then only be accepted by cash or credit card. Cheques will not be accepted less than two weeks prior to the jump. Cheques need to be payable to Skydive Weston.
Once you have jumped for St Luke’s you have 4 weeks to collect all your sponsorship money. This can be in the form of cash and cheques. Any cheques need to be payable to St Luke's Hospice. If you set up a Justgiving Page, then all the monies will be sent directly sent to St Luke's Hospice. Can you either bring your sponsorship money directly to your fundraiser at the Hospice or put it in the post to:
Sheetal Ruparelia
Community & Events Fundraiser
St Luke’s Hospice, Kenton Grange, Kenton Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA3 OYG
Please ensure that you send all your sponsorship forms back with the monies you have raised. This will enable us to claim any Gift Aid through the sponsorship. Without this, both St Luke's and you will lose extra money that could make a vital difference. Gift Aid will add 25% to the value of your donation, and could make a real difference.
Should you have any further queries or be unsure about anything, please contact your Fundraiser, Sheetal, who will try to help you in any way she can.
Once your reservation form is sent back to St Luke's Hospice, you will be automatically entered onto St Luke's Hospice database. This will enable us to keep you up to date with the work of St Luke’s and receive Insight magazine, which is published three times a year, as well as occasional mailings about special events which may be of interest. If you would prefer not to receive these mailings, just contact Sheetal.
Skydiving is a weather dependent sport, please be prepared to spend the whole day. Information on facilities at the airfield can be found on their website.
We sincerely hope that you decide to give it a go. There will be many other people trying parachuting for the very first time on the day, so you are welcome to bring along your friends and family so they can watch you on a day that you will simply never forget. Just to give you some idea of what you could be missing, one of our jumpers from last year explains:
“...Take a leap of faith to help the hospice. They say time goes quickly when you are enjoying yourself and when you're moving like a speeding bullet that is an understatement... past the clouds I gazed down at the scenery. At 5000 feet Craig deployed the canopy. I couldn't control the excitement I expressed in a series of incoherent screams. This was the biggest adrenaline rush I have ever had and I still feel the buzz every time I think about it.”
Your contribution helps make a real difference to families like the one that describes its experiences below.
“My family and I wish to thank you for the care and support that you provided for my late wife.
She was an outpatient at the Hospice during her last year and spent her final weeks with you as an inpatient.
For all who visited her it was clear to see the fantastic facilities that St Luke's provided for my wife. She had a room with a view, 24-hour medical care, and a number of alternative therapies which she enjoyed (especialy reflexology to the sound of a live guitarist playing soothing music). All the staff at the hospice were always professional, honest, approachable and cheerful, even during the most difficult times.”
If you have any queries or questions please do not hesitate to contact:
Your Fundraiser:
Sheetal Ruparelia
Telephone number 020 8382 8018
Fax number 020 8382 8080
E-mail: sruparelia@stlukes-hospice.org
Skydive Weston
Ash or Vanessa
Telephone number: 01869 343 201
Fax number: 01869 343 194
E-mail: skydiveweston@fsmail.net
Skydive Weston is a privately owned club operating from RAF Weston on the Green, Oxfordshire for both military and civilian jumpers, whether you are experienced or just wanting to have a go. The club is open every weekend and bank holidays from the first weekend in February to the first weekend in December offering Tandem, Static Line and Accelerated Freefall courses. We offer vouchers for presents for all courses which are valid for 6 months from date of purchase.
The club has a wealth of experience with military and civilian instructors, along with club members, that are all trained and instructed under the guidance of the British Parachute Association. All instructors have over a 500 skydives and a minimum of 4 years in the sport.
Skydive Weston operates from one of the largest and best equipped centres in the country and offers a relaxing but professional environment to anyone that visits here. The centre has a clubhouse serving hot and cold snacks and offers a comfortable dining area as well as a sofa area to watch tv. There is a large patio and seating area outside the clubhouse. Camping is also permitted at weekends, free of charge and there are facilities to shower. Family and friends are welcome to come and watch and to be part of your experience. There is a shop on site selling Tshirts, ice cream, sweets and cold drinks which also has a comfortable seating area inside. Outside seating is available near the shop and landing area.
We offer discounts on groups of 10 or more and encourage charities to book direct with us to save money. Service personnel, including cadets, are entitled to a military discount, call for details.
The courses offered are limited to age and weight, please read the relevant information for each course to see if you qualify. All courses have a minimum age of 16 and a maximum weight of 15.5 stone but other criteria apply. Also terms and conditions apply to all courses.
There is plenty of parking and we ask that no cars are parked on any grass on the airfield. Dogs, unfortunately, are not permitted and children must be closely supervised.
The best clothing to wear is something comfortable, jeans, jogging bottoms, combats with light layers for the top. Trainers are recommended as footwear, no boots. We do provide you with a jumpsuit to protect your clothes while skydiving and goggles if required.
Cameramen are on site to capture the whole experience on DVD (for tandem and AFF jumps only). All the cameramen are very experienced within their field, and this is a great memento to take away of your jump. The cost of a DVD with stills is £90.00 per person.
All courses require paperwork to be completed, and this will be checked upon arrival. Please ensure to aid the registration process, in the morning of your skydive, all your paperwork Is in order and completed before booking in. Failure to have completed paperwork will result in you being allocated a later time to skydive during the day.
It's easy to book a place on any course, simply complete the booking form or call us to pay a £50.00 per person non refundable deposit. Balance of the skydive is required two weeks prior to the date you have booked. Should circumstances prevent you from paying your balance 2 weeks before, payment can be made on the day, authorised only by Skydive Weston Management, by only cash or credit card. Cheques will not be accepted less than 2 weeks before or on the day.
