A woman from Ashton has decided to take the leap of faith and embark on a charity skydive to raise money for a cause close to her heart.

When Jo Malone-Kirkham’s mother was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2008 at just 45-years-old, she struggled to come to terms with the news and found her mental health start to decline.

Willow Wood Hospice were there to comfort the family and provided respite care for Jo’s mum, delivering specialist palliative care for patients with life limiting illnesses.

“She was one of the youngest there and I remember her coming home and telling me about all the wonderful people she had met.

“My mother spoke very highly of Willow Wood, she was shown a huge amount of support from them at a time when she and the family needed it most,” Jo says.

This support and care is something that Jo has carried with her since her mother’s passing and has committed to being the best person she can be while most of all continuing to make her mother proud.

In a bid to test herself and support this incredible cause, Jo has chosen to take part in a charity skydive, raising as much money as possible.

“Everyone who knows me knows I like to test myself, whether that’s doing various 5ks and 10ks or white-collar boxing matches for charity.

“I knew I wanted to do something to help Willow Wood with the amazing work they do, and I’d been toying with the idea of jumping out of a plane for a while,” she says.

Jo says she managed to speak with the ‘wonderful’ Laura Marinelli who works in fundraising at Willow Wood to help with the organising and planning of this monumental event.

“She has been instrumental in helping me achieve this dream. Without Laura’s support it wouldn’t have happened so I would love to thank her for helping me to organise the skydive,” she says.

Black Knights Parachute Centre in Lancaster have also been a vital part of this journey, giving Jo the opportunity to skydive at their facility.

Jo is now beyond eager to experience the thrill of the sky and is counting down the days until her big jump on 31 July.

With a fundraising target of £1,000, Jo has already accumulated £460 on her JustGiving page and has been blown away by the messages of encouragement she has received.

You can donate to Jo’s page and support her in this inspirational feat here https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jo-malone23?fbclid=IwAR07Xlyd7ZTKxXqNGDLp_8_ah-TmxlIQz2gLWzbNh9aBxwt2KgIuq_FTDOQ

Read more from the Tameside Reporter

Click here for more of the latest news

Click here to read the latest edition of the paper online

Click here to find out where you can pick up a copy of the paper