Juliet St John Nicolle (54) took part in the tandem jump with chief instructor Mal Richardson of Skydive Jersey on Sunday to raise money to help fund a bursary set up by Autism Jersey Boutique manager Karen Gallichan.
Miss St John Nicolle, who was diagnosed with autism when she was 50, has a number of sensory issues around sight, noise and touch but this has not stopped her from undertaking several challenges to raise money for the charity.
In April she took part in Dip at Dawn, having never swum in the sea before, and also undertook the L’Etacq and Back walk.
Ahead of the skydive Miss St John Nicolle voiced concerns about another of the personal challenges she would have to overcome.
‘I have very large issues with trust, so jumping out with a guy with me attached is one hell of a humdinger thing,’ she said. In preparation for the jump, however, Miss St John Nicolle met with the Skydive Jersey team so she would know what to expect on the day.
The result was a very successful jump and afterwards Miss St John Nicolle was met on the beach by members of her Autism Jersey support team. And although she said that she had enjoyed the experience, she is not in a hurry to repeat it.
Miss St John Nicolle has raised more than £530 so far and anyone who wishes to add to that can do so by visiting justgiving.com and searching for her name.
The donations will go to support the efforts of Karen Gallichan and her goal to raise £10,000 by swimming the Channel in the week of 2 to 7 September, tides and weather allowing. The money raised will be ring-fenced for an Autism Jersey bursary that will benefit young adults on the autistic spectrum to help them gain qualifications or have life-enhancing opportunities. Mrs Gallichan’s Channel swim challenge is sponsored by Santander International. So far she has raised more than £7,000 on her justgiving.com page, where donations and further sponsorship can be made.
