90-year-old care home resident skydives from plane at 15,000 feet

A 90-year-old care home resident has taken to the skies and fulfilled his "lifelong wish" to skydive at 15,000 feet raising over £4,000 for charity.

Dennis Moulton who is a resident at Dashwood Manor in Basingstoke raised the funds in aid of Marie Curie, which provides highly skilled nursing care to people with terminal illness in its hospices and people’s own homes across the UK.

Mr Moulton who recently celebrated his 90th birthday said: “I can’t believe we raised so much it’s marvellous. People gave so much, and I would like to thank everyone who donated. I was very proud to give Marie Curie the cheque in person.”

Regional director at Care UK, Eileen Coyle-Jones, and customer relations manager at Dashwood Manor, Leahanne Wilkinson, were also there to support Mr Moulton by jumping out of the plane alongside him.

Dil Perera, home manager at Dashwood Manor, said: “We were thrilled to have helped Dennis complete his lifelong wish to skydive while also raising vital funds for a very deserving charity.

“We are ecstatic that we smashed Dennis’s target of raising £4,000. We would like to thank everyone who donated towards our fundraiser and a special thanks goes to Care UK for matching our funds raised using Care UK’s Working with the Community match funding scheme."

Sally Sansom, community fundraiser for Hampshire & Isle of Wight, visited the home to meet with Dennis and thank him herself.

Ms Sansom said: “What a huge inspiration you are Dennis! Thank you for undertaking this incredible challenge on behalf of Marie Curie. The money raised will go towards supporting people all over the UK living with a terminal illness, and their loved ones. From everyone at Marie Curie, we hope you had a very happy 90th birthday.”

Ms Perera added: “We would like to thank Sally from Marie Curie for coming to Dashwood Manor and thanking Dennis for his efforts in person. We had a lovely morning, and we were so pleased we were able to fulfil Dennis’s birthday wish to hand over the cheque to Marie Curie.

“The team at Dashwood Manor are now on the lookout for the next wish we can complete for a resident – the sky’s the limit!”

click here for more details or to contact Care UK