Duo set for fundraising skydive in aid of Greenock charity

Marie Govan, of Greenock, and Lorna Cockburn, from Inverkip, will be taking part in a pair of tandem skydives next month to raise money for Mind Mosaic Child and Family Therapies, which provides life-changing mental health support for children and families.

The skydive will have a special significance for Marie, who promised her late husband George before his passing that she would take part in a charity jump.

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Marie told the Telegraph she was proud to be supporting such a worthy cause.

She said: “We know people that this charity have helped and we’ve seen the great work that they do.

“We really wanted to support them.

“I lost my husband a year and a half ago, after he was diagnosed with lung cancer and I did a walk in Glasgow for that.

“I told him the next thing I was going to do was a skydive.

“My kids said to me a few months ago to remember that promise and Lorna said she’d do it with me.

“It’s spiralled from there.

“When we decided we were doing it for Mind Mosaic I had a rough idea of what they did, but after coming up and speaking to the guys here it just opened so much more and it meant to much more.

“I’ve since found out that I know people who have used the charity and so it makes it even more significant.”

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The pair recently raised more than £1,000 to cover the costs of the jump with a fundraising social night in Gourock, which featured a performance from local psychic Gordon Armour, as well as a silent auction, bingo and raffles.

Their fundraising was such a success that they had cash leftover, which they intend to donate to Mind Mosaic Child and Family Therapies.

With the fundraiser now behind them, the duo are now looking forward to making the jump in Auchterarder on July 23.

The 10,000 foot jump will see the duo free fall for the first 5000 feet in tandem with a trained instructor before their parachutes are opened.

Lorna said that while she did have some nerves about the jump, she was still enthusiastic about it.

She added: “I’m quite excited about it, a bit apprehensive of course but we’re looking forward to it.

“We picked Mind Mosaic as the charity we wanted to support, and it just went from there.

“People don’t tend to talk about it but when we said we were raising money for Mind Mosaic people would say ‘oh yeah I know about them, my daughter or my son was helped by them’.

“The number of people who have said to us that they do such good work just goes to show how much they help.

“Although it’s not talked about a lot, a lot of people know about them.

Mind Mosaic Child & Family Therapies chief executive Sandra Boyle praised the pair and says fundraisers like this event are vital for the service.

She said: “We don’t receive any statutory funding, so we are most grateful that members of the public come forward and do something as wonderful as this.

“I think they’re quite nervous about the challenge but they’re still going to do it, which is wonderful.

“They had Gordon Armour along who donated his time free and we’ve also got a whole list of people who gave their help or donated things.

“They got lots of support which was brilliant.

“There were a lot of businesses who contributed to the night which meant they didn’t actually have to put out a lot of money for it

“It’s great that we’re able to then support more children and families thanks to things like this.”

Those wishing to donate to the pair’s fundraisers can do so by visiting https://t.ly/NKnH for Marie’s donation drive or https://t.ly/yEnZ for Lorna’s.