Surrey care home manager raises £878 for Adopt a Grandparent with first skydive

We are hugely grateful to Cecile Bauzon, a CHD Living care home manager who recently completed her first ever skydive and raised an incredible £878 for Adopt a Grandparent.

Cecile took on the challenge alongside her sisters and nephew, who were each jumping for different reasons. For Cecile, the skydive was a way to support our work reducing loneliness and social isolation among older people living in care homes.

Stepping out of the plane was, in her own words, “the scariest and most powerful thing I have ever done”.

She said: “Those few seconds of freefall were surreal. The wind was rushing past and looking down was like looking at a portrait where everything is tiny. It was terrifying and breathtaking all at once.

“As I looked down at the world below, I thought of every elderly person who feels invisible, who sits alone and who wonders if anyone still sees them.”

Through Adopt a Grandparent, care home residents are matched with volunteers for regular one-to-one video calls, helping people from different generations build friendships through conversation, shared interests and companionship.

For Cecile, the skydive was about raising money, but also about encouraging people to think about the older people in their own lives and the difference a simple conversation can make.

She added: “This jump was for them. I wanted to show that we can fight loneliness in old age. I wanted to say to them, ‘You matter, you are not forgotten and we see you.’ Every second I was in the air, I thought of the people we support.”

After landing safely, Cecile was left breathless, shaking and proud of what she had achieved.

“Every pound raised and every person who sees this and thinks, ‘I should check on someone today’, that is what makes it all worth it,” she said.

The £878 raised will help us continue creating friendships between volunteers and older people living in care homes, while keeping the programme free for care homes, residents and volunteers.

We are so grateful to Cecile for taking on such a brave challenge and for choosing to support Adopt a Grandparent.

If Cecile’s story has inspired you to fundraise for us, we would love to hear from you. Whether you already have a challenge in mind or would like to talk through ideas with our team, please get in touch.

Every fundraiser, large or small, helps us reach more older people and create more regular companionship.

To find out more, visit adoptagrandparent.org.uk.