The Association of Women Travel Executives (AWTE) is delighted to announce that they have raised over £500 over the weekend for Papyrus, the UK Charity for the prevention of suicide in the young, with their vice-chair taking part in a tandem skydive.
Michelle Laverick, travelled to Hinton Airfield in Northamptonshire, where she was one of only 12 who managed to carry out the skydive from 13,000ft before the wind halted any further dives.
Michelle, Vice-chair & PR Director of the AWTE says, I do enjoy a challenge, but this completely took me out of my comfort zone. I prefer to have my feet firmly on the ground up a mountain – or swimming in a lake. However, the opportunity to help raise awareness and funding for Papyrus, who do such an incredible role in helping to save the lives of young people, was worth every second of insecurity. The build up to the skydive was a huge emotional rollercoaster on every level, but on the day, I was blessed with amazing support, wall-to-wall sunshine, and stunning views. I am still not too sure how I did it, and leaving the plane was all a bit of a blur, but the views were incredible, and I was thrilled when I finally made it back down to solid ground safely. I think for my next challenge though, I will have my feet firmly back on sold ground.”
Papyrus is dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people and is the charity of choice for the AWTE in 2022 & 2023.
Michelle wasn’t the only active member of the AWTE board this weekend. Gail Kenny, Partnership Director, was one of the team who successfully climbed to the top of Mount Toubkal, which is the highest peak in North Africa, ahead of the ABTA conference, to raise monies for local communities and for ABTA lifeline. This was Gail’s first ever trek, also taking her completely out of her comfort zone and she had been training hard over the last few months ahead of the challenge.
Lindsay Garvey Jones, Chair, of the AWTE says: “I am so thrilled with the amazing challenges which have been undertaken by the incredible women from the AWTE Board over the weekend, raising money for differing charities at the heart of the travel industry and the AWTE. Raising over £500 for Papyrus, which is such an amazing charity, exceeded expectations and donations are still coming through this morning. It amazes me every day how we have so many fantastic people in the travel industry who go above and beyond for others. During 2022, we have organised a variety of events to help support those in travel and we will shortly be launching a series of events for 2023, so watch this space.”