Samantha takes the plunge in daring bungee jump for St Catherine’s

A St Catherine’s Hospice supporter has braved the world’s highest bridge bungee jump to raise a wonderful £482 for the charity

Samantha McGonagle, 30, from Clayton-le-Woods in Chorley, holidayed in South Africa and was convinced by her husband Rob to join him in the adrenaline-filled Bloukrans Bridge bungee jump.

Samantha, an assistant private secretary, said: “Rob was planning our trip to South Africa and came across the bungee jump. When he first suggested it I tried to do everything I could to get out of it, but unfortunately our travel insurance covered us!

“St Catherine’s Hospice is a charity that is close to my heart as the staff and volunteers did such a good job looking after my nanna before she passed away, so I thought it would be a good idea to try and raise sponsorship money from doing the jump.”

Speaking about the experience, she added: “I felt a little nervous on the drive to the bridge but my first thought when we arrived was how amazing the views were.

“After watching Rob take the plunge it was my turn to step up, and with the music pumping and the staff giving me high fives, I was getting really excited! I did as I was instructed; bend your knees, chin up and jump to the mountains.

“For the first few seconds my brain didn’t really know what was happening and I panicked a bit, wondering why I’d just hurled myself off a bridge! But after the initial fright it was an absolutely amazing experience. I was on top of the world for the rest of the day.”

Samantha has previously completed a 10k run in support of St Catherine’s, and is planning to hike Ben Nevis in April in memory of a friend.

Hayley Jackson, community engagement officer at the Lostock Hall hospice, said: “It took a lot of courage for Samantha to take this big leap in support of St Catherine’s, and we’re really grateful for her efforts and the amount she’s generously donated to our cause.

“We have to raise a staggering £3.7m of our annual £5.4m running costs, and it is only thanks to the amazing support of people in our community like Samantha who go to great lengths to fundraise on our behalf, that we are able to continue offering our specialist palliative and end-of-life care to local people at the hospice and in patients’ own homes, helping them to achieve quality of life to the end of life.

“We’d like to say ‘thank you’ and of course ‘well done’ to Samantha for her daring bungee jump, and for choosing to support St Catherine’s Hospice.”

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