With her 60th birthday on its way, Margaret Sherrington didn’t want it to pass by without a bang.
Since November, Margaret has been moving at full throttle to take on 60 challenges ahead of her big day on 27 October – including leaping 11,000 feet out of a plane to raise money for Derian House Children’s Hospice.
Margaret, from Chorley, fell from the sky on Sunday (31 July) and has so far raised almost £900 with hopes to reach £1,000.
Margaret has walked, ran, cycled and swam her way through challenges leading up to number 49 – her skydive.
Not only has she parasailed in Portugal and helicoptered over Morecambe Bay, but Margaret has milked a cow, steered a barge, spent a day as the Chorley Football Club mascot – Victor Magpie, and had a firefighter carry her over his shoulder at a visit to the Lancashire Fire and Rescue headquarters.
Margaret, a Business Support Officer at BAE Systems in Samlesbury, said: “I wanted to mark my 60th birthday by tackling 60 challenges, and I can tell you it hasn’t always been easy!
“I feel like I’ve completed a lot already, but we’ve still got more to come before October.
“The skydive was amazing! I was so nervous and it was a bit of a shock when I first jumped out of the plane, but it was so incredible and I’m still buzzing about it.
“The skydive is something I’ve always wanted to do, so I decided to do it to raise money for Derian House. It’s a charity local to me and I know a lot about the amazing work that it does supporting families.
“I booked the dive in January and funded it all myself, including the camera man, so everything I raise will go to the families at Derian House.
“Derian is a great charity – I even spent some time volunteering in their Chorley charity shop in May and June this year.
“Plus, we never miss the Jingle All The Way Santa walk up Rivington, we’ve been doing it for five years now – last year was bigger than ever, and it was a scorching day!
“I loved the skydive and I’m glad that I could use one of my 60 challenges to do something for such a deserving charity. I hope that I can raise as much as possible!”
Ellie Smith, Community Fundraiser at Derian House, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Margaret for choosing to support Derian in her skydive!
“As a charity, we rely on the kindness of people, just like Margaret, who go out of their way to raise vital funds so we can continue to provide care for our children and young people, and their families.
“We wish her the best of luck with her 60 challenges and hope she enjoys her 60th birthday!”
Donate to Margaret’s skydive challenge.
