A daring employee from Wales & West Utilities has braved new heights by taking part in a skydive and raising money for Cancer Research Wales.
Assistant Management Accountant, Luke Pritchard, 25 and from Cardiff, who works out of the company’s headquarters at Celtic Springs in Newport, has doubled his original fundraising target after Wales & West Utilities match-funded his efforts to bring the total raised to more than £770.
Luke jumped from 12,000 feet at Swansea Airfield and now his generous donation will contribute towards the efforts of Cancer Research Wales in battling the disease.
The match funding donation made by Wales & West Utilities is a company-wide scheme which pledges to support the fundraising efforts of its colleagues.
Luke took to the sky to raise money for the charity after being touched by the work that it does. He explains: “I sadly lost my uncle to cancer a few years back and recently a friend had a scare which thankfully turned out to be nothing. It was whilst looking for further information on cancer that I was hit with the terrifying fact that one in two people born after 1960 will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime. Looking around at friends, family and colleagues I knew that I wanted to do something to raise money to help the fight against this disease.
“I’m overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity – I never imagined I would be able to raise so much money individually to help fund the vital work that Cancer Research Wales does. The skydive was exhilarating and such a fantastic way to help the charity.”
Deputy Charity Director at Cancer Research Wales, Coleen Watkins, said: “Cancer Research Wales would like to say a big thank you to Luke for all his efforts and bravery in completing the skydive and to Wales & West Utilities for match-funding the money he has raised.
“The money raised will go towards clinical and laboratory-based cancer research across Wales, where breakthroughs are taking place. It’s where our scientists are finding answers to the questions that are being asked by cancer researchers all over the world.
“We’re proud to be at the heart of this. We’re proud to be funding some of the most innovative cancer research in the world. And we’re proud to be giving hope to people with cancer and to their families.”
HR Director Sarah Hopkins from Wales & West Utilities added: “We are committed to supporting the fundraising efforts of our colleagues. Individually they are making a difference to charities across Wales and the rest of the UK and our match-funding contribution is seeking to make the money raised go further.”
Wales & West Utilities is this year celebrating 10 years of delivering gas safely and securely to more than 2.5 million homes and businesses across Wales and the south west of England. It does not sell gas, it transports it, and more than 7.5 million customers rely on the company to do so.