Mollie James 23, from Southampton, Hampshire is set to take a leap of faith from 15,000 feet in the sky as she battles with mental health including anxiety. She is bracing to push herself to her limits of fear to help others struggling. All money raised will be split between three recipients; Mind, Waterside Archery Club, and FOSDA (Friends of Southampton Diving Academy).
The jump will take place with Salisbury-based, Go-Skydive.
Mollie, who is no stranger to diving, is actually an Olympic style diving coach based at The Quays in Southampton, though on water rather than from a plane! Mollie intends to help her dive club with funds from the raised donations after they have been hit by COVID-19. The dive club is set to reopen in August but on a limited basis, and any extra funding will help the national and international divers train back up to their potential. The club has been very successful with results, with Olympic Champion Chris Mears doing training up to the games at the club.
Mollie is also a keen archer, finding archery a release from her everyday life, will be supporting her local family club in Exbury, Waterside Archers. They have also been hit by COVID-19. Her father got her into the sport following trauma last year, she has become closer with her family and therefore her life has positively changed thanks to the club.
Mollie who suffers and struggles with her anxiety has taken the challenge to the extreme in order to battle her own fear and push herself to the maximum level on the 21st August 2020 for a good cause and to conquer something she didn’t think she would ever achieve. She has already hit her target of raising £1000 for the benefactors, and now has her heart set on doubling this figure to £2000!
Mollie shares: ‘I am obviously terrified, and would appreciate anything being raised before I throw myself out! I want to help others who are afraid to speak out about mental health, there is a huge stigma around it, I was afraid but Mind has helped me massively and I don’t know where I would be now without them.
‘Charities for mental health are poorly funded, and I want to change that. Even if I make a small contribution, it is better than nothing. I thought I was fine, the trauma I experienced last year didn’t seem to affect me at first, but things do creep up on you and sometimes you hide it, or you just cannot see what is going on until you hit rock bottom.’
According to No Panic, a mental health charity, ‘mixed anxiety and depression is the most common mental disorder in the UK, with 7.8% of people meeting criteria for diagnosis. Common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are distributed according to a gradient of economic disadvantage across society. The poorer and more disadvantaged are disproportionately affected by common mental health problems and their adverse consequences.’
If you can help give Mollie the boost she needs by making a donation however small, the link to her GoFundMe page is here.
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Image credit: Freepik
