Jump Start
SGT Pip Dawson
Earlier this year the Royal New Zealand Air Force, once again, supported Jump Start by giving fifty teenagers from CanTeen and Project K an opportunity to complete a tandem skydive from 10,000 ft.
The charity event was hosted by RNZAF Base Auckland, who provided a Hercules C-130, Parachute Jump Instructors, and a medical crew for the day. The RNZAF Parachute Training and Support Unit was this year coordinated by Flight Sergeant Garth ‘Mag’s’ Magnussen. Jump Start Director, Tim Fastnedge said the support from the RNZAF was amazing. “They just do that little bit extra to make this event happen. I found Mag’s extremely supportive and his passion towards this event has been inspiring.”
RNZAF Base Medical also plays a very important role. With half of the participants in the Jump Start programme being teenagers with cancer, Base Medical is tasked to ‘vet’ the medical clearance forms prior to the event. Then on the day, medical personnel assist onboard the Hercules with those that may require it. National Programme Manager for CanTeen, Jarnia Cameron said that for many of the members it is one of the best experiences of their lives.
“It sounds like a cliché, but it really is a feeling of being alive. And once they hit the ground their smiles are huge—that makes all the organising and logistics worthwhile.”
Jump Start is founded on the premise that the experience of being alive transforms and helps to develop growth, confidence, courage and a sense of belonging in the teenagers involved.