MACKLIN — Since announcing they would be jumping out of a plane, Macklin EMS staff members Terri Murrell and Jennifer Arlitt have been campaigning and fundraising throughout the west central region.
The duo had signed up for Teddy Bear Anonymous’s third annual Jump for Charity event back in April, joining two members of the Hutch Ambulance in Moosomin to compete against the Moose Jaw Police Service. The two teams fundraised over the summer before tandem skydiving from 7,500 feet in the air.
The two women started raising money through donation letters they handed out. They teamed up with the Delta Co-op in Macklin with a barbecue, sold sweet treats during the community-wide garage sale in June and had a raffle. Unfortunately, the pair never found a business to match the donations they raised, but they did get a boost from the Macklin Kinettes in the amount of $2,500.
“We did have a lot of donations from different companies, but none that matched our total, which was ok, and we were very thankful for their donations. Every little bit, $5 at a time, helped us get to where we were at,” said Murrell.
Those donations added up rather quickly for the team, and on Sept. 6, the competitors converged at the Moose Jaw Municipal Airport for the big drop. This year, Saskatchewan EMS and the Moose Jaw Police Service brought in their largest donation in three years, raising over $27,000 for the charity. Murrell and Arlitt contributed more than $14,000 to that total.
While many commenters said the women were “crazy” for jumping out of an airplane, Murrell said the feeling of falling was nothing like she expected.
“When we first jumped from the plane, the free fall was a feeling of euphoria. It was like time was standing still, and I was free-falling ever so gently in the middle of all that; it was very surreal.”
Murrell also added that she was excited to conquer her fear of heights, saying she has always had nightmares of falling from something.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it and show my adult children that they can do anything they put their minds to. I would recommend this experience to anybody who’s thinking of skydiving and participating in a fundraiser to support a great charity like Teddy Bears Anonymous,” added Murrell.
