This weekend, Ruth Gomm fulfilled a lifelong ambition to do a skydive, jumping at 10,000 feet and raising funds for Jewish Care. Ruth, 67, is fundraising for Jewish Care’s Anita Dorfman House at Sandringham which is on the Stanmore/Hertfordshire borders and is where her mum, who is living with vascular dementia, is a resident.
“When mum first came to live with Jewish Care, she was unhappy, stressed and wouldn’t mix with the other residents, preferring to stay in her room even to have her meals,” says Ruth.
“Several years later, my mum is a different person; whilst she still has dementia, she now sits with other residents in the communal lounge, she enjoys watching TV, listening to the musical entertainment and joins in with Friday night Kiddush.
“Mum is so much calmer and more relaxed and that is all down to the wonderful carers and nurses that work at Anita Dorfman House and care for mum. The patience and love shown to my mum and to all the residents, is second to none.
Ruth, who lives in Stanmore, has had a long and successful career of over 40 years in residential property management, managing many celebrity’s flats and becoming a Fellow of the Institute of Residential Property Management. She also has two sons and five grandchildren, her eldest son’s children and her husband’s grandchildren.
“Since I was very small, I have always wanted to jump out of an aeroplane and fly like a bird,” explains Ruth, “so a skydive was on my bucket list. Once I retired, I decided that it was time to fulfil that dream and fundraising is my way of saying a huge thank you to the staff for caring and looking after her. I hope to raise as much money as possible for this wonderful cause which is very close to my heart.”
Jewish Care’s Director of Fundraising and Community Engagement, Adam Overlander-Kaye says, “I’d like to congratulate Ruth on her skydive and thank her for supporting Jewish Care. We are absolutely delighted that Ruth has decided to take on this incredible challenge to raise funds for Jewish Care’s Anita Dorfman House at Sandringham in gratitude for the care and support that her mother receives from the staff at the home.”
After Ruth’s skydive, she said, “We flew to 10,000 feet and I was first to jump with my instructor, Kevin. The next six minutes as scary, amazing, overwhelming and noisy all at the same time. Having nothing beneath me except clouds was incredible and we were freefalling through the clouds down to a height of approximately 3,000 feet. Kevin pulled the parachute cords and they were twisted so we had to pirouette to untangle them, but then we started to drift and float down. It was totally quiet and still, the air felt so clear and beautiful. I started to relax and really enjoy myself, feeling weightless and calm.
“I landed feeling very relieved and I am thrilled to have raised over £1200 so far, for Anita Dorfman House where my mum lives. A huge thank you to all my family and friends who have kindly and generously donated.”
You can still support Ruth’s skydive by donating at justgiving.com/fundraising/flyinghighruthie
Dementia Awareness Week is on 15-22 May 2022. To find out more about Jewish Care’s local services supporting people living with dementia and their family carers, visit jewishcare.org, contact helpline@jcare.org or call 020 8922 2222.
