Deciding to come out of her comfort zone and take on new extreme heights, Specialist Public Health Practitioner, Rachel Bishop, recently signed up to take part in a charity tandem skydive in aid to raise funds for the National Kidney Federation (NKF). A charity close to Rachel’s heart and in memory of her beloved sister-in-law, Sarah Moody.

Rachel, based in Mansfield, works with an integrated service for children, young people and families as well as working as part of the Covid-19 vaccination team. She decided to sign up to do a tandem skydive in Langor, Nottingham and fundraise after her sister-in-law Sarah sadly passed away in November last year.

Rachel explains her reason why she signed up to the challenge: "I signed up for this experience as I want to raise money for the National Kidney Federation who support patients living with kidney disease. I did this skydive in memory of my sister-in-law Sarah, she was the most amazing person and loved her life and fought so hard but very sadly died after a short battle with cancer. I know Sarah would be so proud of me.

Sarah was a kidney patient herself who had two kidney transplants in her lifetime. Her first transplant was at 18 years old and a second when she was 27 years old. These transplants meant everything to her and were so precious to allow her to lead a fantastic life. She would fundraise for charities all of the time, even when she was poorly, she would always think about other people and their needs.”

Sarah had even competed for Great Britain in the World Transplant Games over numerous years including the sports badminton, volleyball and basketball and won numerous medals for Team GB.

"Sarah travelled far across the world to compete in her sport for Great Britain and I had the amazing opportunity to watch her in Malaga in 2017 as well as other British games that were at various places across the UK. She would even fundraise herself to be able to take part. She amazed me with her courage and fight for life, and I will never forget her, she has left a massive hole in the world. She was one of my best friends and the best sister-in-law anyone could ever wish for.”

Rachel will be embarked on her skydive journey in aid of NKF on Friday 10th September 2021, she commented on how she felt about the big day: "I was very nervous as I am scared of heights, however my family were there to support me and I know that Sarah was with me all the way.”

Rachel’s initial fundraising target for the event on her JustGiving page was £500 however has exceeded her target amount thanks to her supporters and currently sits at an impressive £1,500 total.

She continues: "I am overwhelmed with the kindness of everyone who has sponsored me. Sarah has had such a huge impact on so many people’s lives and she is missed so much not only by her husband, my fantastic brother and myself, but so many family and friends. All of the sponsored money raised is to be directly funded to the NKF.”

Head of Fundraising and Marketing at the NKF, Pete Revell, commented on Rachel’s story: “It is so inspiring to see Rachel set a personal goal, grab hold and take control of her fears and do this in aid of the NKF, the support behind her is amazing and we at NKF are very grateful, thank you so much!”

Are you are inspired by Rachel and her skydiving mission in aid of the National Kidney Federation? Check out the NKF events page and see if there is a fundraising challenge for you: https://www.kidney.org.uk/Pages/Events/Category/event?Take=19