Taking a Leap to Bring Others Forward
How a team of five brave women at SHL took on the daring skydiving challenge to raise funds for disadvantaged girls in Brazil.
This year World Humanitarian Day focused on women around the world taking action to address human suffering. A group of women at SHL decided to do our small part by dedicating our leap of faith to a charity that assists young women in Brazil to keep them off the streets and to pursue an education.
The Idea
The idea to go skydiving was born when I shared a 2019 personal goal with the company at the December 2018 SHL town hall. I saw skydiving as a metaphor for SHL’s leap into our new independent identity in 2019. All of us have signed up to the challenge of building a new, stronger, more integrated SHL that is playing to win in every way. To fulfill that promise made to SHL employees at the end of 2018, I pulled together an invitation for SHL employees to join me at the British Army Parachuting Center in West England to go tandem skydiving in September 2019.
The Charity
Over time, the commitment transformed into much more than just one exec keeping her word, given at a town hall. After making my proclamation last December, several SHL women approached me, committing to share in the adventure and taking on the challenge! One coworker, Kathy Holton, made the transformational suggestion that we expand our quest to benefit others. She shared the story of Happy Child International, a charity that works with girls struggling to get off the streets of Brazil and build a life, free from prostitution and exploitation. We all embraced Happy Child International as the beneficiary of our crazy undertaking.
The Jump
Teri Ellison, our Chief HR Officer, and three other brave SHL women, Kathy Holton, Kheloud Tayfoor and Roxane Hentz all completed our tandem skydive! We had an amazing day together, expanding our sense of possibilities and raising money for girls with unimaginable challenges to overcome circumstances. By expanding our mission from our own personal fulfillment to doing some small action to improve the world in which we live, we truly elevated the whole day to a memorable, life-affirming endeavor.
The opportunity to contribute to Happy Child International is still open on our fundraising page so please feel free to contribute to this noble cause.
