A team of charity employees from St Austell are set to take a ‘Leap of Kindness’ for learning disability charity Hft this month, to raise funds for impactful projects in the area.

The seven-strong team, comprising Chloe Drew, Tiffany Pooley, Tegan Martin, Tracey Bridle, Yasmin Miller and Nicola Massey and her husband, Malcom, will each complete a skydive this autumn as part of Hft’s annual skydiving campaign, which, this year, has been branded the Leap of Kindness.

Through their efforts, they hope to secure enough funds to complete a sensory building project which is currently underway in St Austell. They also plan to spend the funds on greenhouses and garden improvements to make the outside spaces of Hft services safer and more enjoyable for those supported by the charity.

One of the team members and Hft area support manager, Chloe Drew, said: “The sensory room is being built at Bradbury in St Austell, which has been an ongoing project for a couple of years. We hope that the money we raise will support in finishing the project, enabling supported people in Cornwall to have access to this quiet space, free of charge.

“As for our ‘green’ initiatives, we also hope to enable our supported living services in Cornwall to be able to spruce up their gardens and become more self-sustaining through growing their own fruit and vegetables and helping the environment.”

This will be the latest in a list of fundraising activities the Cornish crew have held to date, after raising £900 by hosting a bingo night last month.

Hft is inviting everyone to take a Leap of Kindness this September as it places a focus on combatting loneliness in learning disabled adults following research that found more than one third (36%) of learning disabled people felt lonely nearly always or all the time.

If anyone is interested in signing up, visit Hft’s ‘Get Involved’ page. Or to extend support to the Cornwall team, visit their JustGiving page tracking.hft.org.uk/tracking