Councillor to take on 15,000-ft charity sky dive
An intrepid Dudley councillor is set to take a 15,000-ft leap of faith next month with a charity tandem skydive.
Shaz Saleem, who represents Kingswinford and Wall Heath, is gearing up for the event on June 19 in which he hopes to raise as much money as possible for The Georgina Unit at Russells Hall Hospital.
He is one of a ten-strong group taking on the challenge in Salisbury, Wiltshire, to support the unit, which specialises in the treatment of patients with Leukaemia, and raise awareness.
“It is a brilliant cause,” said Shaz, 35.
“There are so many people out there suffering.
“The Georgina Unit does amazing work helping people to recover and the money raised will go towards its facilities.
“Our target is £1,000 but we hope to beat that - the equipment is a lot more expensive than people think and every penny helps.”
Shaz organised the fundraiser with his friend, Jesse Perkins, who has skydived before and the pair have climbed Ben Nevis together.
“He will be with me,” said Shaz who also runs a charity himself - The Saleem Foundation.
“The foundation is named after my grandad who was a huge inspiration to me,” said Shaz.
“We raise awareness of serious issues such as domestic abuse and mental health and give grants to grassroots groups such as football clubs, those that run coffee mornings and youth groups.
“I remember when I was starting up a youth group in 2008 there was no funding available,” said Shaz.
“It is important that local people like ourselves play a part in helping the community.”
Shaz, who has skydived from 10,000 feet before, said that as he ascended in the plane he could hardly see anything on the ground.
“I thought we must be at about 5,000 feet in altitude,” said Shaz.
“I asked the instructor and he said we were barely at 1,000 ft.
“I underestimated it, so 15,000 feet is going to be something but I am looking forward to it.”
Shaz will be supported on the day by his wife Tirha and children Ali, 15, Salina, 11, Alina, 7 and five-year-old Haidar.
“My youngest, Haidar, wants to jump with me,” said Shaz.
“I think he has some of my crazier instincts in him”
Anyone who wishes to support Shaz is asked to visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/tsfleukemiaappeal
