St Luke’s Hospice Head of Volunteering Fran Bradshaw admits she has no head for heights.
But a special anniversary persuaded her that she needed to conquer her fear and sign up for the annual St Luke’s abseil.
“The date of the abseil was my birthday so I took that as a sign because I hate heights and I wanted to push myself to do something out of my comfort zone,” she admits.
“More importantly, I wanted to raise some money for St Luke’s after the amazing care my brother Ross had received the previous year.”
Fran completed the abseil - which was held at Sheffield Hallam University’s Owen Building - with her partner Buzz.
“The volunteers and staff on the day were great and also helped to keep me calm,” she says.
“There is plenty of support and seeing the other people abseiling before me did help me to visualise what it might be like.
“The staff explained everything and then it was just a case of getting on with it and listening to what they say.
“Once the harness takes your weight, you start to trust that you can do this and enjoy it too.
“It was absolutely amazing and I was really proud of myself for doing this, especially as I could hear all my friends and family cheering me on - they even sang Happy Birthday to me as I was on my way down which was hilarious and really emotional.
“When my feet touched the floor I was relieved to be back on the ground but I wanted to do it again instantly.”
The most important thing for Fran, though, was knowing that she had done something for the hospice, which is not only where she has worked for more than 14 years but which has an important place in the heart of her family.
“When my brother Ross became ill in 2023, St Luke’s was able to support him, my family, and me,” she says.
“Everyone at St Luke’s who came into contact with Ross was kind, and considerate and could not have done more to make him feel at home, which is so important when you are feeling so poorly.
“Even though I work there every day, from the minute I walked into the St Luke’s reception as a family member and was shown to his room for the first time, it felt like a warm hug.
“I wanted to give something extra back, as so many others do - I wanted to do something to help raise the vital funds needed."
That’s why Fran is now encouraging other St Luke’s supporters to sign up for one of the range of active challenges being planned for 2025, including an abseil and bungee jump, which will be held at the award-winning Magna Science Adventure Centre on November 15.
Participants have £35 to sign up for the abseil or £50 for the bungee and are then requested to raise a minimum sponsorship of either £150 or £250.
Other challenges include the Sheffield Half Marathon, the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, the Great North Run, Sunrise at Snowdon and the Sheffield 10k.
“It’s definitely worth doing because the sense of achievement is truly overwhelming and you’re raising money for St Luke’s at the same time,” says Fran.