Issue date
Former Yachting New Zealand chief executive Simon Wickham will throw himself off a perfectly good bridge next week all to help young people in this country.
Wickham was Yachting New Zealand CEO from 2000-05 and has been a long-time selector for the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
He's planning on jumping off the Taupo bungy on September 15 in the annual Drop Your Boss fundraiser for the Graeme Dingle Foundation.
"I had the opportunity once to personally hear from and meet with some of the Graeme Dingle Foundation’s programme participants, one who proudly told her story at an event I attended," Wickham said.
"Hearing her story brought me to tears and I will spare you the details of the abuse she was subjected to as a child, but somehow with incredible resilience and the help of GDF she got past that and her life is now able to take a very different and positive course to that which it might have.
"I’m doing a little bit to help enable GDF to make a big difference in young people’s lives locally."
The Graeme Dingle Foundation was established in 1995 with the aim of providing positive child and youth development. They currently work with more than 28,000 young people throughout New Zealand.
See here for more about Wickham's leap, including details on how to make a donation, and here for more about Wickham's background.
