Porch Plunge
‘14,000ft Porch Thoughts’
Idioms, phrases or expressions such as, ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’, ‘kick the bucket’ and ‘drive me up the wall’ often make their way into our conversations, although we cannot take them literally. As it turned out on my Porch before Christmas last year, it was suggested I ‘take a flying jump’ during a light-hearted debate. I took the ‘bull by the horns’ to become involved in raising funds and awareness for Lighthouse Foundation based in Melbourne.
Being an avid Porch Thinker, regularly writing columns, short stories and song lyrics, I often find inspiration in nature and with the flying jump firmly in mind, I simply looked to the sky and created a mini fundraising campaign, ‘Mark’s Porch Plunge for Lighthouse Foundation.’ A simple Porch Thought, yet I would still have to muster the courage to actually take that flying jump with a tandem skydive.
I learnt my plunge with Skydive the Beach Melbourne would take place from an altitude of 14,000ft and I would free-fall at 200km per hour for 60 seconds (gulp!) and canopy directly over St Kilda Beach for around 7 minutes to safely land in Moran Reserve (Elwood) in order to complete my plunge and hoping to raise $1,000. I was somewhat suprised by the prompt generosity of family, friends, businesses and organisations whom wanted me to jump out of a plane, and raised over $1,200 in a few days all thanks to Skydive the Beach Melbourne who accommodated my jump and support Lighthouse Foundation’s vision of ending youth homelessness in Australia.
The Skydive the Beach Melbourne team couldn’t wait to welcome me aboard their tiny plane and have me strapped to their professional tandem instructor Cody Bekkerus to help me complete my mission that was completely out of my comfort zone. Having completed over 5,000 jumps in his career, as we took to the sky from the Moorabbin Airport, Cody assured me that I had nothing to fear as long as he remembered to connect me to his harness before we jumped. Yeah, funny guy!
With just one mile to reach before plunge time, we shuffled to the side of the door and my numbing legs were suddenly beneath the plane; my arms crossed, head back, heart racing and somewhere between feeling the heaviness of Cody on my back, the screeching of the wind and the roar of the engine, upon reflection, I entered a moment of ‘nothing,’ a moment without sight, sound, thought, weight or any emotion that I can remember. Cody’s sudden “Wooohooo” snapped light into my eyes, ripped the wind into my face and sound forces through my ears, inducing recall, a place of being and jubilation. I was flying and free.
With plenty of screams, smiles and waving at Cody’s camera strapped to his arm during the free- fall, he released the canopy and it was time to relax and enjoy the amazing views of Melbourne’s CBD, Port Phillip Bay and the Mornington Peninsula. We slowly swirled, twisted and turned on our way down that provided us time to discuss our Porch Plunge for Lighthouse Foundation and trying to fathom how, that on a given day in Australia, approximately 150,000 people, half of them under 24, are homeless. On a day of putting many things into perspective, I realised that is more than the seating capacity at the MGC.
As my feet dangled metres above the thousands of nearing Porches, rooftops, swimming pools, roads, trees, cars and the boats moored at the St Kilda Marina, it was time to swing my pre jump training into action by holding my legs up to ensure we landed with ease on the grass. With a deep breath, a few high-fives and more happy snaps, Cody and I celebrated the success of our Porch Plunge. The eagle had landed.
$1235.00 raised from the generosity of the following supporters of Lighthouse Foundation:
Victoria St John, Creighton Dickie, Mark Powers, Pat Eklom, Paige, Jude and Jack Richardson, Lyndall, Jay and Alannah Tennant, Wayne-Banks Smith, Deb Davis, Julie Hyne, Moira and Murray Howard-Brooks, David Holden, Mia De Rose, Rob Richardson, Hans Langender, Robert Kaldor, Ig Ridis, Peter Jago, Chris McDonald, Les Pamensky, Deegan Jolly, Smilka Jakobi, Peter Clarke, Bastien Treptel, Control IT, Andy Devic, Degen Agnew, Helen Russell, Evan Christopolous, Tim McPherson, Peter Lake, Peter Marcus, Franoise Leconte, Brian Jones, Peter Philip, Lauren Berry, Hunter Dean, Anatole Petrovich Kononewsky, Eric Giamarrio, QA Software Pty Ltd, ChillRoom Studios, Mag Media, Peninsula Paving Pty Ltd, IKON Images, Freemasons Victoria Monash Lodge No. 938 and Rowland Pinder Public Relations. Skydive photos courtsey of Skydive the Beach Melbourne.
Porch Thought of The Day
Kane Bowden
CEO Lighthouse Foundation
“People like Mark are the epitome of what Lighthouse is all about - seeing a segment of our community that needs support and then taking it upon himself to get involved to raise both awareness and funds. If everyone took it upon themselves to get involved and support worthy causes like Lighthouse then, together, we really could end youth homelessness and probably do it within a generation.
Every dollar raised to support the Lighthouse Model of Care enables us to give homeless young people a home, a family and therapeutic care that is individually tailored, trauma informed and proven to work. It means that our young people can regain their childhood and take their rightful place in the community.
I would say to everyone that you can do what Mark did. Find a cause, take on a challenge and get involved because regardless of where that might take you the act of getting involved is, in itself, incredibly valuable.”