Postwoman takes the plunge as she swims with sharks for charity

Postwoman Stephanie Wilson, 22 from Whitchurch, is set to brave a shark dive on Sunday 14 December, to raise awareness and funds for the Stroke Association.

Stephanie will take the plunge and go face to face with Sand Tiger Sharks, at the Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire.

Stephanie volunteered to take on the challenge after the Stroke Association was chosen as Royal Mail Group’s Charity of the Year. Stephanie was also inspired by her sister Christine who is a Communication Support Coordinator for the charity, helping to support stroke survivors as they come to terms with a life after stroke.

The Stroke Association was chosen as Royal Mail Group’s Charity of the Year after receiving almost 40,000 staff votes. The company aims to raise at least £2 million for the Stroke Association over the course of the partnership. Every penny raised will help the charity provide Life After Stroke grants of up to £300 to help 10,000 stroke survivors. These grants fund equipment to give stroke survivors more independence and support as they take their first steps back into the community.

Gary Grange, Community Investment Manager at Royal Mail, said: “It’s fantastic to see fundraisers like Stephanie supporting our Charity of the Year and doing everything they can to help us to raise vital funds in aid of Life after Stroke grants. In the next two years, we want to raise at least £2 million for the Stroke Association, so that we can change the lives of thousands of people affected by stroke.”

Stephanie will begin the day by having training in a classroom environment, where she will learn about the animals she will be diving with and the principles of scuba diving. She’ll then be kitted out with her scuba gear and enter the training pool to learn all the necessary skills, before taking the dive into the main tank.

Cage free, she will be accompanied by Europe's largest collection of sharks including Sand Tiger sharks, Nurse sharks, Lemon sharks, Guitar sharks, Whitetips, Blacktips and Bamboo sharks. There are also some giant rays, and obviously a lot of fish!

Stephanie said: “I was inspired to take part in the dive to support the new Charity of the Year partnership. I also hear the impact that my sister has on the stroke survivors and the families that she supports in her day to day role. I want to support the fantastic work the Stroke Association does, and to ensure they can be there for even more families who have been affected by stroke.

“I’ve taken part in fundraisers before, including 10km runs and half marathons but this is something completely different and the challenge really stood out to me! I’m a little nervous about the dive, but really excited about coming face-to-face with the sharks. I’m also very grateful to everyone who has sponsored me so far, including Hall Smith Whittingham for their very generous donation of £200.”

Laura McMullin, Regional Fundraiser from the Stroke Association added, “Every year there are approximately 152,000 strokes in the UK. That's one stroke every three and a half minutes. Stroke changes lives. It can have a huge effect on you and your family. We rely on people like Stephanie to help change lives and together we can conquer stroke.”

For more information about stroke please contact 0303 3033 100 or go to www.stroke.org.uk. To find out more about taking part in a fundraising shark dive, visit: www.stroke.org.uk/sharkdive