Local Bowls Club braves 120-foot-high Zip Wire Challenge in aid of national military charity

A group of members of the Crawley Downsman Bowls Club have raised over £900 – and counting – for military charity Blind Veterans UK as they took park in a nail-biting 120-foot-high Zip Wire Challenge from the top of its rehabilitation and training centre in Ovingdean.

Under the supervision of the Royal Marines, the members took part in the challenge on Sunday 12 May.

Tony Ludbrook, 63 and from Crawley and current Club Captain said of the experience that:

“We put all our faith in the Royal Marines and launched ourselves off the building and onto the zip wire – a fantastic feeling and over all too quickly!

“We have blind and visually impaired bowlers at our club, most of whom use the facilities at the Brighton centre so it seemed a natural thing to make Blind veterans UK charity of the year. When we got the opportunity to do this, we had quite a few people jump at the chance. It was a great day, great fun, great charity – the Downsman Bowlers had a super time”

Val Micklewright, 75 and from Crawley, is a member of the club with a personal association to the charity who took part in the challenge. She says:

“It’s an amazing charity. The way they handle things for the visually impaired, it makes their lives worth living again and I can say that from personal experience with the help that they gave myself and my husband. I can never thank them enough so I’m very happy to be supporting them. We’re delighted by how much we’ve raised but hope to raise even more.”

To donate to Downsmans Bowls Club’s fundraiser visit their page at:

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TonyLudbrook

The Zip Wire Challenge is just one of the ways to support Blind Veterans UK. You can find out more at https://www.blindveterans.org.uk/get-involved/

Find out more about Downsman Bowls Club by visiting: www.downsmanbowls.co.uk

For all media enquiries please contact:

Ailie MacDonald Wilson, Regional Marcomms Executive, ailie.macdonaldwilson@blindveterans.org.uk / 07599 535484

Notes to Editor

Blind Veterans UK helps vision-impaired ex-Service men and women of every generation rebuild their lives after sight loss. Since 1915, we’ve provided rehabilitation, training, practical advice and emotional support to tens of thousands of blind veterans.

Find out more at: blindveterans.org.uk and follow us on Facebook at: facebook.com/blindveteransuk and on Twitter at: twitter.com/blindveterans.

Our Executive Members

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