A group of daredevils are set to take on a 200-foot abseiling challenge to raise money for a children's hospital.

The challenge, on Friday, April 19, will mark the fifth anniversary of the Saleem Foundation, and raise money for Birmingham Children's Hospital and Charity.

The charity, launched in honour of Mohammed Saleem, raises awareness and funds for a range of serious causes, and has supported charities such as Blood Cancer UK in the past.

 

 

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Shaz Saleem, the founder of the charity, and grandson of Mohammed, is leading the team.

The foundation has raised over £36,000 for charities to date.

For this event, it is focusing its efforts on raising money for Birmingham Children's Hospital and Charity, and has already collected over £1,000.

The abseiling team members include Jo Fletcher, a customer experience manager who is participating despite a fear of heights; Leigh Pryce, a student at Old Swinford Hospital who underwent surgery at Birmingham Children's Hospital; and Leigh's mother, Andrea Pryce, who wants to raise money to go towards enabling parents to stay with their children during surgery, just like she was able to with Leigh.

Also involved are Alison Banner, whose son passed away from a rare cancer at the hospital, and Katie Cartwright, a technician for West Midlands Ambulance Service, who aims to push through her personal barriers for this event, and Vari Holland, an IT service director, who joked he was "bullied into the abseil by Jo".

Mr Saleem, who has taken part in bungee jumps, a 15,000 feet sky dive and a white collar boxing match in the past, said: "My grandad was passionate about supporting charities and the local community, I’m hoping to follow in his legacy.

"I’m honoured to be joined in my latest crazy stunt by amazing community heroes from Kingswinford and Wall Heath."