Jump for the Cause is a
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
group of women who perform mass skydiving formations to raise money. A new world's record was set on Saturday, September 26, 2009; when 181 women from 31 countries jumped in formation. This event also raised more than $900,000 for a cancer-care center based in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
History
Jump For The Cause was established in 1997 as a U.S.
Internal Revenue Code Section
501(c)(3) corporation.
It was founded by
Mallory Lewis
Mallory Hurwitz Lewis (née Tarcher; born July 8, 1962) is an American writer, television producer, ventriloquist, and puppeteer. Lamb Chop is a sock puppet created by Lewis' mother, Shari Lewis.
Early life
Mallory Lewis was born as Mallory T ...
, Brad Hood, Kate Cooper-Jensen, and
Tony Domenico. In the past, the organization has raised over $400,000 to sponsor the Stereotactic Biopsy Exam Room at the City of Hope’s breast cancer research and treatment center. It has also raised more than $500,000 to sponsor an entire floor at the hospital’s research building.
World record
Jump for the Cause has made three prior FAI recognized Women's World Records in skydiving since their formation in 1999. This jump; having been the largest yet, consisted of 181 women from 26 countries who jumped from nine planes at 17,000 feet. The women were finally able to break the world record on the sixth attempt. The prior records were a 118 way set in 1999, a 132 way in 2002 and a 151 skydiver formation set in 2005. There were no reported injuries from anyone involved.
[ All JFTC events have been held at the Perris Valley Skydiving Center in Perris, California. The most recent JFTC was run from 21–27 September 2009 during a festival celebrating the beginning of October’s ]Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...
Awareness Month.[
The group was co-organized by ]Mallory Lewis
Mallory Hurwitz Lewis (née Tarcher; born July 8, 1962) is an American writer, television producer, ventriloquist, and puppeteer. Lamb Chop is a sock puppet created by Lewis' mother, Shari Lewis.
Early life
Mallory Lewis was born as Mallory T ...
, the daughter of Shari Lewis
Shari Lewis (born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz; January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was a Peabody-winning American ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, television show host, dancer, singer, actress, author, and symphonic conductor. She wa ...
, the puppeteer of Lamb Chop and author of many children's books. She stated that she was hoping to raise $700,000 for City of Hope, a cancer-care center in California, United States. "I couldn't believe when we passed $900,000." Lewis stated.[ Primary organizer of the skydiving section of the event was Kate Cooper-Jensen aided by Tony Domenico. Cooper-Jensen ran the skydiving part of the event and Domenico coordinated the formation designs and dive plans.
]
See also
* Base jump
*Drop zone
A drop zone (DZ) is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes. In ...
* Parachute
*Paratrooper
A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...
*Free-fall
In Newtonian physics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. In the context of general relativity, where gravitation is reduced to a space-time curvature, a body in free fall has no force acting on i ...
*Tandem skydiving
Tandem skydiving or tandem parachuting refers to a type of skydiving where a student skydiver is connected to an instructor via a harness. The instructor guides the student through the whole jump from exit through freefall, piloting the canopy ...
*Wingsuit
Wingsuit flying (or wingsuiting) is the sport of skydiving using a webbing-sleeved jumpsuit called a wingsuit to add webbed area to the diver's body and generate increased lift, which allows extended air time by gliding flight rather than just ...
References
{{reflist, 2
External links
* http://www.jumpforthecause.com (Official web site)
Parachuting organizations