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ONE of the few people in the world to have swam from England to France and back again has presented Jersey Cheshire home with a cheque for over £12,000.
Sally Minty-Gravett handed over the money when she joined the home’s Head of physiotherapy Steve Martin in the Aqua therapy pool at Eric Young house.
Sally completed the marathon challenge at the age of 59 to become the oldest woman ever to tackle the double English Channel swim. She spent 36 hours and 26 minutes in the water.
The highly experienced swimmer is the only person to have completed five Channel crossings in five different decades and she has also have swam across the stretch of water seven times in total with her first being in 1985.
She raised a total of over £18,000 in sponsorship from the double swim, with one third going to lifesaving charity the RNLI
‘I am absolutely delighted to be able to make this contribution of £12,368 to Jersey Cheshire Home which is an amazing charity that provides vital support to some of the Island’s most physically disabled people,’ she said.
Time in the swimming pool combined with Aqua and physiotherapy are key components of the rehabilitation work carried out at the home.
‘It is somehow fitting that a marathon like the double Channel swim should be raising money for people who tackle huge challenges every single day just living their lives,’ she said.
Mr Martin said that the home was delighted to receive the donation from Mrs Minty-Gravett that will be put towards the £2 million Big Build extension and refurbishment project.
‘It is a significant amount of money and we are very grateful but it is also only a small percentage of what we need to raise,’ he said.
Work on the construction phase of the development at the home in Rope Walk is due to end in September but a considerable amount of money is still required to fund the project. The number of permanent residents the home can accommodate will rise to 28.
The project will also improve many of the existing bedrooms as well as provide much needed new and expanded facilities for residents, staff and the 400 plus regular monthly users of the home’s amenities.
The extension to Eric Young House is timely as demand for services is growing and it is essential that the needs of the community can be met in the years ahead.
It costs over £2 million a year to run Jersey Cheshire Home. The average length of stay at other local nursing/residential care homes is 18 month to two years but at Cheshire Home it is 14 years.
Meanwhile, it seems that Sally Minty-Gravett never stops being involved with Channel swimming. At the end of August she will be in the guard boat accompanying Karen Gallichan, the first of two Islanders who are going to attempt the hugely difficult swim from England to France this year.
