Skiers raise £65,000 for charity
Sunday April 12, 2009 - Email this article to a friend

For 27-year old Lance Corporal Rory Mckenzie a routine patrol in Basra in 2007 in Iraq was a day that his life changed forever.  He was in a armoured vehicle and a roadside bomb went off killing a colleague and blowing off his leg.

Since then it’s been a long road to recovery and the 'Help for Heroes' charity has given him invaluable support along the way.

He never skied before his injury and took it up last winter.

"It was a dark path with no light at the end of the tunnel, but skiing has really given me something.  It's fantastic and I get a sense of freedom and mobility and it makes me on some sort of level playing field with others," he says.

See the video below for an interview with one remarkable man.

Further below is a video of Lance Corporal McKenzie explaining the equipment he uses to ski.

The charity night was at Coco’s nightclub in Verbier with tickets costing 250 Swiss francs and a reduced price of 125 Swiss francs for resort workers.

It was organised by the Verbier ski and snowboard school, European Snowsport, that also specialises in teaching people with disabilities how to ski.

There was canapés and a free bar and then a charity auction.

Prizes donated by people in Verbier included a week in a chalet, which sold for £11,995.

Singer James Blunt’s guitar went for nearly £2,400 and a weekend on a yacht in St Tropez fetched £4,185.

One bidder paid just over £2,000 for a three-night stay at Richard Branson’s luxury holiday home and two tickets to a Chelsea match fetched £1,436.

260 people attended and, as well as Lance Corporal Mckenzie, 3 other disabled servicemen were there who were injured recently in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Marine Ben McBean, 22, and fellow amputees, Steve Shine, 25, and Stuart Pearson, 33.

They all learned to ski to aid their recovery

“We were hoping to raise about £50,000 but in the end we far exceeded our target,” says event organiser Oli Dannatt.  “People were so generous and on behalf of all the disabled servicemen who will benefit I thank each and every person for their support on what was a fantastic evening.”

24-year old Oli Dannatt is the son of General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Armed Forces who is closley involved in the charity.

“It was a tremendous evening in Verbier and it was one of the largest amounts of money we’ve had from a private event,” Sir Richard told PlanetSKI. “What Help for Heroes has done for our injured servicemen and women is quite unbelievable. The money raised is vital in helping them overcome their injuries. It is very humbling to meet those who have suffered life-changing injuries because of their bravery.”

See the video below for Lance Corporal McKenzie explaining the ski equipment he uses.

Bookmark this page

Related Articles