Norbar Torque Tools Ltd have been supporting Katharine House Hospice for many years, through employee fundraising, volunteering and sponsorship. They have been regular sponsors of the Katharine House Christmas cards and more recently supported us through sponsorship at our Santa Fun Run and Lights of Love events. The staff aren’t afraid of a bit of hard graft either and have spent many hours volunteering in our garden.  

The team have also taken part in numerous Moonlight Walks and Santa Fun Runs, so it’s obvious that the team don’t mind pushing themselves and going out of their comfort zone to raise money for charity! The employees at Norbar, based in Banbury, do love a challenge and over the years they have taken on their fair share of extreme challenges to raise vital funds for Katharine House Hospice.

Many years of support for Katharine House Hospice

Nearly ten years ago, as part of Norbar’s continued support of the hospice, Catherine Rohll completed the Thames Path Challenge – a 50km walk from Runnymede to Henley and raised an incredible £1,585 for Katharine House.  

The same year, a number of staff took part in the Winter Wolf Run on a very windy, rainy Sunday in November. The 10km off-road course was challenging with an excellent mix of natural and manmade obstacles in amazing surroundings but a good time was had by all that took part.  

More recently, the staff have been taking on more extreme challenges… 

In May 2022, Jen kicked off proceedings when she took to the skies and was strapped on the top wing of a Boeing Stearman bi-plane as part of the Wing Walk challenge! Jen took off from Rendcomb Airfield, Cirencester and was flying like a bird over the rolling countryside all whilst raising over £800 for the hospice.  

The following year, keen to keep up with the Norbar gang and tick something off their bucket list, Meg and Nicole stepped up and took on an Extreme Abseil and Skydive.  

In June 2023, Meg abseiled down the National Lift Tower based in Northampton at staggering 418 feet. The tower is the world’s highest static abseil and is an iconic listed building in the heart of  Northamptonshire with unbelievable views from the top. The abseil is ran by a team of professionals who ensured that Meg was safe at all times. The Extreme Abseil is most definitely a physical challenge and can take over 20 minutes to abseil all the way down but it was all worth it after Meg raised over £1,300 for the hospice.

 

More recently, a few months before she took part in the Santa Fun Run, Export Co-Ordinantor Nicole, jumped out of a plane and did a skydive for Katharine House, raising nearly £900! Nicole was looked after by the very experienced team at Hinton Skydive Centre in Brackley when she undertook the thrill of a 125mph freefall from 13,000 feet! Nicole said:  

"The skydive was an out-of-this-world experience, and I would recommend everyone to take the jump, especially to help raise money for such an amazing charity! We all hope we never need Katharine House’s services but in reality we probably all know at least one person who has received palliative care from the amazing team there. We need to continue supporting them and raising as much money as we all can so they can continue to provide the best care possible for those needing end-of-life treatment, as well as their wonderful families.

"I will forever be grateful for the support they have given to those I have had the pleasure of knowing. I will hold that heart-racing freefall and then tranquil heaven-like glide when the parachute opened in my memories forever! I say GO JUMP OUT OF A PLANE! You will not regret it!"

Thank you!

We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone at Norbar for their ongoing support and especially those who have pushed themselves out of their comfort zone and taken on a challenge to raise money for our wonderful hospice. We can’t wait to see what they get up to next!  

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If Catherine, Jen, Meg and Nicole have inspired you to tick something off your bucket list this year, then take a look at our wide-ranging challenges and events.

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