High-flying businessman jumps to fundraising aid

A brave Swansea business owner has been set a high-flying fundraising goal after being touched by an appeal on Facebook.

Jason Jenkins, who runs Gorseinon-based Securahome, asked the company’s Facebook and Twitter followers to nominate the charities they thought needed support in 2015. A number of charities were put forward, but the Go Felix campaign had the highest number of nominations.

When Jason read about two-and-a-half year old Felix, he knew he needed to do something to help.

“It was heart-warming to see such an out-pouring of support, and when I understood the situation of the Forbes family it was easy to see why,” he said.

Felix was born with a very rare genetic brain disorder called Lissencephaly and Miller-Dieker Syndrome.

The condition means that during pregnancy his brain didn’t fully develop the full six layers a normal functioning brain has, but instead has only four.  Even basic functions like swallowing food or holding up his own head is a challenge for Felix, however, he has responded well to therapy.

The Forbes family, who hail from Swansea, are trying to raise £50,000 for extra therapy and equipment for Felix to help improve his quality of life.

Jason said: “As parents Alex and Dan are trying to do their very best for their son and give him the best quality of life possible, I felt like we, as a company, needed to do something to help.

“My staff, however, decided I needed to do something big and got in touch with Skydive Swansea!

“I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m not sure what to expect, but I’m pretty sure there will be a few nerves on the day!”

The parachute jump takes place on Good Friday, April 3, and Jason has set up a Just Giving page to collect sponsorship.

Felix’s mother Alex, who recently had another baby, said she had been overwhelmed with the support that they had received from people in Swansea and across South Wales.

“It’s wonderful to hear that Jason is raising money for Felix and that so many people nominated us. It has been incredible and very humbling to get so much support from people who have read or heard Felix’s story,” she said.