My commitment and devotion to the animals has resulted in the idea to combine a personal bucket list item/fear challenge with a wonderful opportunity tosupport two beloved animal organizations in the city - Winnipeg Lost Dog Alert (WLDA) and Craig Street Cats (CSC)...and "PAWS from a PLANE" was born! PAWS from a PLANE is a pledge / sponsorship skydive event with all pledge monies going to WLDA and CSC (at the donor's discretion).

For the past two years, I have committed myself to building an extraordinary life by pushing my limits and breaching my comfort zone. You only live once, better make it count! It's not so much about making more money, owning luxurious things or partying "like it's 1999", it's about achieving a better quality of life. It's about not wasting any more time on petty things we can't control or things that don't feed the soul. Life is full of adventure and purpose, you just have to be willing to alter your perspective and have an open mind. I am not an "adrenaline junkie", I am simply a lover of life who wants her story to say more than "she was a (enter various labels here) and worked for "X" company for 20 years and earned a good pension". The purpose is to help as many people and animals in my lifetime as possible. That is my purpose, and I am blessed to be aware of it! :)

This will be my first ever skydive and as someone with a fear of heights, it is also a personal fear challenge for me! What better way is there to overcome personal fear issues than with a passion that is stronger than fear...animal advocacy / welfare!

The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Manitoba Skydive in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada (bad weather date is Sunday, September 27, 2015). With all of the excitement, support of attendees, possible media attention, and positive energy, my dream is to see a sea of smiles as I decend from the skies that day!

About the agencies I'm jumping for...

Founded in 2011, WLDA was created by a man who was out searching for a dog and thought there had to be a better way to communicate with other searchers out there. The Winnipeg Lost Dog Alert Facebook page was created as a central place to post information on lost dogs in the Winnipeg and surrounding area, the coordination for searching for them, and updates on who are out searching, where, and when. Since its creation, WLDA has secured a wonderful group of followers who volunteer their time and resources to give needed support to the ones that have lost their dog as well as tips and ideas on what to do when they have lost or found a dog. These volunteers will also go out searching for a missing dog, either by vehicle (using their gas) or by foot, walking in bushes or swamps. Members of this organization play a vital part on getting these lost dogs home.

In 2008 Winnipeg’s Wolseley neighbourhood was home to a number of large, and growing, colonies of feral cats. Craig Street, only one block long, was home to over 40 adult free roaming cats that were mating freely, having kittens all over the block, and generally causing a nuisance. The original Craig Street Cats project was started with the intention of performing TNR (trap, neuter, return) for the adult cats on the street. CSC's founder, Lynne Scott, bought one trap, made 18 appointments with the Winnipeg Humane Society's TNR program, and started trapping cats.

Since that first year the project has grown. Currently, CSC provides care or resources for community cats all over the city, and is the only organization actively working to humanely reduce Winnipeg's free roaming cat population. Craig Street Cats is now the largest cat specific animal welfare organization in Winnipeg.

Please help me by passing on the information, coming out to the event with all yourfriends/family/fellow animal lovers, sharing my Issuu poster via Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/peacefulpawsanimalreiki.manitoba), and/or pledge me as I plummet from a plane! Youcan offer your pledge online via GoFundMe.com (please ensure you indicate if your donation is 100% to CSC or WLDA or 50% to BOTH by entering your preference in the "COMMENT" section) - or by sending cheques directly to WLDA and/or CSC, referencing "PAWS from a PLANE" in the memo line. I am committed to seeing this through to its ultimate success. This includes obtaining sponsors and inviting media promotion.

What started as a simple personal adventure/bucket-list challenge is quickly turning into a quest to raise as much awareness and donations for these wonderful animal agencies as possible! GO BIG OR GO HOME! ;)

Any support you can offer is greatly appeciated and greatly needed to ensure this dream of mine comes true. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for considering support of this event.

Namaste, peace and blessings to you and your animal friends!

Kerissa Cymbaluk

Please see the attached link for the printable/shareable poster:

http://issuu.com/peacefulpawsanimalreiki/docs/revised_event_flyer.docx

PEACEFUL PAWS ANIMAL REIKI®