Kaylor to jump for world record

Becky Holland

AMERICUS —

— Jaclyn Kaylor is like a kid on Christmas Eve, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive.

And with good reason. Kaylor, athletic director for Georgia Southwestern State University, will finally be making her big sky diving jump for the cause next week. Kaylor said in a phone interview on Wednesday, “I am excited that it is finally here, and am ready to go. I have been working on this for over a year now, and it is down to the last week, and this is going to be great!”

As mentioned in previous stories in this newspaper, Kaylor is participating Sept. 21-27 in the “Jump for the Cause 2009” (JFTC) — a Woman’s World Record Skydiving event based in Skydive Perris, Perris Valley, Calif. — south west of Los Angeles,

“It is an extraordinary and powerful event in the fight against breast cancer,” Kaylor had explained in the previous story. She will be joining over 175 women (the goal is 180) from around the world to build the largest all-female freefall formation ever attempted while at the same time raising money for awareness and early detection of breast cancer. The net proceeds from the event will benefit breast cancer research and will be going to the City of Hope’s newly renovated women’s breast cancer research and treatment center.

In past jumps, the JFTC has raised over $400,000 to sponsor the Stereotactic Biopsy Exam Room at the City of Hope’s breast cancer research and treatment center. JFTC also raised over $500,000 to sponsor an entire floor at the hospital’s state of the art research building opening in 2005.

According to Kaylor, the goal for the 2009 event is to raise $1 million.

“As of last week, at last count, we had raised over $750,000 for the event, and monies are still coming in,” Kaylor said Wednesday, adding, “People seem to think that skydivers are crazy and nuts to do this, but they are being very supportive of us ... and what is a more powerful way to make a statement for a good cause.”

Kaylor herself has made several fundraising efforts, including selling of special T-shirts at $12 a shirt (there are still some available), and special drink koozies designed in the shape of a woman to promote the breast cancer awareness cause. “Global Graphics here helped me out a lot. We were able to sell over 300 T-shirts, and that was a big boost. And the koozies went well, we called them booby koozies, and a friend in Tennessee had a connection, and then we had friends in Florida and North Carolina who joined us, so we were selling those all over the states.”

Individuals from all over have “given donations and sponsored pink ribbon patches for my suit ... I will have over 32 patches representing 32 breast cancer survivors or those who have lost their lives to the disease on my suit.”

According to Kaylor, the world record currently held by a women’s group is 151. “What this means is that all have to be connected, holding on to each other at the right place and the same time for it to be considered a record. We are shooting for 180.”

She continued, “Anytime that you want to break a record, you have to have a predetermined plan, and then everyone has an assigned slot, and they have to make it into that correct slot ... which is why we will be jumping every day from Sunday on ... starting in small sectors, and the moving up until we get it.

“There will be about 180 women, and that means nine airplanes and will be jumping every chance we can to break the world record.”

The Times-Recorder will be providing daily updates during the week as Kaylor will be sending a report and photos each evening after the jumps are done as technology allows her to, as well as doing a follow up with Kaylor after she is back in Americus. Updates will be able to be found online at www.americustimesrecorder.com beginning Monday and in print beginning Tuesday.

Kaylor will be leaving for California on Sunday.

For more information on the Jump for the Cause 2009 event, visit the website at www.jumpforthecause.com.

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