KIWI CELEBS TAKING MIGHTY LEAPS OF FAITH

‘We are providing care for our furry friends. I would do it again in a heartbeat.’

Actress Kim Crossman is leaping from the sky for charity. For the second year in a row Crossman is leading the charge as an ambassador for the SPCA in their Jump to the Rescue fundraiser, which will see animal-loving thrill-seekers take the plunge with a 13,000 foot tandem skydive. Crossman is due to jump tomorrow — dressed as a pig. Last year she was a flying cow. “I am so proud to be an SPCA ambassador and lending a hand to help the nearly 40,000 animals in need every year in New Zealand,” she says. “I lean in to being uncomfortable and the decision to skydive to help raise money for the animals in need was easy. The plummet to the ground is scary but well worth the thrill and knowledge we are providing care for our furry friends. I would do it again in a heartbeat.” Crossman likes to step outside her comfort zone — and never more so than in her podcast Pretty Depressed. It has a second series coming that will feature celebrities such as fellow former Shortland Street star Grace Palmer; What We do in the Shadows’s Cori Gonzalez-Macuer; and High School Musicals’ Ashley Tisdale, opening up about their personal demons.

Meanwhile, former Bachelor Quinn Ryan and new girlfriend, former Bachelorette Claudia Hoskins, are also taking a leap of faith. The pair will abseil together down 17 storeys of Auckland’s Tower One to raise money for the Make A Wish Foundation.

The pair who have known each other for a few years, bumped into each other at Chapel Bar in Auckland a couple of months ago and tell Spy they clicked and are currently seeing each other long distance as Ryan lives in Hawke’s Bay while Hoskins is based in Auckland.

Ryan recently sky-jumped but heights are one of Hoskins’ biggest fears.

“I’d be lying if I said the idea of going down 17 storeys in the middle of the city didn’t absolutely terrify me,” she says.

“Quinn on the other hand, loves all things that release adrenaline so this is right up his alley. He is super excited to be doing something he loves for a charity special to both of us.”