GRAND HAVEN — Last month, participants gathered at Skydive Grand Haven for a unique, life-changing experience: jumping from a plane 17,000 feet in the air to support those in recovery.

Jump for Recovery is an annual skydiving event that supports people at every stage of recovery. The event also aims to raise awareness and break the stigma around addiction and mental health. In its first year in 2023, only six people participated; now, the event has expanded to over 100 participants and is expected to grow even larger in subsequent years.

This year, Jump for Recovery partnered with Reach for Recovery, a nonprofit organization providing evidence-based care for those affected by substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders. Funds raised through the event go to supporting the organization's efforts to provide recovery resources and treatment programs.

How did a casual invitation to skydive become a premier recovery fundraiser? It all started when Duke Frank chose skydiving as a recreational activity during his recovery journey.

"I was being instructed by my mentors and sponsors to learn how to relax, slow down, go do something of enjoyment and reward myself," Frank said about the inception of Jump for Recovery. "So I picked skydiving. But I found that with my personality, I didn't want to do it alone, so I reached out to a couple people in the community, and I put out a flyer and called it 'Jump for Recovery.'"

The flyer would be seen by Carly Borgeld, who is also on her path to recovery. This invitation would find her at a time in her life when she needed it most.

"Back in 2023, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and I was having a really hard time with my diagnosis," Borgeld said. "I was also just coming up on my year of sobriety, and after being told I would have this for the rest of my life, and that I could potentially end up in a wheelchair and not walking, it was a lot to comprehend, especially in the first year of sobriety and recovery."

"I didn't know where to go, where to run, where to scream. At a speaker meeting, I found the flyer, and I have never been skydiving but I always wanted to do it, so I took the flyer and called the number on the bottom, which ended up being Frank’s number. That's how we first got connected."

After Borgeld took the leap, she immediately knew it was exactly what she needed.

"It was really that push that I needed to break open my sobriety, my recovery, and make me feel alive again," she said. "I was dealing with a lot of depression and anxiety, and after I jumped out of that plane, facing that fear and building up that courage to jump, it was just so exhilarating. When I got down to the ground I looked at Duke and I was like, 'We have to do this again and we have to make this an event for the community.'"

From there, Frank and Borgeld moved forward as co-founders of Jump for Recovery, paying out of pocket to work on the next event. The two hit it off as great partners, with Frank handling management and getting the proper equipment while Borgeld ran all of the social media and marketing. In 2024, the event had 44 jumpers participate. Frank and Borgeld understood they had something special materializing, but they would need help if they wanted to put on future events.

"Carly and I paid for everything out of our own pockets: we put people in the air and we paid for the T-shirts and gave them out to everyone for free," Frank explained. "So it was a few thousand dollars each year for us, and neither of us could afford it. This year, we reached out to Reach for Recovery, and this year's event started and really boomed."

Jump for Recovery has also developed a fundraising program for those who may not want to skydive but still wish to support recovery, and to raise money to get people in the air who want to participate but may not be able to afford to skydive on their own.

Unfortunately, due to weather conditions, participants were unable to skydive on the day of the event, but jumpers had their appointments rescheduled for the next morning or a few days later. This setback did not stop the event from being a success, as the community banded together to still make the event a great time, driving home the fundamental value that the event is all about: community is everything.

There were multiple booths from vendors present at the event, alongside a Sober Eats food truck and an ice cream truck. There were also special tents set up, such as a rose memorial, where people could put a rose in buckets to remember someone they lost to addiction or mental health, or they could put a rose for themselves to say goodbye to their old ways.

In 2024 and 2025, canvases were made so those attending could sign their name and have a place marked in the event's history. The plan is for the canvas to be a yearly tradition for the event.

Mary Ellen Murphy, host of WGHN's “Good Morning Grand Haven” show and co-host of the Ottawa County-based "Two J's in a Pod" podcast, decided to take the leap and jump out of a plane in honor of her friend Rob, who is currently in recovery. Murphy had her jump rescheduled for the following morning on July 20.

"It was amazing. I felt so free. … I still watch the video and can't believe I did it, but it was an amazing thing. The recovery community is such a close-knit and supportive community, and so I wanted to jump in honor of my friend, Rob."

When asked what Murphy would say to someone who was considering participating in the event in the future, she said: "Almost every person I've talked to has either said they could never [skydive], or they have always wanted to jump out of a plane. If you have ever wanted to jump out of a plane … do it. And better yet, do it in honor of someone in recovery."

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Borgeld also had words to share for anyone who may be nervous to skydive for the first time:

"Just like in our recovery, there's always going to be ups and downs. And when you get on that plane and lift open that door, you have two choices: you can bail, or you can face your fears and take courage and jump in and do it. It is so worth it in life to face your fears and try new things," she said.

"We can't always decide what happens in our life, but we can choose how we react and what our actions are. The courage it takes to skydive is the same courage it takes to step into recovery; it's very symbolic to me. Yes, it is scary, but like anything that is unknown, it is scary, like learning how to drive for the first time or getting a new job. But if you don't ever try, how will you ever know how it could affect you?"

— Contact Diego Storck at dstorck@ottawanewsnetwork.org.