People are donating what they would normally spend at coffee shops towards helping the community get through the pandemic.

Insurance provider Zurich International (ZI) this week launched the ’Give a Coffee #Yessir’ campaign with the aim of raising £50,000, which will be split between the Manx Solidarity Fund (MSF) and the Isle of Man Foodbank.

The initiative has already seen about £4,000 donated by residents with many local coffee shops, which have closed due to Covid-19, backing it.

Give a Coffee #Yessir will run during May. Supporters are being asked to share the hashtag #Yessir with five friends, relatives or colleagues to spread the efforts.

For every pound donated, the Z Zurich Foundation - the Zurich Insurance Group’s charitable foundation - will match it up to £25,000.

The idea came to international distribution manager Martin Malone.

He said: ’It popped into my head the amount I’ve saved from not buying my daily coffee. I decided to donate the amount and then thought "If I want to do that, then there must be other people who might want to as well".

’Some of us are lucky to have a job when other places in the island are struggling. Even when this is over, businesses will be struggling for months.’

He spoke with his Zurich colleagues and with website designers Andy Orton and Rachel Fabrizio of Dot Performance.

Mr Malone said the support in getting the campaign set up was ’just amazing’ with everything being made ready within a week.

Peter Huber, chief executive officer of ZI, said: ’We understand that these are very difficult times, and that many people on the island are suffering financially.

’But if everyone who is able to afford to donate chooses to give their normal daily coffee budget for just one day during May, and inspires their friends to do the same, it will go a long way towards helping the individuals, families, and businesses that are most in need during this difficult time.’

Lieutenant Governor Sir Richard Gozney, who is patron of the MSF, said: ’The MSF and the Isle of Man Foodbank each aim to deliver help to the causes and individuals on the island who need it most.

’The Isle of Man is renowned for its resilience and resourcefulness. This initiative by ZI is another good example of the community working together in this time of unprecedented challenges.’

ZI has already donated £30,000 to the MSF and the Z Zurich Foundation has donated £30,000 to the Foodbank.

The company has also launched a wellbeing toolkit that provide advice for businesses during the pandemic.

For more details on the campaign, search: www.yessir.im