Crossroads Care launched their 'Superheroes’ fundraising campaign last week in the new play park at Tynwald Mills.

The event was attended by the Chief Minister, several MHKs, Crossroads staff and supporters of the charity.

Crossroads’ chief executive Jackie Betteridge told the audience: 'This is our campaign for carers on the island this year. To us, carers are superheroes.

'For a lot of people being a carer is a massive journey and they have to be quite selfless - it’s incredibly difficult.’

She pointed out that becoming a carer is an open-ended commitment: Crossroads currently have 17 people still on their books who were clients when the charity was first set up on the island 29 years ago.

Jackie paid tribute to all the people ’who give up their lives to care for somebody’ and said:

’Three out of five of us are going to be carers at some time in our lives, or be cared for. This can come about quite unexpectedly, for example as a result of an accident or a stroke.

'Being a carer changes your life forever.’

Last year, Crossroads provided 110,000 hours of care last year at a cost of £1.7 million.

Jackie concluded: ’Without us, carers would really have a rough time on the island.’

Kate Beecroft MHK, the Minister for Health and Social Care, performed the official launch of the Superheroes campaign, telling the audience that the subject of caring was very close to her heart because she and her husband had cared for her father, who lived with them for four and half years after he developed dementia.

She went on: 'There are so many people out there who do need the help and support that’s on offer.

'It’s a real privilege to me to be able to open this today.’

The Superhero Challenge is a sponsored long distance ’marathon’ with a fun element in which participants undertake, either individually or in teams, to cover as many miles as possible within 100 days. This can be in any number of ways: walking, running, cycling swimming or rowing, even indoors on a treadmill or exercise bike.

Jackie explained: 'You can set your own pace, aim for a destination that’s a personal challenge for you: people of all abilities and all levels of health can join in.’

The ultimate goal is to complete a maximum of 25,000 miles which is the equivalent of circumnavigating the globe but there are lots of destinations to aim for along the way, each of which will earn participants a different 'superhero status’.

You can find details on how to join the challenge at www.crossroadsiom.org/