A company based in the island has raised funds for charity by completing sea swimming and ice bath challenges.

Zurich employees organised these events to get OmniaMind, a specialist human performance consultancy, to reach its £50,000 goal to help mental health charity Isle Listen.

First to take the plunge was international distribution manager Martin Malone, who did a Six Bay Swimming Challenge.

He swam across the bays at Gansey, Castletown, Port Erin, Peel, Laxey, and Douglas in one day, supported by his training partner Sue Powell.

Over £6,465 has so far been raised, and that has been match-funded by the Z Zurich Foundation to make a grand total of over £12,930.

Six Zurich employees in the island took on the Ice Bath Challenge after being inspired by the BBC’s ‘Freeze the Fear’ show featuring Wim Hof, who is an extreme athlete noted for his ability to withstand low temperatures.

Ben Clarkson, Mark Hide, Jo Moore, Aalish Harris, Breeshey Bourner, and Amy Wootton were all given training to make sure they completed it safely, and in total they raised £2,949.

That means the sea swimmers and ice bathers raised a total of £15,880.32.

It will be donated to the OmniaMind Isle of Man team’s fundraising pot and help them towards reaching their £50,000 target.

It’s all part of the company’s commitment to promoting physical and mental wellbeing, which includes a three-year collaboration launched in 2020 which supports the work of Isle Listen.

Now, in addition to that ongoing collaboration, Zurich is sponsoring a place on OmniaMind’s Expedition Limitless 2023 to help raise money for Isle Listen.

It’s a 110km trek above the Arctic Circle in Sweden which aims to demonstrate the physical and mental resilience of young people and use the Isle of Man team’s achievements to inspire their peers back home during and after the challenge.

As part of Expedition Limitless 2023, there were 12 corporate places available, including one place for a Zurich employee which went to Charlene Cooper, head of implementation. She is one of 12 young people from the island who are aiming raise £50,000 for Isle Listen by completing OmniaMind’s Expedition Limitless 2023 next spring.