Young carers are going to tuck into Easter eggs thanks to a donation.

A young carer is a child or young person who helps to look after a parent, grandparent, sibling or other relative on a day to day basis.

They are helped by the charity Crossroads Care.

A number of them this week visited Old Mutual International’s HQ to collect 108 Easter eggs donated as part of the company’s initiative to help a Crossroads Care Isle of Man charity project.

campaign

In January the company launched a three-year campaign to help young carers with Crossroads Care.

Onchan-based Old Mutual International aims to give more than £60,000 to the charity by 2021, the sum being a combination of funds raised by staff and matched by the company. A total of just over £15,000 has been donated so far, and that sum is already funding a support worker.

The Young Carers project provides support to children and young people aged from five to 18 thanks to a team of project workers and the new support worker will allow the project to help even more young carers.

Funds will also be used to organise a Young Carers’ Festival to be held in July 2019 - and other plans are in place to help Crossroads Care to expand the scope of the Young Carers Project in 2020 and 2021.

To keep everyone up to date, Old Mutual International has a digital totaliser which is shown on the screensaver image that all employees see on their desktops.

Jackie Betteridge, chief executive officer of Crossroads Care, said that everyone who supported the three-year project was helping to enable more young carers to make the most of their childhood, provide care for the loved ones who rely on them, and help them fulfil their potential as adults.

In addition to financial support, Old Mutual International is also helping to publicise Crossroads Care’s Young Carers Project, and offering young carers financial education by inviting them to attend Old Mutual International’s Money Skills for Schools Week sessions, which run from May 14 to 17.

The week involves financial experts giving advice.