From Plane Jumps to Paddling Exploits: How Zurich Employees are Creating Positive Impact

Whether it's revving through the Australian outback to rocking out in Quebec, these one-of-a-kind fundraisers showcase the creativity, enthusiasm and vision from Zurich employees that inspire us. 

 Zurich Insurance Group employees around the world are passionate about creating positive impact in their communities. Every day, they employ their talents and skills to promote change both locally and nationally – sometimes, in unexpected ways.   

Here are eight inspiring stories of how our colleagues have rallied support for highly worthy causes.

The Great Philly Plane Pull, USA 

Volunteers: Gerry Lipski, Randy Fox, Chris Morgan, Bill Dengler, Lisa Priest, Dillon McDermott and Leah Sofield, aided by friends and family members.   

Ronald McDonald Houses offer families of sick children a place to stay and supportive communities when they need it most. This year, the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House – the very first house – is celebrating its 50th anniversary. To commemorate it, Zurich employees took to the skies – in a manner of speaking.  

For the anniversary, teams from businesses in the local area were asked to raise a minimum of USD $2,500 in donations, and then compete in groups to clock the fastest time running down a 22m stretch of tarmac. The catch? They’d also be pulling a 75-ton plane.  

Team Zurich raised with matching from the Z Zurich Foundation, a total of USD $5,066 to help sick children and their families. Overall, they finished 13th out of over 40 teams in fundraising, finishing the plane pull in an astonishing 18.83 seconds.  

Fundraising on Four Wheels, Australia 

Volunteer: Darren Wickham 

Rural Australia is world-renowned for its vast expanses of open land, as captivating as they can be deadly. For residents at a distance from medical care can be life-threatening, especially in an emergency.   

The Royal Flying Doctor Service offers aeromedical services to rural areas, from emergency response and mental health care to routine visits, their mission is to bridge the gap in healthcare access. Their mission is to ensure that everyone, regardless of location, can receive the medical care they need.   

For years, Darren Wickham has raised money for the Flying Doctors – fittingly, by embracing Australia’s unparalleled natural landscape. Darren was one of the intrepid participants of the annual Outback Car Trek, a charity car rally dedicated to the service.  This year, Darren drove his Holden Kingswood through the dirt and mud of the outback to some of the most remote parts of the continent. With the help of the Z Zurich Foundation, Darren raised over AUD $23,000 for the Flying Doctors and their lifesaving work. 

Summiting Everest – from Home, Switzerland  

Volunteer: Daniel Bertolacini   

The Everesting challenge brings the challenge of conquering the planet’s tallest mountain to every person – no Himalayas required. As simple as it is demanding, the Everesting challenge asks participants to pick any hill, anywhere in the world and then complete summits of it biking, climbing or on foot until they've ascended 8,848 meters – the equivalent height of Mt Everest.   

After almost 19 hours of evening bicycle rides, Daniel Bertolacini has conquered his own virtual Everest, and including matching raised nearly USD $1000 in the process.   

The funds were raised as part of Tour de Zurich (TDZ): Zurich Insurance Group’s annual global charity cycling challenge. The aim of TDZ is to promote cycling’s many benefits, introduce new cyclists to the sport and raise donations for a select number of global and local charities. Daniel elected to support one of the world’s most reputable charities, Medicins Sans Frontières, with the funds going towards medical assistance for people worldwide confronted with the impact of conflicts, epidemics, pandemics, and natural disasters.  

Making Every Step Count, Ireland / Spain 

Volunteer: Colm Blake 

The Camino Santiago De Compostela in Northern Spain has drawn pilgrims to walk its paths for over 1000 years. Last year, Zurich Ireland’s Colm Blake joined their ranks. 

Colm signed up to walk the final 120 km of the Camino over a six-day period in October 2023 to raise money for Zurich Ireland’s charity partner, Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI). Colm’s daughter and son both have Down Syndrome, making the journey particularly meaningful for him.  

Colm was one of a group of 21 people from across Ireland, led by DSI, to walk the trail - coincidentally the technical number associated with Down Syndrome, Trisomy 21. With matched funding from the Z Zurich Foundation, the walk raised nearly €50,000 for DSI to provide much needed speech and language and other therapies for people with Down Syndrome and their families across Ireland.  

Music with a Mission, Canada 

Volunteers: Eric Fournier, Alexandre Juneau, Fabio Valdez 

 Music can change lives – and sometimes save them. Zurich Canada's Eric, Alex and Fabio took their love of music and channeled it as a force for good. The trio hosted, organized and played at a benefit concert, ‘Rock for WICC Quebec’, raising funds for the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). 

 This year was the 6th edition of the event and featured a total of eight amateur musicians and singers who were all active employees of the insurance industry. In its first year, RFWQ raised $8,000 and attracted around 175 spectators at a small show bar venue in Old Montreal.   

This year, the concert took place at one of Montreal’s most iconic venues with over 500 spectators and – thanks to sponsors, donators and spectators  –generated a net profit of CAD120,000. Z Zurich Foundation agreed to match the amount to bring the total amount raised to a showstopping $240,000.  

Paddling their own Canoe, Isle of Man 

Volunteer: Martin Malone   

To raise funds for Manx Mencap, an underfunded charity supporting children and adults with learning disabilities, a 12-person team from Expedition Limitless embarked on an epic canoe adventure, led by Zurich’s Martin Malone.   

The team first canoed 750 kilometers over 12 days along the Yukon River, camping in the wild alongside riverbanks and carrying everything they needed in their canoes. Then, to capture public imagination and attract more funding, Martin and the team took the challenge even further.   

Sponsored by Zurich, Martin built a tandem canoe in his garage over 6 weeks, and then paddled it – non-stop – around a lake for 24 hours, with team members taking turns to join him for a few hours at a time. Over the day, they covered 102 kilometers.      

The canoeathon itself raised over £10,000 and coverage from the BBC amplified the fundraiser’s reach. So far, Expedition Limitless efforts have totaled  £108,000. With another fundraiser planned, they expect to hit an incredible £120,000.  

Team Skydive, UAE  

Volunteers: Pooja Bamadi, Linda Amuke, Pavritha Isaac, Sabitha Koshy, Saritha Menon 

There are very few reasons to jump out of a plane. But for five intrepid Zurich employees, the chance to raise a significant sum for to support people of determination proved more than reason enough to defy gravity.    

At the end of last year, five brave employees took the leap and skydived for a great cause close to their hearts. They raised AED 2580 (including Z Zurich Foundation's matching), funds which will help to provide care for individuals with disabilities, nurturing their potential and independence. 

Abseiling for Amanda, England  

Volunteers: Liz Ryan, Lauren Harman, April-Louise Wyper, Wendy Fearnley and Peter Catracchia 

Claims Analytics and Innovation have campaigned year on year for Brain Tumour Research in remembrance of Amanda Pay who passed away in 2018, just six months after her brain tumor diagnosis.  Last year the team decided to take their fundraising to new heights – quite literally.  

In April, 2023 the five took on the dizzying 100-meter abseil descent down the side of Portsmouth’s iconic landmark, the Spinnaker Tower. The team made it to the bottom safely and raised a staggering £3,650 for Brain Tumour Research, including Z Zurich Foundation matching.  

If these stories inspire you to get volunteering, remember: every action has an impact. Whether it’s a few hours a month or a dedicated weekly effort, volunteering is proof that when we come together with a shared purpose, we can drive incredible change.