Argus Group has donated $10,000 to the Bermuda Mental Health Foundation (BMHF) to help it increase awareness of mental health disorders and create more housing for residents it assists.

The insurance company committed to donating to the charity for every Healthy Habit badge achieved by participants in its Get Up & Thrive programme. Two hundred badges were earned, equating to a $10,000 donation.

“This donation is of particular pride for Argus as not only are we helping to support BMHF, an organisation that does so much to advocate for mental wellness in the community, but it also is made on behalf of the 200 Healthy Habits badges that were earned in our Get Up & Thrive programme. Participants worked hard to reach their goals and earn badges. Every individual effort led to this donation,” said Michelle Jackson, executive vice-president, Group Insurance of the Argus Group.

“Wellness encompasses more than physical health. It includes mental health and financial stability. At Argus, we try to support causes that share our goal to improve the overall wellness of our society.”

The donation is being used to help BMHF advocate to the community about mental health disorders. The non-profit organisation recently completed an Island-wide school tour that focused on educating students about mental health, healthy coping skills and mental illness. The organisation is preparing to launch another tour that caters to adults and teaching them how to reduce stress in the workplace.

Some of the funds will go towards the cost of additional housing for individuals in the BMHF’s target group.

Jodi Lewis, board director of the BMHF, said: “We would like to thank Argus for their generous donation. In addition to our education efforts to break the stigma around mental health disorders, the donation will help provide additional housing for additional individuals in our target population who have a housing need. We are grateful for their donation and ongoing support as well as their interest in learning more about mental health disorders.”