AN injured foot launched a group of XL Reinsurance employees on an exercise which may lead to the formation of a new charity for children with special needs.

"I hurt my foot and I had to wear slippers to work," Barbara Rebello of XL Reinsurance said yesterday.

What could be more inviting than wearing slippers at work? After some ribbing, Mrs. Rebello and her colleagues decided to all wear slippers and donate some money to charity. Several women in the office participated. They wore slippers ranging from old faithful, beaten-up slippers to doggy slippers, to sultry slippers. Some workers who did not have slippers went out and bought new ones for the occasion. Slipper wearers made a donation of their choice for the privilege. "So we decided everyone in our department should wear slippers and raise money for charity," Mrs. Rebello said. "We sent out an e-mail. We didn't get a lot of response this time around. We raised $160 and the XL Foundation has agreed to match that figure. So we raised $320."

The money went to twin girls with cerebral palsy, Ashley and Jennifer Augostinho. Their father, Antonio, works at a local consulate and their mother, Clotilde, stays at home to care for the 12-year-old twins who attend Dellwood Middle School.

"Their parents pay $160 a week for day diapers," Moira Lindo, one of Mrs. Rebello's co-workers, said. The girls struck a special chord with Ms Lindo, who is herself a twin.

"I feel so sorry for them," she said. "This could happen to anyone. I first met them at a Christmas party for special-needs children, organised by Mark Selley. I learned there are many families out with children with special needs struggling with expenses."

Now the colleagues are planning to form a charity called Slippers for Charity which they hope to spread to other offices around Bermuda.

"We hope to do it twice a year," Mrs. Rebello said. "We didn't want the money to go to a big charity where it would be lost. We wanted the money to go directly to the children. We hope to hold our next slipper fund-raiser in November, but we are waiting to see if we can get Slippers for Charity registered."