Staff well-being and culture have rapidly risen up the priority list for many employers.  At the next Stray Ferret Business Club  we’ll hear from award winning employer, LCF Law, on how organisations can ensure their teams are productive and happy. 

The lunch event is lunch at Manahatta, on June 29th at 12.30pm. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate care company has launched new day centres to help combat isolation and improve health and wellbeing.

Continued Care, which has offices in both Harrogate and Ripon, will run the centres from July 3 and offer a free taster session on first visit.

The sessions, which cost £80, will offer people a chance to socialise and make friends, learn new skills, take part in exercise and activities, and even have their hair cut. Two meals will also be provided.

Iona Novak, Continued Care’s social day club manager and wellbeing facilitator, said: 

“Since the covid pandemic, we’ve seen an unmet need in the community for things like mobile hairdressers and chiropodists but also for somewhere that people can engage with others and take part in stimulating activities.

“Alongside that, there is a need among carers, who are often family members, for some respite, and they would be most welcome to attend as well.”

The day centres are open to all adults, regardless of whether they currently access care services. People can self-refer or be referred by a family member or healthcare professional.

The centres run every week from 10am to 3pm as follows: Mondays, Westcliffe Hall, Harrogate; Tuesdays, Ripon Community Hall; Wednesdays, Gracious Street Methodist Church, Knaresborough.

For more information, visit the Continued Care website here.

Harrogate beauty brand takes on Yorkshire Three Peaks

Staff at a Harrogate-based beauty brand have raised £2,900 for charity after completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

Cloud Nine, which is based at Hornbeam Park, raised the money for The Little Princess Trust, a charity which provides free hair wigs to children undergoing treatment for cancer.

The Cloud Nine team at the Yorkshire Three Peaks.

Eight people took on the 25-mile hike on behalf of the company, with a further three offering welcome support to the group on the day.

Hamish Rae, e-marketplace coordinator at Cloud Nine, said: 

“The team had an amazing day – it was a challenge both physically and mentally but knowing the amazing work done by The Little Princess Trust made it all worth it.”

Read more:

• Business Breakfast: Harrogate entrepreneur wins Pride award
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The team behind Harrogate estate agents Feather Smailes Scales has raised more than £5,000 for charity by taking on The Yorkshire Three Peaks.

In total, 13 staff took on the mammoth challenge, which covers 24 miles and 1,585 metres of ascent on Friday, April 8.

FSS Property chose to support Maggie’s Cancer Charity with the hike. Maggie’s has centres across the UK where people with cancer and their families can access support.

Daniel Brumfitt, a partner at FSS, said:

“Maggie’s Cancer Charity is an organisation close to the team’s hearts. So many of us have seen loved ones lose the dreadful battle of fighting cancer.

“Our Just Giving campaign hopes to give back something to a group that does such fantastic work. The least we could do was hike the beautiful Yorkshire Three Peaks!

“Reaching the top of Ingleborough is a fantastic feeling; the view over the moors is even more breathtaking than the hike itself.

“Everyone finished in good spirits without any injuries, aside from a few blisters and some sore legs!”

Three Peaks Challenge

The iconic hike is recognised as one of the UK’s best walks. It is often chosen for charity hikes for its difficulty level and stunning views of the North Yorkshire Moors.

It takes in the peaks of Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen y Ghent with stunning views of the surrounding Yorkshire Dales skyline.

Everything went to plan on the day the team at FSS put on their walking boots.

They aimed for 12 hours and managed to complete it well under that, punching in a cool 10 hours and 30 minutes.

You can still donate by clicking or tapping here to help those impacted by cancer take back control of their lives.

FSS are one of the area’s only comprehensive estate agents and know the Harrogate district like the back of their hands. So the community where they are based is key.

Help FSS raise money for Maggies Cancer Charity by supporting their Just Giving page.

A Harrogate teenager has completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge and raised more than three times her original target.

Leah Gresty climbed the mammoth Three Peaks with her partner in under 11 hours earlier this month, leaving more than an hour to spare.

She was raising money for the UK Sepsis Trust in memory of her grandmother who died of sepsis last September.

Her grandmother Elizabeth Simmonite was a former butcher and baker on Knaresborough Road in Harrogate.

Leah raised £1,115, more than double her original £300 goal. She hopes that her challenge will also hope to spread awareness of the disease.

Read more

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The Three Peaks challenge involves climbing Pen-Y-Ghent, Whemside and Ingleborough peaks in under 12 hours.

Leah said:

“It was even harder than I anticipated. It was my first big hike and I hadn’t trained at all so it was very challenging.”

“The third peak was definitely the hardest as we were already exhausted.”

Sepsis is a blood infection which is responsible for 48,000 deaths every year in the UK.

Leah is still accepting donations on her JustGiving page.