Re: Spring 2016 | Page 9

News Wellbeing Week At the firm’s last annual conference, our HR Director, Clare Smith, was pleased to announce plans for a wellbeing week, which is currently in the planning stages and will take place at the beginning of March. As we go to press, arrangements are being made for exciting activities such as on-site massage, Pilates and yoga taster workshops, nutrition talks and calming mediation or mindfulness sessions. We will also be replacing our usual sweet treats with healthy fruit baskets (for the week only, as we do like our cake!). We even have an enthusiastic employee who has offered to lead a session to share the benefits of hula hooping. We appreciate how hard our employees work to look after our clients and we also recognise the link between healthier and happier employees and great performance. The wellbeing week follows the introduction of a health care, cash plan which means that all our team members now have access to some form of health care benefit. If the week’s events are the success we hope they will be, given the enthusiasm from the teams so far, then we will be looking to build on this with follow up ac tivities and similar themed wellbeing events in the future. Love is in the air This year saw the return of one of our firm’s favourite charity fundraisers, Valentine’s Day hot chocolates. Delivered on Friday February 12th by our Macmillan Mascots, many gratefully received their hot drinks accompanied by a chocolate or biscuit or both - depending on which office you were in. For just £2, plenty of staff placed orders in advance and on the day and bought their colleagues, or indeed themselves a sweet treat and hundreds of pounds was raised. All efforts and donations that will go to the Macmillan Horizon Centre in Brighton were greatly appreciated. The centre is not too far from completion and due to open in the springtime. It has been designed with input from people affected by cancer to make it the best place to offer the support and services that people in Sussex need. The centre will offer all-round support from a team of specialists in a calm, friendly and welcoming environment. Macmillan in Sussex has been the firm’s chosen charity for almost two years. Christmas Party Our social committee put on another hugely successful and very enjoyable Christmas party held at Blackstock Farm in Hellingly. The theme was a Masquerade ball with the promise of prizes for the best male and female masks and a fantastic effort was made by so many. This is a much-anticipated annual event and there was an extra surprise in store for staff this year. Answers to Crossword After reception drinks and a three-course meal, it was announced that there would be a special performance by The Lime Green Penguins, a band made up of some of our employees including our chief executive, Chris Randall and paralegal, Sinead McGeady who were on vocals, archive storage assistant, Chris Jenkins who was on drums, Partner, Chris Strutt who was on rhythm guitar, solicitor, Christina Spencer who was on the piano, and then former Partner, Paul Barratt who was on bass guitar and family friend of Chris Randall, Matt Perry, who was on lead guitar. The Penguins played a number of favourites to a lively audience and enticed lots of people up onto the dancefloor. There was a disco until carriages at midnight. 9