Ruby Wax delights guests at Chamber dinner

Monday 26 September 2022

The Chamber of Commerce annual dinner raised more than £3000 for the Guernsey Employment Trust, with guest speaker Ruby Wax sharing her advice on mental health in the workplace with the attendees. ‌ ‌ Raising over £3000 for Guernsey Employment Trust (GET) at their Annual Dinner last night (15 September) , Guernsey Chamber of Commerce were grateful to the generous support of their members and attendees at what proved to be a thought-provoking evening.

Held on 15 September, the event was described as "a thought-provoking evening".

Comedian, writer and mental health campaigner, Ms Wax discussed the reason so many people are feeling burnt out by life and ways in which businesses can lead with compassion resulting in a happier workforce and a better bottom line.

"People don’t care about hitting targets, they just want to be liked," she told the 350-strong gathering.

Pictured: Ruby Wax was guest speaker at the Chamber of Commerce annual dinner. The evening, which was sponsored by Sure, Carey Olsen, and Ravenscroft, with technology support from Delta, was hosted by Luke Webb of Island FM, while Samuel McKerrell performed acoustically on his guitar.

Chamber President Diane de Garis said this message echoed the aims of the local branch.

“Chamber’s overriding ambition is to enable businesses in Guernsey to thrive - to bring people together, help make connections and remove barriers. The sense of community felt this evening and generosity shown by our members was wonderful. Just moments after Ruby Wax came off stage a collaboration was forming between Creasey’s and Health Connections to establish a new Frazzled Café, a community space initiative, inspired by the evening’s talk.”‌

On a personal level, Ms Wax said Guernsey was a stunning place to live and she greatly enjoyed her time on the island which had included going for a sea swim ahead of the event.

Talking about her ‘Frazzled Café’ initiative, which aims to bring people back together in a safe space to share their stories and make connections, she called on all present to consider community as the answer to many of the challenges faced by today’s society and reflected on her extensive research what can be achieved when companies prioritise purpose over profit.

Pictured: Diane de Garis.

Those present held a minute’s silence at the start of the event in honour of Queen Elizabeth II and the evening ended with a toast raised to King Charles III.

Funds from the evening were boosted by a raffle. The donation has been welcomed by the Guernsey Employment Trust, Chamber’s Charity of the Year.

The charity has been working with Chamber to highlight the benefits to employers of engaging with their invaluable schemes and encouraging businesses to sign up to the GET Charter, joining the growing number of local employers who are making positive steps to improve diversity, inclusion and equity opportunity.

Ms Wax told the dinner gathering that she had struggled with mental health and had a sense of being excluded from job opportunities as a result of this, she is now an proud ambassador for mental health, having completed a Masters in Psychotherapy from Oxford University and written multiple books on the topic.