Faye Savory Speaker | Enterprise

Faye Savory

Award-winning social entrepreneur and Chief Sender of Hugs promotes the power of compassion in business

Faye is an award-winning social entrepreneur and the Founder of BearHugs, a social enterprise she launched after her life was changed by chronic illness.

Over the past 10+ years, Faye has grown BearHugs into a primarily ecommerce business that has delivered hundreds of thousands of “hug in a box” hampers. Alongside this, she has opened a community hub, a bricks-and-mortar gift shop, and a co-working space, employing more than 20 people. Her work champions flexible, accessible employment opportunities for individuals living with chronic illness.

Faye has also led the production of a practical report for employers, sharing insights and recommendations to help organisations improve accessibility and inclusion within their own teams.

Her achievements have been recognised with the NatWest Prince’s Trust Enterprise Award, the Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Award, the HELLO! #HelloToKindness Award, the University of Sheffield Distinguished Alumni Award, and she has been named on the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 list. She has also contributed to shaping disability policy on a national scale by attending a roundtable discussion at 10 Downing Street as part of the Disability Confident Employer initiative.

Faye shares her story of transforming personal challenge into opportunity and is especially passionate about showing students that social entrepreneurship is a powerful path, proof that it’s possible to build a business with both heart and impact.

Testimonials from Teachers

“Faye was an absolute inspiration, her story, business and the way she presented herself was relatable and made me believe I could be as successful as her.”

– Young Person, Attendee of The Enterprise Programme, The Prince's Trust

“Faye was fantastic and very inspirational. Her passion was infectious!!”

– Young Person, Attendee of The Enterprise Programme, The Prince's Trust

"I really connected with Faye, she was inspiring and real and had hit a low and rose up like a phoenix"

– Young Person, Attendee of The Enterprise Programme, The Prince's Trust

"We were lucky enough to have Faye develop a number of workshops on Entrepreneurial Skills as part of an Employability Conference for our Year 10 girls. Her sessions were well thought out and her use of visuals and props was excellent. Her story struck a real chord with the pupils and they were engaged and interested throughout the workshops. Her content was perfect for that age group: the students really understood Faye's journey and where she was hoping to take her business. She highlighted the skills that she had to employ when starting out, the attributes she needs now and those she hopes to develop as her business grows. We loved having Faye as part of our very high powered team of speakers for the conference. She was a valuable addition to the group and, most importantly, the girls loved her sessions. We will certainly work with her again in the future."

– Amy Bouchier, Sheffield High School for Girls