Swansea City was delighted to host the first City Business Networking (CBN) event of 2023 at the Swansea.com Stadium this morning (January 18).

On the week where Blue Monday was marked, the ‘Winning with Wellbeing’ event was an opportunity for guests to be inspired and encouraged to open up and talk about wellness inside and outside of the workplace.

Hosted by Kev Johns MBE, guests were joined by Swansea City’s head of wellbeing and development, James Chiffi. James is a member of the club’s senior management team, and is CEO and founder of ‘Beyond the White Line’ (BTWL). James spoke candidly about his experiences working in a number of industries and the challenges faced, with a need for businesses to move forward with the times and adopt a ‘human first’ approach, putting people before profit and performance.

Danni Watts-Jones of DWJ Wealth Management also delivered a presentation around financial wellbeing for 2023 and beyond. Danni spoke about the lack of financial education in the workplace, with a staggering 36% of workers reporting a drop in productivity due to financial difficulties. Danni shared basic principles for employees and individuals to adopt to make investments, offering those attending the opportunity to receive a free financial health check.

The final presentation was made by the Jac Lewis Foundation's director of services Liz Thomas-Evans. Liz spoke about the growth of the charity, founded in October 2019, to provide support for mental health and wellbeing in the community. Since the launch of the Foundation in 2019, a whopping 2,150 referrals have been made.

The Jac Lewis Foundation hold a one stop mental health and wellbeing hub in conjunction with the club each Friday at the Swansea.com Stadium between 10am and 3pm. The hub is free for anyone to attend. The Foundation support attendees in a number of ways, including finance, housing, legal, education/training/employment, food bank, counselling and mental health.

Some attendees use the sessions as an opportunity to get out and about and socialise with other people.

Local area coordinator Byron, of Swansea Council, shared accounts of attendees who had positive experiences with the Foundation, showcasing how they helped to make a change to the lives of people in the community.

Finally, guest speaker Ashley Thomas - a Jac Lewis Foundation service user - also spoke about his experiences with the charity who he says have saved his life.

Ashley is a regular at the Friday afternoon sessions and commented that the people he sees each week are like family he has spent all his life with. Ashley told guests that it was difficult initially to attend, but each time was easier for him and an opportunity to meet with friends. The hub is an opportunity for people to attend with no judgements to be made. Ashley thanked the Jac Lewis Foundation and the club for their support, by adding in a broader sense: “The club may not always be winning on the pitch, but they are always winning off it."