Reward for entrepreneur who braved illness to give BearHugs

Faye Savory, 26, from Sheffield, was working as a speech and language therapist when she was diagnosed with chronic Lyme Disease.

The illness severely affected her mobility and her ability to carry out normal day-to-day tasks.

At its most severe, the illness left her unable to wash, dress or feed herself and she could only leave the house using a wheelchair.

Ms Savory said: “Before Lyme Disease, I’d graduated from university and had started working in a job I loved. It was really difficult to have to let go of that.

“Suddenly losing my personal, physical and financial independence was frightening.”

She tried to stay productive by blogging and, when able, made jewellery which she sold online, donating the profits to chronic illness charities.

Then one day after receiving a care package from a friend, Ms Savory came up with the idea of creating a bespoke gift packages business.

After a little help from The Prince’s Trust, Ms Savory went onto launch BearHugs.

In less than a year she sold more than 1,000 BearHug boxes and had forged a philanthropic partnership with the charity Post Pals.

Ms Savory said: “The guidance The Prince’s Trust gave me has been invaluable. They’ve given me purpose and have helped me turn my little idea into a life-changing reality.”

The young entrepreneur has now been nominated for an award at The Prince’s Trust and TK Maxx Celebrate Success Awards.

Ms Savory won the Yorkshire and Humber NatWest Enterprise Award a few months ago and has since been nominated to go through to the national final which will be held at the Palladium in London on March 15.

She is just one of three people across the UK to be nominated for the NatWest Enterprise Award.

The red carpet ceremony will be hosted by television presenters Ant & Dec.