JUST ONE Tree

At Berry & Oak, we are not only passionate about providing the best possible service to our clients, but also about doing our bit to protect our planet for future generations.

For this reason, as of September 2021, we are supporting JUST ONE Tree, a not-for-profit initiative that plants trees all over the world, including in our oceans. For every £1 donated, they commit to planting at least one tree in carefully selected reforestation projects around the world.

So how are we helping? Our staff will be regularly donating a contribution of their salary each month to JUST ONE Tree, and for every new client who signs with us, we promise to plant 10 trees on their behalf.

904Trees Planted

For more information and details on how to donate, please visit https://www.justonetree.life/

Read more about JUST ONE Tree in our blog here.

Supporting Alzheimer’s Society

At Berry & Oak, we’re longstanding supporters of good causes that are important to our clients.

Most recently, we have chosen to work alongside Alzheimer’s Society, to help them achieve their goals of finding a cure and supporting everyone living with dementia today.

Alzheimer’s Society is one of the most influential dementia charities currently operating in the UK, providing a range of support services to ensure that no one faces dementia alone.

At Berry & Oak, we regularly work with clients living with dementia, or their families. Our team have undertaken dementia-friendly training, meaning we are able to look after elderly and vulnerable clients in a caring and understanding manner.

We are planning to get involved in a number of fundraising events throughout the year, in order to raise money and support the amazing work done at Alzheimer’s Society. You can find out more about what they do here.

Please visit our Just Giving page to keep updated with further details and information on how to donate:  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/berry-oak

In the community

Berry & Oak have worked with a number of local schools and universities to deliver talks and workshops on careers, money skills and employment opportunities in the financial services profession. This has led to two of the team becoming education champions for the PFS (Personal Finance Society – our professional body).

We have provided work experience weeks and paid internships to give students the opportunity to learn in a working environment.

For more than 10 years, Andrew wrote a weekly article in the Yorkshire Evening Post (on a Thursday) where he shared his knowledge and financial planning tips to help educate consumers on financial planning matters.

Andrew has been a volunteer Scout Leader at the 1st Tadcaster Scout Group. He helped develop and deliver a range of activities to help scouts learn, grow and develop in a safe environment, whilst having fun. This included helping them to think for themselves and be more self-sufficient and confident in their own abilities. Andrew worked with some children since they were Beavers and it was very rewarding to see them growing up and developing new skills and good values.

Berry & Oak Sponsorship

The Berry & Oak team are doing a step challenge this spring to raise money for a local charity called WISE (Wetherby in Support of the Elderly).

We will all be getting our walking (and cycling) shoes on during the month of May. Between the 8 of us, we are aiming to walk 2 million steps which is roughly 900 miles.  This is the equivalent of walking from Boston Spa to Monaco, (but without the sun, yachts, or A-lister spotting).

Wetherby in Support of the Elderly offer services to improve the quality of life for over 60’s in Wetherby and surrounding villages. Some of their services include:

1. Befriending
2. Grass Cutting
3. Transport
4. The send a smile scheme
5. Social activities such as the Wise Owl community café, Bingo, Chairobics and several coffee mornings. You can read more about them here https://w-ise.org.uk/

If you would like to help us raise money for a truly worthy cause you can donate through this link

Supporting the financial services profession

Andrew has worked with the CISI (Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment) Accredited financial planning firm forum, to promote best practice across the CISI financial planning community. He helps promote the value of financial planning to the wider public and helps financial planners and their firms grow. He has also been a judge for the 2021 Accredited Financial Planning Firm of the Year award.

On a more local level, Andrew has worked with the CISI Yorkshire committee to put on continuous professional development (CPD) events for local members to improve their learning, knowledge and skills, to help them run better businesses and deliver great client outcomes.

Sarah Elson is a member of the PFS Power Financial Planning Practitioner Panel, which is a group formed by our professional body, the Personal Finance Society, to help promote awareness of financial planning and our profession to the next generation.

Both Andrew and Sarah are actively mentoring other professional members of both the CISI and the PFS, to help them in their career development and progression.