Leon Doyle, star of BBC1’s The Apprentice, is asking businesses to get behind Samaritans’ new workplace fundraising day, Feel Good Friday.

Sponsored by healthcare provider Simplyhealth, Feel Good Friday aims to recruit people to take part in ‘feel-good’ themed fundraisers and challenges at their place of work, in return for a donation to Samaritans. Employees are being encouraged to organise activities such as coming to work in slippers, playing ‘feel good’ songs, or hosting a lunchtime Zumba and aerobics class, all in the name of charity.

Former Apprentice contestant, Leon Doyle, founder of The Master Menu, is encouraging businesses to get behind Samaritans’ campaign. He said: “January is always a tough month for both employers and employees suffering from post-Christmas blues and struggling to keep to New Year’s Resolutions. Fundraising is a great way of boosting staff morale and bringing a business together for a fantastic cause. Planning and organising activity to support Feel Good Friday is a great opportunity for the business community to come together and raise some money for Samaritans to continue their dedicated work.

” Samaritans’ Head of Fundraising, Chris Jarrett said: “It’s so important that as many employers and employees as possible get involved in Feel Good Friday. Over the Christmas period, Samaritans answered more than 193,000 calls from people struggling to cope, and funds raised through Feel Good Friday will help us answer more calls from people with nowhere else to turn.” Mark Day from Simplyhealth said: “Feel Good Friday is a fantastic idea and we are delighted to support Samaritans. Feel Good Friday is all about doing something fun and that makes you feel good. All too often we are so focused on keeping up with the pace of modern life that we forget to take some time to relax and enjoy ourselves. We hope that Feel Good Friday shows people the value of taking time out, whilst at the same time helping to raise money for a great cause.”