Give To Gain is a limited-series podcast created for International Women’s Day 2026, celebrating women who are shaping business and community life in Whaingaroa. Inspired by the IWD 2026 theme Give To Gain, each episode explores generosity in all its forms: sharing knowledge, creating opportunities, offering support, building community, and lifting others as we grow.
Hosted by Annika Stricker and Katie Lowes in collaboration with Raglan Community Media and the Raglan Business Chamber, the series features honest conversations with local women about their journeys: the successes, the setbacks, and the moments where giving to others led to unexpected gains.
When we feel good in our skin, the whole community glows. In this episode of Give to Gain, Fabiana Henderson shares her journey from Brazil’s jewellery district to New York City, and eventually to Whaingaroa, where she founded Raglan Botanicals. What began with market stalls and 4am starts has grown into a thriving eco-friendly skincare and aromatherapy brand.
Through handmade products designed to support women’s wellbeing, she gives care in tangible form. And what does she gain? Loyal customers, heartfelt feedback, and the joy of seeing women feel confident and well.
4 Mar 2026
Creating a Gathering Place with Fiona Gates
Pubs were built to be the centre of town. Long before they were just places for a drink, they were courthouses, meeting rooms, social hubs: the heartbeat of community life. In this episode of Give to Gain, Fiona Gates of the Harbour View Hotel shares the philosophy she and her team committed to from day one, and explores how decades of leadership, resilience and bold goal-setting shaped one of Whingaroa’s most iconic gathering place.
This conversation is about creating spaces where everyone feels welcome. Because when you build a place for community to gather, you don’t just run a business, you give something back. And in return, the whole town gains.
3 Mar 2026
The Backbone of the Community with Sue Steedman
Behind almost every small business is someone quietly doing the numbers. In this episode of Give to Gain, we sit down with Sue Steedman of BizWorx Consultancy, the woman many local businesses and non-profits trust to keep their finances steady and sustainable. From sponsorships to supporting community organisations through accounting expertise, Sue explains how giving knowledge, time and financial literacy creates confidence.
For International Women’s Day, Sue shares her journey from finishing her accounting qualifications while raising three young children to leading a predominantly female team with empathy and collaboration, and how sometimes the most powerful way to give is simply to make sure the numbers work.
2 Mar 2026
Opening the Doors Every Day with Jessica Gittings
"Money goes, where energy flows," and behind the blue café on Bow Street is a woman who never stopped showing up. In this episode of Give to Gain, Jessica Gittings, co-owner of Wyld Café in Raglan and Frank Café in Hamilton, shares how consistency, and community shaped one of Whingaroa’s most loved hospitality spaces.
From launching a café in 2020 to navigating seasonality, motherhood, multiple businesses, and a new baby on the way, Jess reflects on what it really takes to build something that lasts. We talk energy as currency, raising children while also raising businesses, and why sometimes success simply means opening the doors every single day.
1 Mar 2026
Building Hope for Neurodiverse Families with Annick Janson
What happens when we stop asking, “What’s wrong?” and start asking, “What’s strong?”
In this episode of Give to Gain, we speak with Dr. Annick Janson, clinical psychologist specialised in the diability sector and co-creator of the award-winning Now & Next programme. Based in Raglan and now delivered internationally, Now & Next is a peer-led initiative supporting families of neurodiverse children and children with disabilities. Co-created by mothers of young men with disabilities, the programme helps parents to lead within their own families and communities, and the ripple effect is enormous.
This conversation is about hope as strategy, lived experience as expertise, and what it truly means to give, so others can gain.
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