Finding a community near you

SEP 11, 2026

Mutual: Issue 8

Mutual: Issue 8 is here!

JUL 20, 2026

St Albans & Harpenden Careers Fair 2026

On a glorious Friday in early July, four of our colleagues volunteered at the St Albans and Harpenden Careers Fair, held at Rothamsted Research Conference Centre. This annual event brings together students from local secondary schools, specialist education settings and colleges, creating valuable opportunities for young people to explore the wide range of pathways available after education. With a diverse mix of organisations in attendance, the fair helps connect students with employers, apprenticeship providers and training organisations from across the region. Throughout the day, students streamed into the venue, eager to speak directly with industry professionals, gain insights into different sectors, and learn more about the skills, qualifications and experiences that can help them succeed in the workplace. Our colleagues were delighted to represent the Society, sharing their career journeys and offering advice as students considered their next steps. There were plenty of engaging conversations with enthusiastic and curious attendees, many of whom were keen to learn more about who we are and what we do. Connecting with our local community and helping young people build confidence in their future aspirations is something we’re incredibly proud to support at Harpenden Building Society. Events like these provide a fantastic opportunity to make a positive and lasting impact, and we look forward to attending again next year.

JUL 10, 2026

Harpenden wins ‘Best Local Building Society’ at the 2026 What Mortgage Awards

Harpenden Building Society wins ‘Best Local Building Society’ for the 12th year in a row, as well as being marked ‘Highly Commended’ in the ‘Best Specialist Lender’ and ‘Best Large Loan Lender’ categories.

JUL 01, 2026

Harpenden Support – Mia Caruso

From a young age I have been fascinated by cars and have grown up as a Ferrari enthusiast. Watching the F1 from a tiny age was a normal part of my routine each race weekend. Towards the end of 2023, aged 13, I went to Teamsport Dunstable to try karting for fun. That one session resulted in me returning again and again – I was hooked! From then on, I joined their Race Academy and caught the racing bug. Still aged 13, I started testing cars, gained my racing licence and got my own kart for my 14th Birthday. From the summer of 2024 to the end of 2025, I spent nearly every weekend in my kart – racing 3 times each month across the country as well as completing testing in Italy, Belgium and Florida. While karting, I also tested cars at a number of legendary tracks including Silverstone, Paul Ricard, Donington and Snetterton. A highlight for me was attending the Winfield F4 School where I received excellent training in driving an FIA Formula 4 car, making my single-seater debut at the famous Formula 1 circuit - Paul Ricard in France. At the end of 2025, I was the youngest competitor to make it through to the world finals of an all-female racing competition. This enabled me to compete against a handful of women from all around the world in an ice-driving competition in Sweden, early 2026. Throughout 2026, I have transitioned fully into racing cars as it is my goal to make a career as a driver. A huge target of mine is to become a winner of the world’s oldest active endurance sports car race, the 24 hours of Le Mans. What’s next?Well, the future looks very exciting. Over the last few months, as well as completing my GCSEs, I have been testing in the incredible Radical SR3 XXR car. I was thrilled to test with current competitors at Silverstone recently and, on only my third drive in the car, my lap times put me in a competitive stance despite being the youngest to take part. Soon, I will be joining the Radical UK Cup grid for a full race season! Alongside this, I will be continuing to test in single-seaters to prepare me for the next stage. My upcoming plans involve preparing for the exclusive F1 Academy Rookie Test in 2027 with the hopes to secure a spot on the 2028 grid. This will enable me to race alongside Formula 1 and travel around the world doing what I love. I have already been invited to F1 Academy development workshops, and I have intensive day-to-day support from coaches who work with me and the F1 Academy to ensure I am ready to achieve this goal. Each week I train at iZone Driver Performance at Silverstone, where I work on my skills using their simulators and also receive motorsport-specific fitness training and mindfulness training. I also have daily calls with the team to ensure I am working as hard as I can to climb quickly up the motorsport ranks. I am thrilled that I also have been selected for a 2-year training course for young elite racing drivers. There were only 20 places available in the country, and I am over the moon to receive one of them! This course will allow me to gain qualifications whilst developing my driving skills on track as well as being prepared physically and mentally to compete at the top level, as well as giving me exposure to more opportunities in the motorsport world. It has been a busy few years, but I would always choose my racing life and am grateful to Harpenden Building Society for listening to my story and supporting my growing career. If my story has interested you and you would like to support me, you can follow my journey on Instagram: @miacarusoracing. I am also always open to welcoming partners who would like to support me further and work with me so please do get in touch if you would like to get involved: miapcaruso@gmail.com. I am delighted to partner with Harpenden Building Society as they support me on my exciting journey as a young racing driver. Mia Caruso,Racing Driver Harpenden Building Society are proud to be supporting Mia on her journey, we look forward to hearing about Mia’s future achievements.

JUN 30, 2026

Herts Young Homeless – Volunteering

One of the most rewarding aspects of working for a building society is the opportunity to volunteer alongside colleagues. At Harpenden Building Society, every colleague is given two days each year to support causes and projects within the local community. In June 2026, the Harpenden Executive Team spent a day volunteering with our charity of the year, Herts Young Homeless, gardening, painting and transforming their Future Roots house. Future Roots is a 5-bedroom home in Welwyn Garden City, where Herts Young Homeless do fantastic work supporting young people from homelessness towards confident, independent living. We were hoping for a summer’s day, however in true British summertime, we had a day with torrential rain, hail and sunshine! Each member of the team was assigned to various duties; some of us picked up the task of working outside to tidy up and weed the patio and paved areas and carry out some much-needed pruning. This allowed one of the other members to utilise his pressure washer to give the paving a deep clean, after which the area looked amazing. Other members of the team planted fruit and vegetables in the raised beds, whilst others carried out re-decoration of the ground floor rooms after which these looked refreshed and bright. Our property and maintenance partners, Jardak Group and Brewers Decorator Centres, kindly donated the paint. We also had the opportunity to spend time with Maureen and Grace from Herts Young Homeless to understand more about the fantastic work they do. They kept us hydrated throughout the day. Despite the challenges of the weather, the team never complained and the enthusiasm to get the work done remained throughout the day. One day is never enough, more Harpenden colleagues are going to visit the Future Roots house in the coming weeks to complete the decorating, and we hope to go back later in the year to cut back the shrubs in the garden. The Executive Team

JUN 25, 2026

Harpenden Hopper celebrates ten years of community service

HBS grant: £3,000 The Harpenden Hopper has marked a very special milestone: ten years of helping local people get out, stay connected and remain part of everyday life in the town. What began with two ageing minibuses and a small band of determined supporters has grown into a much loved community service, now making more than 250 passenger journeys each week and firmly established in the fabric of Harpenden. At the heart of that success is the team of volunteer drivers, whose commitment, patience and good humour keep the Hopper moving day after day. They do far more than drive a minibus: they welcome passengers by name, help people on and off safely, keep an eye out for regular travellers, and make each journey feel friendly and reassuring. For many passengers, the Hopper is not simply a way to reach the shops, appointments or social activities; it is a regular point of contact, conversation and companionship.That contribution was warmly recognised at the Hopper’s 10th anniversary celebration on Friday 3rd July at Park Hall in Leyton Road, Harpenden. The event brought together volunteer drivers, trustees, regular passengers, sponsors and invited dignitaries, including Dr John Howie, Deputy Lieutenant representing the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Town Mayor Kirsti Wenn, Victoria Collins MP, and other Deputy Lieutenants Annie Brewster and David Williams. Speakers paid tribute to the service’s achievements, its volunteers and the late Rosemary Farmer, who played an important part in its early story. Victoria Collins MP also read the wording of an Early Day Motion congratulating the Harpenden Hopper on a decade of service, highlighting its role in combating loneliness, improving accessibility and reducing congestion. The motion also recognised the work of the five trustees, 22 volunteer drivers and mechanic who make it possible to coordinate hundreds of weekly journeys. One of the Hopper’s regular passengers, Amanda, spoke from the heart about the service. She said, “I was extremely happy when it [the Hopper] ran daily as at the time I worked as a Carer for Nannies4Grannies and I relied on the Hopper to get me around Harpenden. From the start, there was a wonderful community feel about it. I even volunteered to look after a fellow passenger’s cat whilst she went on holiday! I became ill with heart and lung failure and thought all was over but realised I could still use the Hopper with the help of the fantastic drivers the bus gave me a new lease of life; it has opened up my world. I have made wonderful friends with fellow passengers and drivers alike, especially a close friendship with another passenger - the two of us get out on the bus as much as possible, in fact we plan our outings and lives around the Hopper timetable, especially our monthly lunches at The Plough & Harrow in Southdown. In fact, it is an ‘in joke’ on the bus with other passengers who try to guess where we are off to next! I personally want to say thank you to everyone on the Hopper, for everything you do, for the wonderful service you provide and for all your kindness shown, not only to me but to all that board the bus. Thank you for everything, thank you for being my lifeline”. The continued growth in passenger journeys shows just how important the service has become. As more residents use the Hopper, the passenger community has grown too, with familiar faces, new friendships and a shared appreciation of the volunteers who make each trip possible. The volunteer team is also deeply grateful for the financial support provided by Harpenden Building Society, whose backing helps sustain this valued local service and its day-to-day contribution to community life. The celebrations continued throughout the summer with the annual Hopper passengers’ tea party which took place on Wednesday 19th August, in the garden of St Nicholas’ church hall at Cornelia’s coffee shop. All Hopper passengers were invited, and the much-loved selection of home-made cakes went down a treat. As always it was another happy opportunity for passengers, drivers and friends of the service to come together, ideally arriving, of course, by Hopper. “We are proud to have kept the Hopper running for ten years, but most of all we are grateful to our passengers, supporters and sponsors for making it such a warm and valued part of community life. Every journey reminds us why this service matters”. The Harpenden Hopper volunteer team

APR 22, 2026

Member Notice – Staff training 23rd April

APR 17, 2026

A Q&A with our CEO Tracie

Here’s a quick Q&A from our CEO Tracie Meadows diving into our new rebrand.