Rural and farming charities benefit from Lycetts and Benefact Group Movement For Good Awards

Lycetts, and its parent company the Benefact Group, have awarded a total of £40,000 to three farming and rural charities.

The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), The Country Trust and You Are Not Alone (YANA) were chosen by a panel of judges to receive a share of £500,000 in the Movement For Good Awards.

Lycetts’ Charlie Douglas said: “The three chosen charities work hard to address specific and important needs, and we are delighted to support their very worthwhile ambitions.”

RABI will use its £20,000 grant to provide a counselling service to help prevent those in the farming sector reaching a point of crisis, and to help them become more resilient and better able to cope with future challenges.

The Country Trust will use its £10,000 to support its work in helping volunteer farmers and landowners welcome thousands of disadvantaged young children onto their farms to share their passion for food, farming and the countryside.

The £10,000 YANA received will help train 108 Mental Health First Aiders for farm workers and those working in other rural businesses across East Anglia.

The awards are designed to help charities make a real difference in their communities. More than 500 charities applied for the funding, which is being put towards the advancement of heritage and arts, education, rural and community, climate, human rights and equality.

The winning projects were selected against four criteria: impact and effectiveness, sustainability, innovation, and care and compassion.

Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of Benefact Group, said: “At Benefact Group we believe business should be a force for good. More than ever, charitable causes need sustained support and a sense of financial stability.

“Through our Movement for Good larger-grant awards, we are championing a more imaginative way of supporting charities so that they can have some certainty in these challenging times. We know our funding can be a lifeline to those who are struggling with cost-of-living increases and a grant of this scale can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do.

“Benefact Group is the fourth largest corporate donor in the UK and has an ambition to be the biggest. Owned by a charity, all our available profits go to good causes, and the more the Group grows, the more the Group can give. As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, charitable giving is at the heart of what we do.”

Movement for Good is funded by EIO plc, part of the Benefact Group.