East Sussex animal welfare and countryside charities receive £1,000 funding boost

Raystede in Ringmer and CPRE in Uckfield received £1,000 each as part of Benefact Group’s Movement for Good Awards.

Benefact Group’s awards give away over £1million to charities across the year and the group invites people to nominate causes.

Wendy Bardsley, head of fundraising at Raystede, said: “Due to an unprecedented demand for our services, our rescue centre is stretched like never before and so this donation will make a real difference, helping us

to make sure injured and unwanted animals receive the care and love they deserve.”

“The continuing effects of the animal welfare and cost of living crisis means that Raystede has continued to see an increase in the number of animals it has been asked to take in,” she said. “In 2023/24, we had over

4,200 requests to take in animals, a number not previously experienced.”

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Raystede has been working for the past 70 years to improve the lives of animals through rehoming and rehabilitation. CPRE is a countryside charity that works with communities, businesses and local governments to make sure that the Sussex countryside can thrive. More awards winners will be revealed later in the year and people can keep nominating at movementforgood.com.

Mark Hews, group chief executive at Benefact Group, said: “We would like to thank every single person who took the time to nominate a good cause as part of our Movement for Good Awards. Benefact Group is a family of award-winning specialist financial services companies and the third largest corporate donor to charity in the UK. Owned by a charity ourselves, charitable giving is at the heart of what we do. All of our available profits go to good causes and the more the Group grows, the more the Group can give.

“We are delighted to be able to donate over £1million to good causes each year through our Movement for Good Awards and are grateful to all our supporters, including the customers of the trusted insurer, Ecclesiastical, and the responsible and sustainable asset manager, EdenTree. We know that £1,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better.”