Behind an increasing number of the welfare issues that World Horse Welfare Field Officers investigate are struggling owners who are experiencing their own mental and/or physical ill health, financial or age-related difficulties.
Ground-breaking Horse Owner Support Project Receives Welcome Funding Boost From Movement For Good Award
1 year ago 
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International horse welfare charity World Horse Welfare has been chosen by a panel of judges to receive a £10,000 Movement for Good Award from SEIB Insurance Brokers and the Benefact Group. The award will support the charity’s Horse Owner Support Project.
World Horse Welfare has a network of Field Officers based around the country who respond to welfare concerns. The Field Officers have discovered that behind an increasing number of the welfare concerns they investigate are struggling owners who are experiencing their own mental and/or physical ill health, financial or age-related difficulties. These people are often isolated, and the Field Officers are sometimes the only outside contact they have and this brings a weight of responsibility to ensure these people also receive the social care support they need.
The Horse Owner Support Project will provide a number of resources, such as creating materials spreading the message about help available, through to keeping the highly trained Field Officers on the road responding to requests for assistance. By doing this the charity will be able to keep more people and their horses together for longer, improving the quality of their lives and that of their animals. With over 3,500 welfare reports made to World Horse Welfare every year, any one of these could involve someone in desperate need of help. This grant will help the Field Officers be there for every single one.
Roly Owers, CEO of World Horse Welfare, said: ‘‘This grant will advance our project to raise wawareness that assistance is available and will help us reach vulnerable owners in need of practical support and advice. By offering early intervention, we aim to prevent situations unravelling and reaching crisis point.’’
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.”
World Horse Welfare’s award is a share of £500,000 as part of Benefact Group’s Movement for Good Awards, which is giving over £1million to good causes this year. Movement for Good is funded by EIO plc, part of the Benefact Group.
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