Addington Fund to Benefit from the Prince’s Countryside Fund
Aug 06, 2010 - 02:33 PM
Guests at The Prince’s Countryside Fund Ceremony. Pictured left to right: Ian Bell, ARC Addington Fund; John Longden, Pub is the Hub; Paul Burrows, RABI; Will Rawling, The Farmers Network; Caroline Spelman MP; Paul Harper, The Farmers Network; HRH The Prince of Wales; Alan Stevenson, RSABI; Diane Spark, Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Service (UTASS); Dr Jonathan Nainby-Luxmoore, UTASS; Rev. Sarah Brown, Farm Crisis Network; Mark Price, Waitrose. Photo courtesy of Alastair Fyfe.
The Prince’s Countryside Fund is the brainchild of The Prince of Wales who has a long-held commitment to supporting Britain’s hard pressed rural areas. The Fund is raising money from a wide range of businesses who have responded to The Prince’s call to action to help improve the long-term viability of the British countryside and its rural communities. The intention is to inspire other businesses and the general public to get involved and recognise the importance of the countryside to the nation’s well-being and the wider British economy.
“The vision and commitment of The Prince of Wales has brought together in common cause this extraordinary alliance of food businesses. The Fund will be a lifeline for Britain’s most vulnerable farmers and communities, helping them to secure a sustainable future for themselves. I hope that other companies will be inspired to contribute to the Fund so that more and more can be done to improve the long-term viability of hard-pressed rural areas,“ said Mark Price, Managing Director of Waitrose and Chairman of The Prince’s Countryside Fund trustee board.
The funding raised will be channelled into providing grants to projects, large and small, that are delivering the three core objectives of The Prince’s Countryside Fund. These objectives focus on improving the sustainability of British farming and rural communities, targeting the areas of greatest need; reconnecting consumers with countryside issues; and supporting farming crisis charities through a dedicated emergency funding stream.
All the companies that have partnered with Business in the Community to launch this Fund, which has a starting pot of £1m, have a special connection to the British countryside through the products they make or sell. They will feature The Prince’s Countryside Fund’s logo on selected packaging from next month and help communicate the importance of the countryside to consumers. In addition, from the autumn, The Post Office will make it possible for consumers to donate over the counter to The Prince’s Countryside Fund at their 12,000 branches.
Stephen Howard, Chief Executive, Business in the Community, said: “We are delighted to have helped develop this initiative and now to be running it. We have attracted remarkable support from the British food industry from companies who care about how they do business and want to be a positive force for change.”
Ian Bell, ARC-Addington Fund Director comments “The ability to be able to draw down funds to deal with an emergency situation, means we can act faster and be more effective. In almost all the circumstances we encounter livestock are involved, providing feed stuffs becomes a priority and we must be able to act quickly. His Royal Highness has had major impact on the ARC-Addington Fund since its inception in 2001 to deal with outbreak of FMD. This is just another example of the tremendous support he gives the charity.
For more details on the Prince’s Countryside Fund, including details of the companies supporting the scheme please visit http://www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk
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