THE NFU Mutual Charitable Trust has announced more donations totalling £105,700 to support nine UK charities.

The latest round of funding will help to deliver a range of initiatives, including rural poverty relief, educating and mentoring young people, and supporting the UK’s air ambulance network.

The charities set to benefit from the donations are:Access to Farms; Air Ambulances UK; Farms for City Children; National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs; Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust; Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI); Scottish Association of Young Farmers’ Clubs; Tir Dewi; Wales YFC

The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust is one of the main ways leading rural insurer NFU Mutual provides charitable support for its communities across the UK.

This latest round of donations follows £750,000 of funding announced in February, after the insurer pledged additional funding to help support charities and their communities during the pandemic.

This year, the Charitable Trust has made donations totalling over £855,700 and expects overall donations during 2021 to reach at least £950,000 by the end of the year.

The donations will be available immediately, allowing the charities to continue to provide crucial support services at a time when many of their usual fundraising events have had to be cancelled. Applications for November’s round of donations are now open.

Nick Turner, Group Chief Executive of NFU Mutual, said: “The Coronavirus pandemic is still causing tremendous disruption to country people’s lives and we are determined to provide support to charities that are working hard to look after the needs of rural communities.

“We are particularly pleased to be supporting organisations for young people, including the Young Farmers Clubs, which are a vital part in so many young rural people’s lives.

“We’re also delighted to be helping fund the 21 air ambulance services, which run 40 helicopters across the UK, as we know how much this lifeline is valued by farming families.

“NFU Mutual has been supporting our members and communities for over 110 years, and through the Charitable Trust we work closely with national charities to support causes across all corners of the UK.”

Farms for City Children, an educational charity which provides children from deprived urban areas with the opportunity to live and work on a farm for a week, will be using their donation to offer 60 percent subsidies.