A DANCE group, an animal sanctuary, and the air ambulance are celebrating after receiving donations of £1,000 each as part of Benefact Group’s Movement for Good Awards.

Wellington Majorettes in Wellington, a dance-based group encouraging children aged 6-17 to learn dance and compete in competitions and events over the South West, The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, a charity established to provide an air ambulance service for the people of Dorset and Somerset, and The Ferne Animal Sanctuary, which provides care and refuge for unwanted domestic animals, farm animals, and horses, are the local charities set to benefit from the money, following overwhelming public support in the county.

For the fifth year running, Benefact Group is giving away £1million to charities through its Movement for Good awards.

Members of the public were invited to nominate causes close to their hearts, with 150 awards of £1,000 announced today.

Kind-hearted Somerset residents donated their time and submitted more than 3,000 nominations for charities close to their hearts.

More than 11,000 charitable causes in the UK and Ireland received votes, thanks to over 135,000 nominations from supporters.

The 150 winning charities were picked at random from those nominated, with a further 150 winners being selected in September. Further gifts will be awarded throughout the year.

Since the awards began, more than 1.6million nominations have been received resulting in over 2,200 charities benefitting from valuable donations.

This year, 420 charities will be awarded £1,000 donations, while 40 good causes will be awarded £5,000 via special grants throughout the year, aimed at helping charities in specific sectors.

Winners will be drawn at random and the more times a charity is nominated the more chance it has of being selected.

Further gifts totalling £500,000 will also be donated in larger amounts later this year.

Thanking supporters in Somerset, Mark Hews, group chief executive of 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 the third largest corporate donor in the UK and has an ambition to be the biggest. Owned by a charity, all of its available profits go to good causes, and the more the Group grows, the more the Group can give.

“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.”

Benefact Group has donated almost £200million to charitable causes since 2014 and has been recognised as the third biggest corporate giver in the UK1. The organisation aims to reach £250million in donations by 2025.

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

To find out how to support the Movement for Good Awards and to nominate a cause you care about visit this website.