CHESTER charity acet UK joined hundreds of other charities at a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey to celebrate the giving of £100 million to good causes by the Benefact Group.

acet UK was one of 10,000 charities that have benefited from Benefact Group’s giving. Along with 29 other charities, acet UK was chosen by a panel of judges to receive £10,000 last year as part of the Movement for Good awards.

His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, was among the guests and attended the service on behalf of The Prince’s Foundation which the Benefact Group has supported for a number of years. Speakers at the service included Jay Blades, star of the Repair Shop and supporter of literacy charity Read Easy UK, and Sally Randall, CEO and Founder of Abby’s Heroes.

acet UK’s Esteem programme provides engaging and effective sessions for children and young people on topics such as self-esteem, emotional wellbeing, relationships, distortions of the media (including porn), sexting, STIs, HIV, pregnancy, consent, and sexual exploitation.

Catherine Healey, CEO of acet UK, said: "It was so wonderful to attend the celebration and see what a difference the £100 million the Benefact Group has given to charitable causes is making.

"The amazing £10,000 grant acet UK received will help us significantly expand our relationships and sex education program over the next 3 years, meaning that thousands more young people will grow in their knowledge, confidence, and skills in building healthy relationships, improving their emotional well-being, staying safe from harm, and valuing and respecting others."

Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of Benefact Group, said: "As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, charitable giving is at the heart of what we do.

"Our Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey was a celebration of the incredible work that charities do every day in their communities. We are very proud of our achievement of donating £100 million to good causes, which has helped to change thousands of lives for the better in the UK and abroad."

The Benefact Group distributes donations through a range of programmes – employee giving, business giving, and Group-led programmes such as its Movement for Good Awards – as well as giving all available profits to its charitable owner, the Benefact Trust.

This year’s Movement for Good Awards are now open and will see £1 million given to charities. acet UK is encouraging people to nominate them for a chance to win £1,000. Nominations can be entered via: https://movementforgood.com/.