Agri-food business, ABP, is marking 25 years at Balmoral Show, which gets underway this week (May 10-13), with a draw to win a multi-purpose shed and proceeds being donated to a farming charity.
ABP is giving visitors to the agricultural show the chance to win its trade stand, which this year is an agriculture shed. The food group is replacing its corporate marquee with a 21.6m x 15.2m multipurpose shed.
The company will host a prize draw where visitors get the chance to win the shed or a £20,000 cash prize, with all funds being raised for Rural Support’s Life Beyond programme.
ABP Northern Ireland managing director and chair of the Life Beyond steering group, George Mullan said: “ABP is a strong supporter of Northern Ireland’s largest farming community event, the Balmoral Show. We’ve been a platinum sponsor of the show for the past 10 years.
“Our company had been a patron of the bereavement support service Embrace Farm Ireland for a number of years. In 2021 we were delighted to lend our support to get a similar programme off the ground in Northern Ireland under the auspices of Rural Support.
“The donation of our show stand to Rural Support to help raise funds for the Life Beyond programme is a progression of that commitment,” he added.
Chief executive of Rural Support, Veronica Morris, added: “ABP [has] been [a] key supporter of the Life Beyond Programme since it began, and we can’t thank them enough for their continued commitment to supporting bereaved farming families in Northern Ireland.
“The money raised from this raffle will help these families to manage their circumstances and their feelings at these times of immense pressure and distress,” Morris added.
Rural Support Life Beyond
The Rural Support Life Beyond programme provides support for farming families across Northern Ireland who have experienced loss through farm accident, suicide, unexpected or expected death.
The programme, which was launched in August 2021, helps with farm business, financial and technical mentoring support, alongside emotional health and bereavement counselling including trauma support.
All the support is given free of charge, with the aim of helping families to navigate their experiences and move forward in their new normal.
This support operates alongside peer-to-peer group activities tailored for specific groups, e.g., widows/widowers; parents; siblings; family members; and farm accident survivors and their families.