£1 Million granted to farming families in 2024 thanks to RABI’s Return to School campaign

The cost-of-living rapid  response grant reached a record number of farming households, with over 1,800 families  benefitting from funding towards school uniform, classroom supplies, transport fees and  other costs traditionally associated with starting the academic year.  

A recently released social impact report from the charity also found that since the RTS  campaign was launched in 2022, almost £3 million has been awarded to farming families,  generating £6 million in social impact value and £9 million in total campaign value.  

“Our Return to School grant is ensuring that thousands of schoolchildren across our  farming community are equipped and ready to thrive when they return to their  classrooms each year,” said Caron Whaley, RABI Director of Services.  

The positive social impact value extended across the entire family unit, including  parents, primary pupils and secondary students. 

Secondary school students were found  to have the highest value per head of the groups, reporting that having new uniform and  other essentials boosted their self-esteem and improved their sense of social belonging.  

In addition to the effects of alleviating financial strain, the RTS grant provides an  important gateway for introducing more members of the farming community to RABI.  

Figures from the last three years show that between 50-90 per cent of the applicants each  year were new to RABI, with many going on to access the charity’s wrap-around support  services such as mental health counselling.  

RTS is part of RABI’s programme of rapid-response cost-of-living grants aimed at  assisting farmers in challenging times whilst preventing the development of further  issues. 

The latest of these is the Winter Fuel Grant, running its second annual campaign  this year and opening for applications on January 27, 2025.