Bestway Foundation donates £100,000 to Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Left to right: Dawood Pervez, managing director of Bestway Wholesale; Ruth Marvel, CEO at The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award; and Lord Zameer Choudrey, CEO of Bestway Group.

Bestway Foundation UK has donated £100,000 to The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE).

The money was raised through Bestway’s 2024 Ascot Charity Race Day, which was attended by over 750 of Bestway’s key business contacts, suppliers, employees and the charity. A total of 27 charities have benefited from funds raised through the event since it began in 1994.

Lord Zameer Choudrey, chief executive of Bestway Group, and Dawood Pervez, managing director of Bestway Wholesale, presented the cheque for £100,000 to The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at Bestway’s  head office in Park Royal, London.

Also at the presentation were The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award CEO Ruth Marvel, head of philanthropy Laura Puddefoot-Knaggs, and senior relationships manager Clare Harris, as well as Bestway’s board of directors, including Sir Anwar Pervez, chairman of Bestway Group.

Lord Choudrey explained why the business chose The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award as its charity partner this year: “We have worked with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for over 30 years and take great pride in the Gold Partner status we hold. During this time we have experienced first-hand the incredible work the charity does in preparing our young people for the future in whatever role they undertake.

“The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award inspires and empowers young people, supporting them as they learn new skills, overcome obstacles, whilst helping them build confidence and resilience. This charity ties in with our other efforts to recognise the importance of supporting initiatives that invest in the future of our youth.”

Bestway Foundation was established by Sir Anwar Pervez in 1987 as the charitable arm of the Bestway Group, with a philosophy to support less fortunate people through the advancement of education and healthcare. Since inception, Bestway Foundation has donated more than £35 million to charitable causes, including charities, hospitals and schools, as well as funding of university scholarships. Bestway Group has donated more than £15 million to the Bestway Foundation in the UK.

Dawood Pervez, managing director of Bestway Wholesale, said: “We are delighted to support the work of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award which has seen participation in the Award grow every year since inception. Millions of young people from across the UK in schools, community groups, young offender institutions and workplaces have had the opportunity to build resilience and gain lifelong belief in themselves through the DofE.

“Understanding that our donation will help young people to challenge themselves to attain standards of achievement and endeavour in a wide variety of active interests – to serve their communities, experience adventure and to develop and learn outside the classroom – really aligns with the values of the Bestway Foundation.”

He added: “The Annual Ascot Charity Race Day is just one of the ways that Bestway Foundation gives back, and we are incredibly grateful to our supplier partners and colleagues for supporting this annual event and donating generously to ticket purchases, the Charity Auction and other fundraising activities.”

Alex McDowell, DofE fundraising director, commented: “We are delighted to receive this incredibly generous donation to support the DofE’s vital work. The money raised will support the charity’s Resilience Fund which offers free DofE places, bursaries or additional support for marginalised young people facing barriers to participation including financial constraints, additional needs or caring responsibilities.

“The DofE equips young people with the skills, confidence, and self-belief to help them take on today’s toughest challenges. We want to ensure every young person has the chance to take part, no matter who they are or where they live. This generous donation will enable us to continue reaching more young people with a life-changing DofE.”

The Lord Choudrey concluded: “Charity is at the core of what we do here at Bestway – we are extremely dedicated to our social responsibility and incredibly committed to giving back to the communities within which we operate.”