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Cricket For Communities
The Lord's Taverners is the UK's leading youth cricket and disability sports charity. The charity works across the UK and beyond to ensure that disadvantaged and disabled young people have access to free sport and all the benefits it can bring.
The Lord's Taverners runs four cricket programmes including Super 1s, Table Cricket, Wicketz and Sports Kit Recycling.
The charity's mission is to create opportunities for disadvantaged and disabled young people to fulfil their potential and positively impact their communities by:
- Increasing opportunities for regular participation,
- Improving health, mental wellbeing and future prospects of participants,
- Strengthening community and social cohesion, and
- Developing a network of volunteers, coaches and role models.
Players of People's Postcode Lottery have raised £4.1 Million for the charity, enabling it to expand its life-changing cricket programmes and provide access to cricket for more young people than ever before.
Improving Prospects
Wicketz is about improving the prospects of participants and providing them with the skills they need to thrive and fulfil their potential through cricket.
Since COVID restrictions have been eased, Wicketz has been using cricket as a tool to reconnect the young people who attend the programme with their local communities across the country. The programme is about much more than getting young people playing cricket - it provides wider opportunities for participants to develop a long-term understanding of their own wellbeing, improve their overall quality of life and develop social and personal skills such as confidence, resilience, respect, teamwork and leadership. These skills are more important than ever in the current circumstances.
Players of People's Postcode Lottery have helped make it possible for disadvantaged young people in Luton to enjoy their first inter hub cricket sessions since March 2020. Participants from across the town aged 11-16 attended a day of cricket and workshops in June and are once again beginning to get out in the community and interact with young people experiencing the same things they are.
Coming out of lockdown, mental health has been seen as a key issue for the young people the programme supports, and the NHS Foundation attended the day to offer support and advice to participants and their parents.
Bedfordshire Police and their Chief Inspector were on hand to engage with participants and views Wicketz as a key part of their community work,
"We're part of the community and the community is a part of everything we do. Sport gets them active and allows them to get to know others in the community too. Events like this are really important and for us at Bedfordshire Police it's key that we're an integral part of it."
As restrictions continue to ease, the charity plans to offer even more opportunities like these across the Wicketz programme.
Deserving Causes
Good causes like the Lord's Taverners receive funding from players to change lives and develop inspirational projects. Discover more of the great Charities supported by our players.
Related Links
Luton Summer Wicketz Festival
Published: 19/07/2021
