Kids cricket scheme will help improve lives
Disadvantaged young people in two east London boroughs will get the chance to use cricket as a vehicle to improve their lives.
The charity Capital Kids Cricket will run cricket sessions and other activities aimed at children excluded from school, refugees and asylum seekers in Newham and Waltham Forest.
It hopes the scheme will help young people from Pupil Referral Units across the two boroughs get back into mainstream education and develop skills to help them get on in life.
Meanwhile, programmes running with young refugees and asylum seekers are aimed at helping them settle into London life and improve their academic and work prospects.
The programmes are funded by a £250,000 grant from City Bridge Trust – the City of London Corporation’s charity funder.
City Bridge Trust Chairman Giles Shilson said:
“The work this charity is doing in east London will help two very different groups of young people, all of whom face significant barriers to fulfilling their potential.
“Apart from the physical and mental health benefits of taking part in sport, they will receive potentially life-changing support which will stand them in good stead as they move into adulthood.”
Alongside weekly two-hour cricket programmes, the scheme is also expected to include English language classes, life skills workshops and residential trips.
Capital Kids Cricket Operations and Development Manager Joe Fisher said:
“Team sport in general is very good for developing life skills and with cricket, when you’re standing at the crease, you’re on your own, so you learn things like taking responsibility, showing leadership and working as part of a team.
“One of the biggest things we see is a growth in confidence for these young people and a feeling that they’re a part of the community they live in and the wider society.
“Coming to our sessions also means they feel they have somewhere they can get additional support from, whether it’s for improving their English or developing skills to help them achieve at school or college, or in the workplace.”
The City Bridge Trust grant will also fund the continuation of a programme running at the Chelsea Community Hospital School, which offers cricket sessions and other activities to help young people experiencing severe mental health issues.
Capital Kids Cricket was founded in 1989 to boost participation in the sport in schools, and works to improve the physical, social and emotional development of disadvantaged children and young people in the most deprived areas of London. More information is at www.ckc.london
The City of London Corporation’s charity funder, City Bridge Trust, is London’s biggest independent grant giver, making grants of over £25 million a year to tackle disadvantage across the capital – www.citybridgetrust.org.uk
Case study: ‘It allows me to meet new people and have fun’
Bilal Khan, aged 17, is a refugee from Afghanistan who now lives in Walthamstow and has been taking part in sessions with Capital Kids Cricket.
He said: “It is great to have somewhere to play cricket. It allows me to meet new people and have fun while working with really helpful coaches who give me useful advice and allow me to improve my game.
“The project provides lots of good opportunities and I’m grateful for the opportunity to get out of the house and keep active.”
Picture captions
- Bilal Khan, from Walthamstow taking part in sessions with Capital Kids Cricket
- Bilal Khan with Ray Tudor, head coach at Capital Kids Cricket
- City Bridge Trust Chairman Giles Shilson
Notes to editors
The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile, dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally-successful UK – www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
The City Corporation is the sole trustee of Bridge Houses Estates, founded in 1097 to maintain London Bridge, and Members of its Court of Common Council form the Bridge House Estates Board.
Bridge House Estates is responsible for maintaining Tower, London, Southwark, Millennium and Blackfriars Bridges, and its charity funding arm City Bridge Trust – founded in 1995 – gives out over £25 million a year to good causes across the capital – www.citybridgetrust.org.uk
Tim Fletcher | Media officer – public services
City of London Corporation
07738 862229 | tim.fletcher@cityoflondon.gov.uk