LEADING youth cricket and disability sports charity Lord’s Taverners has announced ambitious plans to help greater numbers of disabled young people.
Over the next three years, the charity has committed to:
- Expand its Wicketz programme from three to 11 areas of the UK in areas of greatest need.
- Develop the sport of table cricket and expand the programme from 100 to 300 participating schools while developing 60 young leaders.
- Develop the Disability Cricket Champions to ensure all 32 London boroughs participate and expand the programme to a further eight locations outside of the capital.
- Donate 120 new specially adapted minibuses.
- Provide 300 sports wheelchairs and support the junior development of three wheelchair sports.
- Maintain a consistent programme of providing disability play equipment to those schools and organisations in the areas of greatest need.
Last year, the charity invested a record £3.4million in its disability and sports programmes as well as grants for specialist facilities, transport, equipment and resources.
Lord’s Taverners CEO Paul Robin said: “We are committed to making significant expansion across our core cricket and disability programmes that enhance the lives of some of the most marginalised and at risk young people in the country.
“It’s an exciting time for the charity as we reach out to thousands more disadvantaged and disabled young people to give them a sporting chance.
“We created more than one million sporting chances last year and that is a number of which everyone connected to the charity can be very proud.
“But with 900,000 disabled children in the UK and 3.7million living in poverty, there is still so much to do and the plans to expand our programmes reflect this.
“None of this would be possible without the fantastic ongoing support of our members, volunteers, fundraisers, donors and partners who ensure that we continue reach out to as many disadvantaged and disabled young people throughout the UK as possible.”
The latest Impact Report reveals the charity helped almost 70,000 young people across it programmes which included:
- Presenting 40 minibuses in the 40th anniversary of the programme.
- Delivering 2,152 disability cricket sessions to nearly 50,000 young people.
- Installing 30 sensory rooms and outdoor play spaces for those with special educational needs.
- Providing 77 multi-sports wheelchairs to clubs and individuals around the country.
