Essex Cricket have joined the cricket family which has launched more than 200 initiatives at all levels of the game from long-distance charity runs, delivering food to the vulnerable and a phone support service for those left isolated during lockdown.
The Club’s community outreach work to date has included:
• Members Calls: The First Team squad, coaching staff and former players phoning over 1,000 Members in the vulnerable category during lockdown. This included the likes of Adam Wheater, Dan Lawrence, Aaron Beard and Graham Gooch to make sure our Essex family are safe and well.
• NHS Staff Meals: Working with Supporting Humanity charity, members of staff and players across the Club have been volunteering their time to cook, pack and deliver meals to frontline NHS staff at 14 hospitals across Essex and London. This work has also seen the launch of the Club’s fundraising appeal to continue the magnificent work of Supporting Humanity and also the Essex Community Foundation.
• Alternative Cricket Tea: Cricket Clubs across the region joined us in hosting an Alternative Cricket Tea to help collect food donations for the local Foodbank.
Essex Cricket are proud to jointly launch ‘Together Through This Test’, a nationwide campaign to shine a light on how the cricket family has reached out to local communities during COVID-19.
The campaign will highlight some of the unsung heroes from across the professional and recreational game as well as providing updates on, as well as launching new, cricket-led initiatives that the general public can get involved in to help support their local community.
More than 200 campaigns have already been launched across cricket in England and Wales from volunteers at local clubs embarking on long-distance charity runs to players, coaches and staff at first-class counties phoning members to check on their wellbeing.
Today’s launch of ‘Together Through This Test’ marks the collective response of cricket at all levels with a powerful short film, narrated by cricket fan Stephen Fry, that underlines the unique quality of a game where patience and digging in for the greater good is a virtue installed within all who play, watch and enjoy the sport.
The ECB has set up a COVID-19 resource hub on ecb.co.uk/covid-19 to offer assistance, focussing on physical and mental health support to the general public, with NHS information, a Vitality ‘Fit 4 Cricket’ series and a Lord’s Taverners online hub for cricket-based activities
• Delivering fun and educational interactive resources for children in partnership with Chance to Shine
• Supporting the recreational game by providing emergency funds and resources
From today, 5 to 11-year-old children and their parents can access eight weeks’ worth of curriculum-based educational resources covering topics from maths & English to art & PE, delivered in partnership with Chance to Shine.
This hub is not only a resource to help people during lockdown but will also provide information and support to the cricket community when cricket is phased back into society. The ECB and wider cricket network will be launching and supporting further initiatives in the coming weeks.
For more information on the resources available, please visit www.ecb.co.uk/covid-19. To become a volunteer, please visit the website and contact your local county club.
