Sussex Cricket donates nearly £2,000 each to three more local charities

Sussex Cricket's community director Gary Wallis-Tayler (middle row, right) is joined by Robert Starr (front row), Nicola Davies (middle row, left) and Darren Snow (back row) at The 1st Central County Ground

Three more fantastic local charities have been revealed as the recipients of a share of over £9,000 raised by Sussex's contribution to the ‘Together Through This Test’ auction last summer.

The Crew Club, RISE and the Starr Trust have each been donated £1,859.60 to help with the fantastic work they do in our community having been nominated by Sussex Cricket supporters.

The Crew Club in Whitehawk enables children and young people to take part in a wide range of activities in one of the most deprived areas of Brighton & Hove, RISE supports people affected by domestic abuse and violence in Brighton & Hove, while The Starr Trust aims to support young people aged 10 –18 in fulfilling their potential through sports, arts and education.

The donations complete the distribution of the auction proceeds. Brighton & Hove Food Partnership was the first charity to receive a share, which was used to fund the ‘In the Bag’ initiative last summer.

Sussex Cricket Foundation received the remaining balance of the £9,294 raised which will be put towards the work the charitable arm of Sussex Cricket does to actively change lives through cricket across the community.

‘Together Through This Test’ was a nationwide campaign by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to shine a light on the amazing work that has taken place across the game in response to COVID-19.

As part of this, a charity auction was organised in partnership with all 18 first-class counties, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), was set-up to raise money for local charities across England and Wales.

Lots provided by Sussex Cricket, its sponsors, friends and supporters ended up generating over a quarter of the £35,217 raised in total, which is now being used to make a difference in our local community via Sussex Cricket Foundation and the four charities nominated by visitors to the Sussex Cricket website.

News on how The Crew Club, RISE and The Starr Trust used their donations will follow later in the year. Details of Brighton & Hove Food Partnership’s ‘In the Bag’ initiative are available here.

Gary Wallis Tayler, Sussex Cricket’s community cricket director, said, “I am thrilled to be able to support The Crew Club, The Starr Trust and RISE, through monies we raised on our online auction. To be able to support our communities during this challenging time is of high importance to us all at Sussex Cricket and to be able to support them through this fund will enable each charity to continue running their initiatives which benefit many people across the county.”

Darren Snow MBE, The Crew Club manager and co-founder, said, "We are very pleased to be a beneficiary of the 'Together Through This Test' initiative. Sussex Cricket have really stepped up to the plate when it comes to supporting local communities. We really value our partnership with them. The funds that we will receive through this initiative will go towards our 2021/22 sporting opportunities for children, young people and their families."

Nicola Davies, fundraising and communications manager at RISE, said, “RISE would like to thank Sussex Cricket for nominating us to benefit from the ‘Together Through This Test’ initiative, and to everyone who placed bids on the online auction. In the last year we have seen calls to our helpline increase threefold, so we are incredibly grateful for the generosity of our local community to allow us to continue this vital work. Incidences of domestic abuse have increased locally, nationally and indeed globally during the pandemic, and donations such as this mean we can continue to be a lifeline for those who need it most.”

Robert Starr, chairman and founder of The Starr Trust said, “We were amazed and delighted to receive this incredible gift from Sussex Cricket.  More now than ever, with so many fund-raising events cancelled and our income reduced to almost nothing, it is wonderful to receive such a huge sum that we can use to keep championing young people in the city.  Thank you so much to all at Sussex Cricket and for those who took the time to put the Starr Trust forward.”