Helping make a difference!

Hi, I’m Tom. Thanks for spending your time reading about the CriKIT charity and learning how you could possibly help me with this idea.

I live in Manchester and play for my local club, Prestwich CC as well as my school, the Manchester Grammar School. I have enjoyed some great times playing cricket all over the North West and further afield.

Very recently I have set up CriKIT which is a new, registered, non-profit making organisation. The simple idea for this possible venture is to gather used, redundant cricket equipment and clothing from clubs and schools within the Greater Manchester area to then ship over to South Africa to be distributed where best needed.

The idea behind this new venture initially stemmed from a school cricket tour to Cape Town, South Africa early in 2017 which I was fortunate enough to be a part of.

As part of the tour, we played against a representative side from the Gary Kirsten Cricket Foundation – an organisation dedicated to providing opportunities through cricket for some of the most disadvantaged children in the city. The team were from a township called Khayelitsha, one of the poorest and under-developed areas of Cape Town made up generally of makeshift dwellings. They were very excited about playing a game on a good wicket and wearing full kit- such things we take for granted.

I couldn’t help noticing that whilst all our players were fortunate enough to have their own bags with at least one bat and several pieces of spare equipment, the Foundation side had to share bats and sets of pads etc between the whole team.

This material disadvantage did not have any affect on the passion and excitement of the players and I have not seen a group of players with such energy and desire in my entire, albeit short, cricketing career.

After further reflection on what was one of the most memorable games I have been a part of, I felt compelled to try and make a contribution to addressing this imbalance.

Well done and thanks to Ian Dronsfield at WERNETH CC for the kind donation of playing kit. We very much appreciate it.

Best of luck for the season.

Best Wishes
Tom

How to help

The children who live in the townships have little to no access to cricketing equipment or clothes and so that’s where our help is needed.

In England, I know that most players at almost every age group, replenish their kit as it either becomes too small or slightly obsolete at the start of each season. Some kit gets handed down to younger players, some is stuck in the garage or the attic and some is even taken to the tip.

The young players from the South African township areas would relish the chance to use that kit. My aim, with your help, is to gather this unwanted kit and equipment and transport it to South Africa for distribution.

To make this possible CriKIT has formed a relationship with the Gary Kirsten Foundation who can distribute such kit where it is needed most. The kit will be given on free issue basis with no money involved.

I hope to raise the costs for collection, storage and transportation via sponsorship and/or charitable donations from local companies. If successful we would like to have a shipment ready for transportation in time for the start of the SA season, in early September.

So we therefore need any used, unwanted or new kit you would be happy to donate.

And by that we mean:

Bats | Pads | Gloves | Cricket shoes | Helmets | Cricket bags | Cricket training and playing clothing - For all ages including adults

With your generosity and cooperation, we really can make a difference to these players, who would be extremely appreciative of any help you can offer.

Collections

CriKIT will agree a couple of dates with your club when you can bring your donated kit and we will arrange for this to be picked up. We will try and co-ordinate this date with a training evening.

Check our website for regular updates on collection dates.

The Gary Kirsten Foundation

All the kit we collect will go to our friends at the Gary Kirsten Foundation who will distribute it to those who need it the most within the township development programme. Please see below a link to a short film which gives some background into why we think it is important to try to help.

Our Partners and sponsors

We are very pleased that the following organisations have offered their support - financial or otherwise - with this venture. Their continued support is vital to our success….
thank you.

Tom Robinson