Lord’s Taverners Australia (the Tavs) will celebrate this week’s National Cricket Inclusion Championships (NCIC) in Geelong with the launch of a new branch in the major Victorian regional city.
At an Australia Day breakfast, a long list of prominent local community and business leaders will hear how the new Tavs branch plans to extend the charity organisation’s national work to the Geelong region.
Inaugural Lord’s Taverners Australia Geelong Branch President, Michael King, said that, broadly, the new Tavs office is looking to raise funds that help enable cricket as a viable and accessible sport for all local young people.
“Establishing a Taverners branch in the region means more opportunities will become available for young marginalised or underprivileged members of the community, Mr King said.
“Here in Geelong and the Bellarine we have an extremely strong community spirit and sporting culture – it rivals anywhere in the country. The establishment of the Geelong branch of the Lord’s Taverners reaffirms this status and we’re excited to contribute to the community in helping young people here and further afield participate in cricket and grow as individuals,” Mr King said.
Former Australian Test batsman and Lord’s Taverners Australia President, Paul Sheahan, said the timing of the announcement couldn’t be better with Geelong again hosting the NCIC, a prominent event on the Lord’s Taverners calendar.
“For us, the NCIC is a terrific reminder of the good our work, and the work of our committees in metro and regional communities, can create. Each year I look forward to watching the NCIC matches and am inspired by the players’ skills, their love of the game and spirit of cricket on display,” Mr Sheahan said.
Unveiling the Geelong branch is the latest in a string of wins for the Tavs. Having signed on as Cricket Australia’s leading Community Partner in August last year, the organisation has since established the Sporting Chance Fund, which drives the growth of the A Sport For All program, an initiative that that gets more Australian kids and young people – irrespective of their gender, race, backgrounds or abilities – playing the game of cricket.
Tags: Charity, Non Profit