Chance to Shine today published its Impact Report for the 2020/21 academic year, detailing the charity’s efforts to rebuild and recover its delivery to pre-pandemic levels.  

A total of 457,625 young people took part in Chance to Shine programmes between September 2020 and August 2021, with 51% of those participants being female. 

The report also outlines the charity’s commitment to ensuring cricket is an accessible and inclusive sport, as they aim to support an additional 300 schools in the most disadvantaged parts of the country, as well as aiming to roll out an additional 100 new Street projects. This is linked to the charity’s equity, diversity and inclusion strategy, which includes a commitment to address the lack of opportunities for underrepresented groups to move along cricket’s performance pathways. 

Read the Report

Click on the image above to read the full report.  

Outlining our Impact

Data within the publication evidences the impact that cricket can have on children, with 95% of teachers surveyed agreeing that Chance to Shine programmes had helped their pupils’ personal development.  

In addition, it showcases the importance of the programmes in helping young people who are, in the words of Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel De Souza, “veterans of a global crisis” to mentally recover from the pandemic.  

Indeed 93% of teachers surveyed agreed that taking part in Chance to Shine helped their pupils' mental wellbeing. 

“I was speaking a minute ago with a student who was having a panic attack, in my office,” a teacher from Kirk Balk Academy in Barnsley is quoted as saying in the report. “That just shows what this lockdown has done. Cricket is a way of helping them solve these issues. What a difference it does have with the kids who are quite shy - it gave them a role of being a leader, of being an umpire. The kids who would’ve normally been quiet, it’s helping them come out of their shell.” 

Inspirational Case Studies

The 2022 Impact Report includes a number of inspiring case studies, including the ‘Lead Your Ship’ programme – which combines street cricket with workshops aimed at people at risk of exclusion or criminal activity.  

It also tells the story of the emergence of cricket in the city of Gloucester, where the introduction of Chance to Shine Street projects has allowed local school children to finally find a club to call their own. 

Chance to Shine Chief Executive Laura Cordingley said: “We’re tremendously proud of the impact that our programmes have on our beneficiaries, and this report clearly evidences the fantastic things that cricket can do for young people across the UK. For 2022 and beyond, we’re determined to harness the power of this sport and ensure that children from all walks of life can flourish by picking up a bat and ball. To that end, we’re tremendously grateful to England and Wales Cricket Board and Sport England, who have both made long term funding commitments to allow us to continue on that journey.”   

This summer, donations to Chance to Shine are being matched £ for £ by the Charity Patron Adrian Beecroft. Give today to make your donation go twice as far at chancetoshine.org/donate. 

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