Update from the CEO

Hello everyone,

It was fantastic to see so many members at the tribute for Sir Michael Parkinson at Lord’s last week. An incredible event that so many people told me they thoroughly enjoyed with many quoting it as the best Taverners event for many, many years. A huge thank you to those of you who helped to raise over £95,000 on the day!

Before the event we held the members AGM at Lord’s and it was a delight to see many people join us both in the room and online. All of the AGM details will be communicated elsewhere, but I personally wanted to thank those who attended and posed questions as well as fed back thoughts about our plans going forward, given that we had shared the strategy for 2022-2025 with our members a few days before. It was great to have some positive feedback and commitments to our future plans from so many of you – thank you!

Now that the busy summer is finished our Wicketz and Super 1s programmes are back into their weekly routines of sessions taking place in communities all around the country, and beyond in the case of our Sports Kit Recycling programme which is busy getting kit and equipment to communities here in the UK and overseas. I am also really pleased to say that the expansion of our disability cricket programmes into 200 new special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) schools starts this school term. As we informed those who attended the AGM, this is thanks to our growing partnership with the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) who are funding this and working with us on expanding our impactful work with young people with disabilities across the country.  

Also this past month, Dan Wilson who leads our Wicketz Programme nationally, our Chair Tim Luckhurst and myself all attended the launch of former England women’s cricketer and now Broadcaster Isa Guha’s new foundation, Take Her Lead. We are excited about partnering with the team from Take Her Lead, which will see female cricketers from the Sunrisers (one of the eight women’s regional domestic teams) mentoring and coaching young girls from our Wicketz programme to help them develop both their cricket and personal skills within their communities. Watch this space for more news of this exciting new programme as it gets underway in the coming weeks.

Last Sunday, I joined a number of our staff team cheering on our 34 London Marathon runners. It was a fantastic day with over £60,000 raised so far. Congratulations and a huge, huge thank you to those who took part and raised funds for the Tavs. It was wonderful to greet many of them, along with their friends and family, at the post event reception at the Wellington Hotel where we enjoyed a celebratory drink and some food, and also heard a very inspirational speech from Tavs Marathon Team Captain, Liam Byrne… Thanks Liam!

Finally, as we finish our operational and financial year here at the Taverners and on a personal level as I complete my first year in post, I want to thank all of our members, Trustees, staff, programme participants, their parents and families, and all of the people from our partner organisations for helping me settle into this role and for working with the Lord’s Taverners over the past 12 months. Our annual impact report will be out in a few months with lots more stories and information about the incredible work our teams do and the outcomes our participants achieve… something I hope everyone who plays their role in making it all happen can be proud of!

Best wishes,

Mark