LBTV A Force for the community…
Emdad Rahman
Capital Kids Cricket held held their first-ever celebration dinner.
Celebrating 33 years of community cricket, the gala dinner and reception took place at the Copthorne Tara Hotel in Kensington.
Despite tube strikes, 250 guests from across the cricketing world and beyond attended, including participants from across the projects, chief patron, Lady Victoria Getty, the Mayor of Camden, representatives from county boards and the ECB, donors, sponsors, the trustees, Luke Hollman, CKC Ambassador and Middlesex CCC player, and CKC staff and volunteers.
Haydn Turner, CKC Chairman, welcomed all guests on the night and said:
“Today it is all about us as a family, and you will hear more about the achievements of Capital Kids Cricket over the last 33 years. I welcome all of you and hope you enjoy the evening.”
The night was conducted by master of the ceremony, Jawar Ali, who was a CKC participant at primary school before becoming a coach and working for CKC. Jawar is now a director at Essex Cricket and is the Head of Parks and Leisure at Thurrock Council.
The dinner started with a video message from CKC President, Nasser Hussain OBE.
In his speech, CKC CEO, Shahidul Alam Ratan highlighted that everyone in the room had joined the CKC family and was now an ambassador for the charity. He then praised the charity’s work whilst thanking each of CKC’s staff members for their work and contribution to CKC’s impact over the last 33 years.
CKC Head Coach and Development Officer, Ray Tudor, Inclusion Coordinator, Denise O’Neill, and Development Coach, Jerry Bramble, received special recognition awards on the night.
CKC trustees, and current and former chairmen, Haydn Turner and John Challinor received Lifetime Achievement awards in recognition of their contribution and dedication to changing the lives of children and young people and reviving cricket in inner London state schools.
The valuable work of three of CKC’s volunteers, Ashraf, Sayed, and Pranav was recognized as they became CKC Champions and received special plaques to mark the occasion.
To close out the night, Kalyan Kumar, Deputy Chairman of CKC, thanked everyone for attending the celebration and, in his closing remarks, said:
“Cricket was invented in a tiny village in east Sussex and has gone around the world and brought people and communities together.
CKC is a London based charity and they are growing. With your support, we want to take this charity to the next level.”
