Hull and Peterborough up to bat as Wicketz cricket charity receives funding boost from LNER

Dozens of young people in Hull and Peterborough are gaining new sporting experiences following community cricket sessions organised as part of The Lord’s Taverners Wicketz programme, with support from London North Eastern Railway (LNER).

The Lord’s Taverners, the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity, has received £40,000 of funding from LNER’s Customer and Community Investment Fund (CCIF), ensuring that more young people will benefit from the vital life skills and knowledge they can gain from being part of the cricket sessions.

More than 80 participants take part in activities at Hull and Peterborough’s Wicketz projects every week. Cricket is used as a tool to engage with young people and helps participants develop skills such as team building, leadership and communication.

Wicketz Programme Manager, Dan Wilson said “The funding from LNER is vital in helping us to support hard to reach young people across Hull and Peterborough. We are splitting the funding between the two cities to provide year round activity for young people across both areas. It has been great to see young people from completely different communities find they have more in common than they may have realised before.”

News of the funding was shared at a celebration event in Hull, where participants from both Hull and Peterborough enjoyed cricket activities before taking part in two workshops on railway safety and learning about their local communities.

David Horne, LNER Managing Director, said: “The work that The Lord’s Taverners undertakes is fantastic and we ’re delighted to provide this funding boost to projects in two key destinations on our route, Peterborough and Hull. They are a great example of the type of project that we want to support through our CCIF giving participants life skills and opportunities that will benefit them long into the future.”

The CCIF provides up to £500,000 in funding for charities, community groups and not-for-profit organisations on the East Coast route that address social issues that affect LNER’s people, customers and communities, and by doing so, seek to have a positive impact on society.