Here at PQShield, one of the many perks we offer our team is a Giving Back Day. This means each that colleague gets one day of paid leave annually to volunteer for a charity or approved community organisation of their choice. It’s a fantastic way for our team to engage in activities they love while feeling supported!
I volunteer at my local cricket club, Wokingham CC, founded in 1825 it is 200 years old this year. This is older than a lot of football clubs! I have been volunteering here since 2009.
One of the things the cricket club does is partner with the local community to deliver and/or host cricket. Every year one of the clubs’ marquee events is the local schools Dynamo Cricket Festival, one for Girls and one mixed, where local primary schools converge at Wokingham CC for a tournament of cricket.
Myself and another club member organise and deliver this day of festival of cricket for the local primary schools. This involves setting up cricket pitches on the ovals, organising the tournament schedule, organising the umpires from Berkshire Cricket Foundation and organising the car parking on the day.
This year’s tournament went off to a good start. In the end it was attended by 11 schools. In the festival format, a match runs for around 40mins which is not too bad. Whereas a normal junior league game can take up to 3hrs. Festival format is great as it allows the children to experience a quick, fun game of cricket against multiple opponents. One of the outcomes of the dynamo festival is to get children to increase their participation in cricket. Which the club has seen in their membership numbers.
Cricket is unique in that it can be a very individual sport as well as a team sport. It teaches children the value of teamwork, perseverance, and patience. As a volunteer coach I have coached children from age 9 and up through the age groups and have seen them go on to become adults and then get married to have children of their own! This is what makes it worthwhile.
With the hot summer weather. And a great start to the cricket season, It is worth noting if you are looking for something to do on a summer weekend, find your local cricket club and pop down for the day. Most clubs have a bar!