Kevin Pietersen’s charity bring their 24/7 Project to the UK
August 2016 sees the KP24 Foundation delivering their inaugural UK 24/7 Project.
The UK version of last year’s hugely successful Sprite 24/7 project will see 72 underprivileged andmarginalised 16-20 year olds take on a fully funded 10 day residential cricket and educational camp at Wellington College.
Handpicked by Chance to Shine’s street initiative, the 72 participants will gain unrivalled access to a comprehensive programme of cricket and education mixed with opportunities to interact with Kevin Pietersen and his KP24 Foundation team over an action packed ten day period.
The main aim of the UK 24/7 project is to positively impact a number of different areas of the participants lives. The KP24 Foundation looks to up-skill the individuals in not only their cricket, but by challenging their lifestyle choices, as well as educating them in key areas of life and providing transferable skills to help them develop resilience, and most importantly allow them a unique once in a life time opportunity to see all the various elements that go into making the professional world of cricket tick.
The KP24 Foundation’s core goal is to give children and young adults around the globe better chances in life through uniquely designed sport and education projects.
The UK 24/7 Project will provide the chance for these young adults to not only better themselves as individuals, but to take skills back to their communities which can help to drive change, and give opportunities to even more individuals in areas of the UK desperately in need of support.
The 24/7 Projects are the brainchild of Kevin Pietersen’, and stemmed from a passion and belief that Kevin’s playing legacy should, and could be used to help empower and support future generations of cricket lovers around the world, who simply through a circumstance of life find themselves devoid of opportunity or the means to seek it.
The UK version of these projects was put together with a specific aim of targeting what KP describes as the “forgotten generation”. Kevin said “Empowering the 16-20 demographic in the UK is extremely important to me”. “There are various issues facing unemployment and crime within this demographic and I believe with my cricketing legacy can have an impact with these guys and by using cricket I believe myself and my Foundation can affect change and make a difference in some of the harshest areas of the UK”
Kevin said, “This project has always been about finding cricket loving young adults with the hunger to learn and a desire to up-skill”. “Myself, and my team at the Foundation want this upcoming 10 day camp to encourage these guys to have a better chance in life and in turn I really hope this helps their communities where they are from for the better”
The KP24 Foundation’s Partnership with Chance to shine
Recruiting players to take part in the UK 24/7 Project wasn’t a straight forward task. This is where our partnership with Chance to Shine was born. Underprivileged young adults in the UK are given more support than those in other areas of the world, such as India or Sri Lanka. However, this certainly doesn’t mean they are not lacking in opportunity. The KP24 Foundation aim to use cricket as a vehicle to enthuse, motivate and focus young adults, this is done by using engaging content delivered by experts in their field.
The Chance to Shine Street programme has similar goals and aims to bring cricket to thousands of young people in inner city areas. It uses the game to promote social cohesion and create opportunities in diverse communities affected by anti-social behaviour and youth crime. We felt this was the perfect fit to our core aims, particularly seeing as Chance to shine feel that every child, no matter where they live, should have the opportunity to enjoy cricket, values held closely by Kevin Pietersen and the KP24 Foundation Team.
Chance to Shine Street, formerly known as StreetChance was launched in 2008, with the aim to bring cricket to children in inner-city areas in London. In 2011/12, the programme was expanded to six more cities: Birmingham, Bristol, Dewsbury, Hull Liverpool and Manchester. It has now reached over 38,000 youngsters since 2008 and is taking cricket to new people in new areas that would otherwise miss out on the chance to play. 85%of participants since 2008 were not members of cricket clubs.
In 2012, a grant from the National Lottery and Sport England enabled coaching sessions to be created and the ability to run a national cricket league for 16-24 year olds.
It is these 16-24 year olds that the KP24 Foundation are targeting for this first joint initiative with Chance to Shine. Having joined forces with their street programme, our first intake on the UK 24/7 project will be for six teams (made up into franchise teams) of twelve players between the ages of 16-20. We will be providing them with a full residential ten day camp which will up-skill them in not only their cricket, but in their lifestyle, and education and allow them the opportunity to gain a unique opportunity to live the life of a professional cricketer. The project provides the chance for these young adults to better themselves as individuals and take skills back to their communities which can drive change and give opportunities to even more individuals.
Throughout the course of the project, friends of Kevin Pietersen and Kevin Pietersen himself will be on hand to provide inspiring tips and help motivate and push the participants to get the best out of themselves.