Arundel Castle Cricket Foundation - YOUTH AND EDUCATION SCHEME

We are fortunate at Arundel to have outstanding facilities - a cricket ground admired the world over and an Indoor Cricket School which is highly praised by all who use it. We have a strong management team and highly qualified, experienced coaches to support the needs of the young. For nearly two decades, this has enabled us to make a powerful impact both in the inner city and urban areas as well as local districts. We would like to do more for them.

Accommodation and good catering have become an important issue. We would like more of the youngsters to experience the fun of a stay overnight and particularly those with disabilities and special needs who now form a significant part of our programme. Thousands have already benefited from our activities, the tournaments, teamwork and coaching. We are determined to build on this success. There is much we can do to help. We owe it to the young and their future development.

To date, over £3 million has been raised and invested in the Foundation's activities thanks to the generosity of many donors, notably J Paul Getty Jr, the Lord's Taverners, The Boeing Company, The Garfield Weston Foundation and The Sandra Trust. We have also made successful applications to The National Lottery, Sportsmatch and The National Foundation for Sport and the Arts.

To achieve our aims we are planning to raise £2 million over the next five years. We are asking you to share in our vision for the young and their development and to consider supporting this project which has already had such a positive effect on so many young people.

It costs £200,000 each year to fulfil our commitment to Youth and Education.

The specific projects for which we are actively seeking support this year include:

· The London Schools Community Project weeks which are scheduled to take place in May and July.
On average, 120 children (aged 10-12 years) and 16 teachers will come to Arundel for each of these weeks. In round figures, the costs involved PER WEEK are Accommodation (£7,000), Catering (£3,000), Coaching (£3,000), Transport (£2,000), Recreational Activities - visits to tourist attractions, the seaside etc (£1,200) and the hire of Arundel Town Ground (£1,000).
When one factors in administration, three staff and two groundsmen, the total cost to the Foundation for each week will be in the region of £20,000.

· The Prince's Trust Trophy Final, Lambeth Schools and London Youth Tournamentsare annual competitions for London children which are funded by the Foundation at a cost of £1,500 per day, none of which receives any form of sponsorship.

· The Outreach Programme - three coaches visit 100 Primary and Secondary schools in West Sussex and East Hampshire. The cost of providing 500 coaching sessions is £15,000 per annum. The West Sussex County Council makes a contribution towards funding this important initiative and where possible some schools do give us modest donations to help defray costs. However, such is the financial predicament of the majority of the schools we visit, we are left with a sizeable deficit each year.

· Special Needs Project - in the last five years, we have significantly expanded our programmes for children with special needs and disabilities. While our main priority has been the Inner London Boroughs, we have also been involved with local schools from Sussex and the West Midlands. We have received important funding from The Boeing Company, The Cricket Society Trust and The Worshipful Company of Girdlers whose support for these activities has enabled us to make a considerable impact. We intend to do more.