Old Vigornians Junior Cricket Club
In partnership with Worcestershire Community Fund and Made By Sport, the Old Vigornians Junior Cricket Club (OV Juniors), were able to immediately start delivering wide-reaching societal programmes, whilst helping to bring opportune change to young people’s lives within the city of Worcester and beyond.
The OV Juniors launched in the middle of a global pandemic, and with the aid of the grant fund, we reached just under 90 children and over 50 parent/s and/or guardians who might not have had access to cricket (and a wider community) on a weekly basis. What became clear, throughout the weekly coaching sessions and matches, was the need to go deeper and wider, using sport as the vehicle for change: developing new programmes; Improving mental health; and building stronger communities, were exactly the needs of the community.
Since the fund was awarded, OV Juniors has initiated a social-change programme for young people who are in Foster Care within Worcestershire. This currently stands at over 800 young people within looked-after care. Without this grant, the foundations can’t have been laid to provide much needed opportunities for these young people. This is very much an ongoing project. However, the opportunities are clear: there is no national provision. The OV Juniors are developing a working model for other NGB’s to use across their sports and internal structures.
In addition, the fund has helped the creation of an Arts Programme which will be delivered by King’s School Worcester teachers. This programme will provide opportunities for young people, along with their parent/s and/or guardians, to try art for the first time, or even improve on their current skills. It will also be used as an art therapy project for children with learning difficulties and/or behavioural issues.
The final area of the awarded fund, is already ongoing in helping to build stronger communities throughout the year. Online content for young people to access 1min cricket skills and fun games, via OV Juniors Youtube channel, is underway. OV Juniors will be partnering with local Primary Schools, within the catchment area, in order to not only deliver these mini-sessions, but also to create a yearly connection when the cricket season isn’t operational. The vision is much bigger than this. However, laying these initial foundations will help create the longevity we desire.
