Pavers Foundation Matches Fundraising by Grassroots Cricket Club

The Pavers Foundation, charitable initiative of UK leading multi-channel footwear retailer Pavers has recently matched £750 of fundraising by local grassroots cricket club, Wheldrake CC, on behalf of Anthony Carter, Infrastructure Manager at Pavers Head Office in York.

Anthony applied for funding through the Pavers Foundation’s employee-led grant application scheme, having played for the Wheldrake since 2004. The club encountered financial difficulties in recent years, prompting Anthony to take action: “Following the collapse of the Junior’s section, the club was left with only one senior team. I didn’t want to see my local club fold, so I decided to work at improving the facilities and playing numbers.” The Grant from the Foundation matches the sum already raised by the club and will go towards purchasing equipment and training prospective volunteers for the club.

Les Fearn, Chairman of the cricket club, explained the difference this funding will make: “With the cricket season set to return to cricket in 2021, additional covid safety regulations were put in place. One of the restrictions was to limit the sharing of equipment. The grant received from the Pavers Foundation allowed the club to buy an additional 10 helmets and additional cricket balls for the Juniors, without which our U11 and U13 teams would not be allowed to train and play. We are very grateful for the Pavers Foundation grant.”

The Pavers Foundation has recently reached the amazing milestone of their first £1 million milestone of charitable giving. This is enabled through donations from the main business to the Foundation each year, alongside the sale of carrier bags in stores and fundraising efforts amongst the company’s 1,500 staff.  The Foundation strives to ‘make a difference with every pair’, to find out more about the Pavers Foundation visit their website or follow them on social media where their story will continue to evolve.