Warwickshire Cricket Board’s Community Participation Officer Eaton Gordon and its partnership with Positive Youth Foundation have won national accolades at the prestigious Chance to Shine Awards.
Staged at Lord’s, the Chance to Shine Awards recognise individuals, projects and community groups that have used cricket to bring positive change to young people, with Eaton winning a Special Recognition Award for his impact on Chance to Shine Projects in inner-city Birmingham and Coventry, whilst Positive Youth Foundation won Project of the Year for its Coventry Street project.
Everyone at Edgbaston is delighted for Eaton as we know how hard he works to encourage children to get involved in cricket and to develop and to believe in themselves.
Ed McCabe, Warwickshire Cricket Board
Eaton has worked for the Warwickshire Cricket Board for three years and has delivered coaching and administrative support for Chance to Shine since the charity’s earlier days at Handsworth CC, in 2005, through to his ongoing commitment and support for recent Street Cricket programmes.
The most notable success story of Eaton’s work has been the development of Warwickshire CCC left-arm spinner Sunny Singh, from George Dixon Academy, who was introduced to cricket through Chance to Shine coaching sessions and has gone on to sign a professional contract and make an impact at senior level.
Ed McCabe, General Manager of the Warwickshire Cricket Board, said: “Everyone at Edgbaston is delighted for Eaton as we know how hard he works to encourage children to get involved in cricket and to develop and to believe in themselves. Sunny Singh’s rise to Warwickshire’s professional ranks is an incredible story, thanks to Eaton’s support, and has proved exactly what can be achieved through Chance to Shine programmes.”
The Coventry street project of Positive Youth Foundation was named Project of the Year for its work removing barriers to playing cricket, with many participants in the project being refugees who were recently relocated in the city.
McCabe added: “Positive Youth Foundation is a great partner of Warwickshire Cricket Board, which has opened Chance to Shine programmes in Coventry to an even wider audience with an increasing number of participants each year.”
