Stars take to field at Tonbridge for Rwanda Aid cricket match
Sir Ian Botham, Keane singer Tom Chaplin and former England rugby player Rob Andrew are among those attending a star-studded fundraising event at Tonbridge School in support of Rwanda Aid.
Taking place on the afternoon of Friday 24 May, Sir Ian’s Invitation X1 will be taking on a Rwanda Aid Invitation X1. The public are welcome to come along and watch the match, which will start from around 3.30pm and be played on Tonbridge’s renowned cricket pitch, The Head.
The event is sponsored by wealth management firm JM Finn and supported by local firm Bourne Amenity.
Sir Ian, pictured, famously known as ‘Beefy’, will not play in the match, but will feature in a question and answer session earlier in the day.
Others taking part include TV presenter Chris Hollins; England’s chief national cricket selector Ed Smith; former Kent Cricket captain Rob Key; ex-England cricketers Gladstone Small and Paul Parker; England and Kent Women’s cricketer Tammy Beaumont; and Andy Whittall, Director of the school’s Tonbridge Society and a former Zimbabwe Test player.
David Chaplin OBE, Chief Executive Officer for Rwanda Aid, and father of musician Tom, said the charity aims to raise more than £20,000 by staging the event. “The funds will be helping to support young people living with disability in their homes, in school, in the workplace and in the community,” he said.
“As with all our initiatives, we aim for this to be so successful that it will become the model for providing care throughout the country. We are enormously grateful to Tonbridge School for making its wonderful cricket ground available to us, and we are looking forward to a fun and entertaining day.”
Rwanda Aid works in the Western province of Rwanda, one of the poorest regions in the country. Its mission is to relieve poverty by supporting effective education and opportunity for enterprise. Helping the disadvantaged and disabled is central to its work.
The last few tickets are available for the event, priced at £100 each, which includes a lunch, and the questions and answers with Sir Ian, Rob Key and others. Ticket holders will also have opportunity to bid in a charity auction with a range of fantastic prizes including a round of golf with Sir Ian and Tom Chaplin, and a flight in a Tiger Moth. Ticket inquiries are to be emailed to david.chaplin@rwanda-aid.org
Several of those playing, including Tom Chaplin, Ed Smith, Chris Hollins and Paul Parker, are Old Tonbridgians.
There is no entry fee to watch the match, but a collection will be taken for Rwanda Aid on the day.
“Our charity works closely with the local community, identifying the most pressing challenges and then piloting innovative solutions – ones that are so effective that they are adopted and developed by the community and government,” Mr Chaplin added.
“While a small charity, we are able to achieve things on a remarkable scale. An example is the teacher/mentor programme we piloted, which is being developed across the country. This supports more effective teaching and learning, and now benefits hundreds of thousands of children.”
Photo of Sir Ian Botham courtesy of The Cricketer.
Below: The school’s cricket pitch, The Head.
