Penn Street Cricket Club

The Foundation of Goodness has the good fortune to work a number of overseas sports teams that are as passionate about charity as they are about cricket. One such team that made a significant contribution towards community aid programmes carried out by the Foundation of Goodness was Penn Street Cricket Club from UK.

When planning to visit the Foundation of Goodness for a community aid cricket tour, the team wanted to leave a more lasting legacy from their visit. To this end, they mobilized their community to get involved in support of a worthy cause specially picked by them- the Foundation of Goodness Essential School Supplies Programme which provides the necessities for rural poverty stricken children to stay in school and complete their education so that they have a better chance of finding success in the future and escaping poverty, rather than dropping out because they lack the items they need to go to school.

The team visited the Foundation of Goodness for two fun filled and exciting games of cricket at the Seenigama Sports Academy as well as a tour of FoG’s MCC Centre of Excellence where they gained a more in-depth understanding of all the programmes carried out by FoG to uplift rural communities.

During this time they also handed over four cricket bags filled with cricket material, a large bag of stationery and a donation of GBP 10,100/- towards the School Supplies programme.

This incredibly generous donation meant that we were able to touch the lives of hundreds of children in different and targeted ways to encourage their education.

156 students from Kilinochchi and Mannar in the Northern Province received Essential School Supplies Packs, in addition to which the Uthayasooriyan Pre-school in Mullaitivu also received stationery and simple equipment for the pre-school band/ musical programme.

The Essential School Supplies Packs were made up of the following items:

Material for a School Uniform
01 School Bag
Voucher for School Shoes and Socks
Exercise Books
06 Piece Set of Coloured Felt‐Tip Pens
25 Piece Set of Crayons
Box of Mathematical Instruments
Box of Coloured Pencils
Pen and Pencil
Pencil Box
Lunch Box
Water Bottle

73 students from Teldeniya in the Central Province also received these school packs, while 300 students in Vavuniya (Northern Province) received vouchers to purchase school shoes and socks.

In addition to these items, 27 students from Jaffna and Mannar (Northern Province) were presented with bicycles, which were deemed an essential contribution as there was a crying need for bikes which would help the children travel to and from school as they need to cover great distances everyday with little access to public transport.

These bikes were donated as part of the 'Bikes for Life' programme conducted in partnership between FoG and Kumar Sangakkara.

Soon after the distributions were completed we received this delighted letter from the Uthayasooriyan Pre-school;

Prasanna Balachandran 
Leader Uthajansooriyan Preschool
Vattapalai, Mulliyawalai,
Mullaithivu

Dear Mr.Kushil and Team,
We have received 50 preschool School packs, office equipment and preschool band musical equipment’s from Foundation of Goodness.

Many, many thanks Penn Street Cricket Club - UK Donors and Foundation of Goodness Team Sir.

Thank you from our Teachers, Parents and Students in particular

Again, thank you for all help you do for our students. You are a part of their educational development.

"The children are our future, the education is their future!"

With gratitude and respectfully,
 Prasanna Balachandran

A big thank you goes to Penn Street Cricket Club and all their supporters for this wonderful endeavour which helped light up so many young lives, giving them renewed hope for a better future!

20th July 2017