The Club Cricket Conference Yearbook 2020

- 40 - The Rob George Foundation was set up in loving memory of Rob George, a member of Colchester & East Essex Cricket Club, and the son of Pip George, Chairman of Essex Cricket in the Community (formerly the Essex County Cricket Board) and a Board member of the Club Cricket Conference. Rob died aged 21 on 9th December 2013 following a long battle with leukaemia. The Foundation has two distinct objectives. These are: 1. To provide practical and/or financial support to young people with life threatening or terminal illnesses. 2. To provide financial support to young people who demonstrate exceptional commitment and/or ability in the worlds of sport or the performing arts but may be held back by their financial situation from pursuing their goals. The Foundation is proud to have Graham Gooch as its Patron. England cricketer Tammy Beaumont was a friend of Rob’s at Loughborough University and is also a supporter of the Foundation. In its first five years of operation, a sum approaching £1.1 million has been raised which has enabled the Foundation to make awards to some eight hundred and eighty deserving young people, including several cricketers. The cricket family, particularly members in Essex, has played an important part in helping the Foundation reach these figures. The Foundation was proud to support one of the young members of the Conference’s tour of the Caribbean in November 2015, as well as Kashif Ali, a promising all-rounder from Watford Town CC, who was introduced to the Foundation by the Conference’s Gulfraz Riaz. Kashif was chosen as an MCC Young Cricketer for the 2018 season. More recently, the Foundation has been pleased to support Imran Maroof of Gloucestershire Second Xl, a young Afghan refugee. The Foundation is now receiving an average of one application each and every working day. Most of these are applications deserving of support. To satisfy this sort of demand – an average grant is currently £638 - the pressure for more and more fund-raising becomes ever more intense, and so the generous support from its supporters is ever more necessary. Fundraising is particularly difficult during the current Covid 19 crisis. The trustees would love to hear from any club who would like to discuss any form of fund-raising activity. Further details of the Foundation’s work can be found on the website: www.therobgeorgefoundation.org and details of some of the awards already made can be read there on the “Making a Difference” page. The Foundation is also on Facebook and Twitter.