The staff came back with even bigger smiles and the joy of a day spent beautifully, playing cricket and serving delicious pies!
The staff members were given the option to attend either a cricket clinic for the young boys and girls or participate in the Meals from the Heart initiative. Some even took a stab at both activities.
The cricket clinic saw NSW Breakers stars Lauren Cheatle and Anika Learoyd taking the charge with a host of CNSW staff to coach the boys and girls on batting, bowling, catching and throwing. They kids were given a few surprise giveaways too – which included some oversized shirts donated by Mitchell Starc and Alyssa Healy.
The cricket clinic crew were then joined by a few helping hands and moved on to serve Meals from the Heart.
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Meals from the Heart is an initiative delivered by Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) to alleviate the stress and burden of parents needing to work out what’s for dinner and then cook it for their family whilst staying in the house. After a day of attending appointments or treatment at the hospital, to come back to the house and have a nice, home cooked meal prepared is a weight off their shoulders and helps with a small respite beyond what they are already going through.
The CNSW team oversaw Pie Night – and through the guidance of the chef, were able to produce cottage pie, chicken pie, spanakopita, veggies, salad, breads, and sticky date pudding. The sticky date pudding, cooked by Community Cricket’s Relationship Manager Dale Quartey was a particular hit!
In all, the CNSW Staff donated 54 hours of time to the CNSW Foundation to help deliver both the clinic and Pie Night to have a truly rewarding afternoon and evening.
Jake Balnave, Head of the Cricket NSW Foundation, said: “The Cricket NSW Foundation is committed to enriching communities and improving lives through cricket, by further enabling access to the game.
“For the young boys and girls and their families going through such a difficult period, for us to have the ability to briefly take their mind off their worries with a cricket clinic was an amazing thing for the Foundation to enable. We were also able to give out some Cricket NSW shirts and caps for the participants to remember the great experience they had.
“To then also, via the Meals from the Heart initiative, be able to cook a hearty meal for the families who are staying in the house was very fulfilling and the smiles on the faces of the parents and kids showed how much this small gesture from us means to them.”