AGILISYS SPONSORS CELEBRITY CRICKET COACHING FOR LOCAL SCHOOLCHILDREN
29 June 2006
Agilisys, a Hammersmith-based IT company, will give 20 local schoolchildren the opportunity to meet some of the sport’s all-time greats – all in the name the charity.
Agilisys, the UK’s most innovative IT and business process service provider, announced today that they are sponsoring 20 children from local primary schools for a coaching session with cricketing legends past and present at Operation Smile’s 3rd annual Celebrity Charity Cricket Day on Friday July 7th at The Park Club, Acton.
The ‘who’s who’ of cricket will be out in force, giving their time to compete in a 6-a-side ‘pro-am’ tournament and passing on their combined knowledge to local schoolchildren in an afternoon coaching session - raising funds for Operation Smile, a charity that performs free reconstructive surgery on children with facial deformities in the developing world.
Current England star Andrew Strauss will be showing past England Captains Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton just how his team won the Ashes, and Channel 4’s ‘The Analyst’ Simon Hughes will be there along with past cricket greats; Angus Fraser and Derek Pringle. These legends will be joined by a host of international stars from the world famous Lashings World XII Squad including Richie Richardson, Clare Conner, Aravinda De Silva, Brendon McCullum and Chris Harris!
The rest of the day’s activities include a BBQ, steel band and fairground attractions for the children.
Charles Mindenhall, Agilisys CEO, commented, “Agilisys started in Hammersmith a number of years ago and we now have over 1,000 employees, and a group of companies based in the borough. We feel very much part of the community here, particularly with the work that we do with the Council, and thought that this would be a great way to give some local children a great experience. Not only will we be putting a smile on their faces, but we know that the money raised will change the lives of hundreds of other children.”
Andrew Strauss added “It’s a really special event – not only is it great fun for us and for the kids, but knowing that we can do something to positively impact the lives of so many children is amazing. Last year we raised £90,000 – that literally changed the lives of hundreds of children. We get so many requests to give of our time and support, this is one event that I hope to continue to be involved with for years to come.”
Dr. Bill Magee, Co-Founder of the global organisation Operation Smile comments “We can’t thank the cricketers enough. With their continued support, this year’s event is going to be bigger and better – with over 300 for dinner, and 2000 people expected on the day. The thousands of children that we treat each year are helped not only by our volunteer medical professionals, who give so willingly of their time, but also by those committed individuals who use their platform to raise awareness for our work.”
Notes to editors: All spaces have been allocated to selected primary schools in the Borough. All celebrity cricketers will be available for photos and for interview. Please note, this event is not open to the general public, non-members must be invited by a member of The Park Club. Non-members will only be admitted if accompanying a child who has been pre-registered for coaching at events@operationsmile.org.uk.
Day Programme
3:30pm – 6pm – children’s coaching sessions
6pm – Award Ceremony and Charity Raffle Announcement
Day Ends
For further information:
Christine Grady
Agilisys
christine.grady@agilisys.co.uk
0208-237-6111
About Agilisys Ltd
Agilisys is the UK's most innovative IT and business process service provider, transforming the way our clients deliver services to their customers through the use of strategic, affordable, shared service platforms.
Working for both the public and private sector, we have earned a strong reputation and hold deep domain expertise within local government, travel and tourism, retail financial services and healthcare. Agilisys has over 1,000 employees in the UK, Ireland and India. (www.agilisys.co.uk)
About Operation Smile
Throughout the world, Operation Smile volunteers repair childhood facial deformities while building public and private partnerships that advocate for sustainable healthcare systems for children and families. Together, we create smiles, change lives and heal humanity. Working simultaneously to provide education and training to medical professionals to build local capacity, Operation Smile U.K. is part of a global alliance of Operation Smile organisations serving children in 25 developing countries in Asia, Central and South America, Africa and the Middle East. Since 1982 Operation Smile had treated over 95,000 children and young adults suffering from facial deformities. (www.operationsmile.org.uk)
About The Park Club
The Park Club is a family based health, sport and leisure club set in 27 acres of beautifully maintained grounds, courts, terraces and gardens with immaculate greens and wild natural woodland.
Park Club members enjoy indoor and outdoor swimming pools, spa, saunas and steam room, solaria, sun terraces, gardens, cricket, football, tennis, the track, beach volleyball and a myriad of other possibilities. Year round a unique team of Sport Coaches brings spontaneity and humour to professional coaching offering courses in sports, skills and creative activities to younger members whilst the sports bar, restaurant and private lounges offer superb cuisine, big screen, broadband, live bands, peace and quiet, all as you prefer.