The choice of charities stems from deeply personal experiences within the club's extended family. One family endured the heartbreaking loss of their daughter, Ettalie, who was stillborn at 30 weeks—a devastating experience that the Sands charity helps families navigate. Another family at the club underwent an emergency C-section to deliver baby Daphne at just 26 weeks gestation. Due to her prematurity, she was diagnosed with chronic lung disease which has led to ongoing respiratory challenges and needing to receive the type of specialised neonatal care that Ickle Pickles Children's Charity supports nationwide.
The raffle features an impressive array of prizes that will appeal to cricket enthusiasts and the wider community alike. Highlights include professionally refurbished Cricket Station bats, high-quality batting gloves, junior cricket equipment sets including bats and pads, valuable gift cards, Sixes social vouchers, and professional cricket net session vouchers among many other desirable items.
Ickle Pickles Children's Charity has been working since 2009 to provide intensive care equipment for premature and sick newborns. With over 90,000 babies born sick or prematurely in the UK annually—including one in thirteen babies arriving before full term—the charity's work is essential in giving these vulnerable infants the best possible start in life.
Sands offers crucial support to the 13 families each day who experience the heartbreak of losing a baby before, during, or shortly after birth. For more than four decades, the charity has provided compassionate care through its helpline, online community, resources, and regional support groups, while also funding vital research to better understand and prevent baby loss.
"This raffle represents our club's commitment not just to cricket, but to supporting our extended cricket family through some of life's most challenging moments," Alex Maynard Goring-by-Sea Cricket Club Chairman. "We invite the local community to join us in supporting these two incredible charities that make such a difference to families when they need it most."
Raffle tickets are available through the link found in the bio of the Cricket Club instagram - @goringbyseacc