Sacha’s epic charity trek for CTS
Cricket Shropshire Community Officer Sacha Lee is taking on an epic challenge to raise vital money for Chance to Shine STREET projects.
She is one of 12 people who will take on a three peaks challenge with a difference – they are in The Alps, across both France and Switzerland, with base camp in Chamonix.
The trek in early October will feature around 1,000 metres of elevation gain each day to summits as high as 2,700 metres – that’s the equivalent of Ben Nevis on top of Ben Nevis.
It is part of the Chance to Shine Challenge to raise money for the national charity that aims to give every child the opportunity to play, learn and develop through cricket.
Sacha coordinates Cricket Shropshire’s Chance to Shine and Chance to Shine STREET programmes – which aim to take cricket to state schools and communities where children face additional barriers to play and reap the many benefits of taking part.
Last year she won Chance to Shine’s national Community Cricket Award for her development of Street projects which targeted to urban areas in Telford, addressing deprivation and cultural diversity.
In the past two and half years, Cricket Shropshire’s Street programmes have seen more than 360 participants attending more than 340 sessions in Telford, Shrewsbury and Market Drayton.
There are three new Street Clubs in development in the coming months, which is fantastic news for Shropshire.
She is looking forward to the challenge and has already started her training.
She said: “I hope this is an opportunity to showcase the impact Chance to Shine Street has had in Shropshire and also raise some much-needed money to help the charity continuing its mission of developing communities through cricket.
“The Alpine Trek 2024 aims to raise enough money to fund three new STREET clubs for a year.
“I have first-hand experience of the benefits that these STREET Clubs can have in the community through the work we have done in the past two and a half years.
“I want to give something back, so I applied to do the challenge and was accepted. I also want people to know that the Chance to Shine STREET clubs do change lives and I want to raise the profile of that.
“I’d like to highlight how Chance to Shine STREET clubs give youngsters the chance to get involved in cricket in areas where they would not otherwise be able to.
“In doing this we are building friendships and trust within communities in under privileged areas of our county.
“Spending a lot of my time delivering EDI workshops within the County (Equity, Diversity and inclusion), the richness and culture that makes up our communities can be wonderfully bought to life by engaging with communities through the power of cricket.
“It is also enabling our wider coaching and volunteer network to work within underserved areas and continue to build ties with families and young people.
“And we are seeing fantastic results – we have seen youngsters join local cricket clubs and even make in on to our County Age Group programme, which is brilliant.”
She is hoping to be able to build up her fitness in the coming weeks to be able to take on the challenge, and has set a target of raising £2,700.
“Over the years, I have tackled the Three Peaks in the UK, the Great North run, and trekked in the Himalayas.
“But this is another level again, and I would say I’m not the fittest person, being a little older than when I previously challenged myself. But I will be stepping up my training, and also concentrating on learning to be ready to go again on tired legs, as the challenge requires.
“I’m looking to use climbs up the many peaks within our beautiful county and work towards Mt Snowdon twice in two days to build up my endurance levels.
“I’m hoping to create blogs along the way to keep people up to date with my progress and hopefully encourage them to sponsor me.”
Sacha can be sponsored via her Go Fund Me page which can be found HERE.