News

Cricket club raise $600,000 through Toyota raffle (730)

Local cricket clubs around Australia raised more than $600,000 during the latest season by participating in the Toyota Good for Cricket raffle.

The raffle, with Toyota-donated prizes including a car, enables club members to sell tickets and keep 100 per cent of the proceeds.

Clubs are able to use the funds to upgrade facilities, buy equipment and uniforms, contain registration fees and introduce other measures to support their players.

More than $1 million has been raised in the past two seasons alone with the 2016-17 total of $628,690 being 40 per cent higher than the $444,000 raised during the previous season.

Toyota Australia's executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said it was particularly gratifying to see tangible benefits from one of the country's biggest grassroots funding initiatives.

Mr Cramb said clubs had used raffle proceeds over the years for projects such as rebuilding clubrooms, creating opportunities for disadvantaged children to participate in organised sport and coaching successful girls' and women's teams.

"Cricket is at the heart of many local communities and the Toyota Good for Cricket raffle helps keep local clubs strong for their players - whether they are juniors, young guns or old-timers," Mr Cramb said.

"The raffle enables the clubs and their members to concentrate on the sport they love rather than worrying about the money."

The Good for Cricket initiative is central to Toyota's position as the official automotive partner of Australian cricket since 2012.

The public face of the latest season's raffle was cricket superstar David Warner who said the raffle had been an absolute bonanza for young cricketers.

"This is not just Good for Cricket, it's great for cricket because local clubs support the health and well-being of young people - and they're the foundation of Australia's sustained international cricket success," Warner said.

The prize pool, depending on the location of entrants, features Toyota cars with on-road costs including 12 months registration. Other prizes include coaching clinics run by a cricket legend at the club's home ground and official shirts and bats signed by the men's cricket team.

Full details are available at www.toyota.com.au/cricket.