Chance To Shine announces new chief executive, mission and brand

Chance To Shine has unveiled their new chief executive, mission for 2020 and a new brand as the charity celebrated its tenth birthday at Lord's last night.

Kent Cricket community director Andy Griffiths and women's captain Charlotte Edwards were in attendance as Luke Swanson was revealed as the charity's new chief executive.

Mr Swanson previously worked at education company Pearson and has been involved in cricket for many years as a player, coach and Chance to Shine supporter.

He succeeds Wasim Khan, who joined Leicestershire County Cricket Club at the start of the year.

In a second announcement, Chance To Shine outlined a new mission: to spread the power of cricket in schools and communities, inspiring one million more young people by 2020.

The ambitious target is part of a five-year strategy, starting in October, which includes a new £25million fundraising appeal.

Now in its tenth year, the charity has successfully brought cricket to 2.5million children in 11,000 state schools across England and Wales.

However, millions of young people in the state sector and particularly in inner-city areas still do not have the same opportunity to play cricket as their peers in private schools.

As part of the new strategy, Chance To Shine replaces the Cricket Foundation as the charity's official name and the two core programmes will now be called Chance to Shine Schools and Chance to Shine Street (previously StreetChance).

To reflect these changes, Chance To Shine unveiled a new logo based on the combination of a batsman's wagon-wheel graphic and a spark.

The spark comes from the 'shine' part of the charity's name and represents the positive benefits it ignites in young people like teamwork, passion, discipline and respect. The reach and impact of the programmes is encapsulated in a new strapline: 'spreading the power of cricket'.

Speaking about the appointment and strategy, chairman Donald Brydon said: "I am delighted that Luke is joining Chance to Shine as chief executive. He is a high-calibre leader and communicator with a wealth of experience in the business and education sector. He is passionate about our cause and will continue to drive the charity in the right direction.

“Chance to Shine has been one of the sporting success stories from the past decade. But we must now look forward, not back. We have a new, ambitious mission: to spread the power of cricket in schools and communities, inspiring one million more young people by 2020.”

New Chance to Shine chief executive Luke Swanson said: “I am honoured to be appointed the next chief executive of Chance to Shine at such an exciting moment for the charity. It’s a fantastic campaign dedicated to inspiring young people, and helping them to learn, through cricket.

"I’m a huge admirer of all that Wasim Khan and the team there has achieved, and greatly looking forward to working with and learning from Chance to Shine's many committed players, teachers, coaches, ambassadors, funders, partners and advocates.”