On August 5th, Waltham6 defended a good total to beat Team Nukes6 in the finals to win 12th Annual IDRF “Cricket for a Cause” tournament held in Nashua (NH).  30 teams participated in this six-a-side tournament, helping IDRF’s Boston chapter raise about $8,000. The tournament was sponsored by Hope foundation of Concord, Avco Consulting Inc. and Ashok Patel of Jamison hotels in Waltham. Ranjani Saigal, a senior educational technologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-founder of Lokvani graced the prize distribution ceremony as the guest of honor. Ms. Saigal, who is a renowned community leader in the New England area, exhorted the organizers and participants to continue their efforts towards helping the poor and needy through events like this which she likened to a social enterprise. She was particularly impressed with the competitive spirit displayed by finalists, braving the sapping heat in what was supposed to be a charity event.

Each team of 6 pays a fee of $150 and plays 6-over games in round robin stage; then proceeds through several knock-out rounds. Games are played with hard tennis balls and are played in a fun environment while maintaining a competitive edge. Most teams brave the hot and humid New England weather in July/August to put up their best show. "Waltham6" captained by Ashok, which won the tournament this year, has never missed the tournament since its inception. While most of the participants are students from area universities, working professionals also enthusiastically participate in the tournament.

The tournament is usually conducted over two weekends at multiple venues – Burlington and Nashua. But this year it was only Nashua, NH due to the availability of fields. With 10 hours of play each day and the threat of rain ever looming, organizers have often had to pray for rain to stay away and contend with numerous scheduling requests from participants. Each game takes an hour and needs two umpires, a scorer and an overall field coordinator. Over the years, countless well-wishers of IDRF and cricket enthusiasts have generously helped the core IDRF volunteer team with this onerous task of successfully conducting the tournament. 4 volunteers for every game of an hour, 11 years of cricket tournaments gives you an idea of immense hard work put in by the volunteers to make this all happen.

Right from the first tournament held in 2001, several Indo-American businesses have whole-heartedly supported this venture in terms of sponsorship. Hope foundation of Concord and Leader Bank, a premier financial services organization run by Sushil Tuli, have sponsored the tournament half a dozen times each, thereby contributing greatly to funds raised through the tournaments over the years. Avco Consulting Inc. headquartered in Worcester, MA have funded the tournament since last two years. Several area restaurants including Hot Breads of Woburn and Patel Brothers of Waltham have chipped in with gift certificates which are given to winners and best performers.

Even as the cricket lovers in New England have enjoyed this tournament down the years, they have helped make a telling contribution towards projects run by IDRF's partner NGOs in India. The projects range from residential hostels for boys and girls to hospitals to vocational training centers empowering underprivileged women.

Ekalavya Ashram of Andhra Pradesh used the funds provided by IDRF in 2002 for construction of an additional floor in its residential school for tribal children. While Bhatke Vimukta Vikas Pratisthan in Solapur, Maharashtra, used the funds to set up a vocational training institute aiming to develop self-employment skills of people of nomadic tribes and Vanavasi Ashram Trust in Wayanad, Kerala to support boarding, lodging, and educational expenses of tribal children.

Ved Mandir of Jammu used IDRF funds for the construction of 'Balika Niketan', an orphanage for girls who lost their parents to terrorism and violence in J&K and the Vanavasi Ashram Trust for the construction of 'Ten-bedded Hospital' to support the needs of tribals in Wayanad district in Kerala. NASA

Foundation, Gujarat (National Sanitation & Environment Improvement) used the funds to improve public hygiene by providing clean sanitation facilities in two schools. Another project supported is run by HOPE(Hungry & Oppressed’s Participation for Emancipation) of Orissa to setup a "Rural Trade School" to provide training to rural youth, women and weaker community to enable them to be self-reliant.

All the proceeds from this year's cricket tournament will go to the Vidyadaan program. This program supports a child's education expenses for an year by donating $75 towards academic fees, books etc. Every team playing in this year's IDRF Cricket-for-a-Cause tournament contributes to help 2 under privileged children get educated.
http://vidyadaanyfs.blogspot.in/

About IDRF

IDRF is an all-voluntary, tax-exempt U.S. public charity that is operated with near-zero overhead. It channels all contributions to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) having impeccable track records of humanitarian service and managed by dedicated volunteers and thus applies 100 percent of all contributions towards the integral development of underprivileged and the needy. For more information, please visit us on web at http://www.idrf.org, contact us at 978-640-0530 or email idrfboston@yahoo.com.

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