By Bipin Dani
The Australian Test Captain Tim Paine will be the special guest for The Chappell Foundation at its 4th Annual Dinner at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on May 12. This was revealed by Darshak Mehta, the chairman of the institution.
The Chappell Foundation raises funds to give to those who provide refuge, nourishment and a better future for thousands of young Australians without a roof over their heads each night.
Rate of youth homelessness is a national crisis in Australia. Each night more than 30,000 people under the age of 25 sleep without shelter.
"There will be several Test cricketers in the room apart from Ian and Greg Chappell and Tim Paine – the guest speaker", Darshak Mehtra, speaking exclusively over the telephone from Australia, said.
"In 2018, our Guest Speaker was Shane Warne, in 2019 it was singer Jimmy Barnes and last year it was Ricky Ponting".
"Alyssa Healy and Moises Henriques are Ambassadors of The Chappell Foundation (TCF) and will likely attend, if in town".
Former Australian spinner Steve O’Keefe is a regular, as is former champion Para-olympian Louise Sauvage - an Ambassador of TCF.
Twin sisters Kate and Alex Blackwell, both Australian cricketers, are also strong supporters of TCF and likely to attend.
"There will be at least another handful of elite cricketers in attendance and stars from other sports are expected, too", added Mehta.
"We hope to fund-raise over $ 200,000 ( Rs 1.1 crore) and donate that to our six charity partners", he concluded.
