Old Albanians Cricket Club is delighted to support Youth Talk as our chosen charity.

Youth Talk provides free, confidential counselling to 13-25 year olds who live, work or study in St Albans, Harpenden and surrounding villages. 

For young people, sometimes life can feel completely overwhelming. Without someone to talk to, it can feel impossible to cope.​ 

Youth Talk has been supporting young people for over 26 years. They believe that every local young person should be able to talk confidentially to someone about whatever’s on their mind. Youth Talk focus on early intervention to reduce mental health problems in later life.

David Goodier, OACC Chairman said, "We're really excited to announce this new long-term working relationship with Youth Talk, a charity that does some fantastic work in our local community. Due to the growing size of our youth section, we feel that the partnership is one close to our hearts and we will do all we can to help and assist in raising funds and more importantly awareness.

We realise the benefits of team sports and playing outside are great for young cricketers but sometimes this may not be enough, and we want to make sure our members and their families are aware of this wonderful service that is available to all."

Youth Talk is an organisation for the community and driven by the community. As a charity, Youth Talk relies on the generous support of our community to deliver counselling services without charge and to help as many young people as possible.

David Barker, Chief Executive, Youth Talk said, “Youth Talk are immensely grateful to be the official charity partner of the Old Albanian’s Cricket Club and beneficiary of the 2024 St Albans Lashings event. The timing could not be more important as we are seeing a worrying and growing demand on our service and we have a vital role to play in addressing the growing mental health crisis amongst our local young people. 

Partnering with local sports groups and being involved in prestigious events like this will undoubtedly raise crucial awareness of Youth Talk and help generate the much-needed funds to provide free and confidential counselling support. This partnership will play a vital role in supporting our 5-year strategy to grow the service and help more local young people.”

Do something amazing! Get involved. Support our young people today. 

For more information about the charity, and to donate please visit:  https://youthtalk.org.uk/donate