Cricket event in London raises funds for injured servicemen and servicewomen.
For the second year in a row, the Dockers® brand sponsored Flannels for Heroes, an annual charity cricket match and summer garden party that has fast become one of the highlights of London’s social calendar.
The match, held June 19 at Burton Court in Chelsea, raised awareness for two charities that help veterans: Combat Stress and Walking With the Wounded (you may recall HRH Prince Harry joined Dockers® brand ambassador Jaco Van Gass, a former serviceman who lost his left arm, on a trek to the South Pole in 2013 through this nonprofit).
This year, the brand took its support a step further by donating 20 percent of sales of selected products on Dockers.com and from its pop-up store directly to the charities.
The evening before the match, the Dockers® brand hosted a cocktail reception for about 80 guests at The Lansdowne Club, where Dockers® chief creative officer Doug Conklyn introduced the new Spring/Summer 2016 collection and Dockers® brand president Lisa Collier shared why Flannels for Heroes is such a great fit for the brand.
At Levi Strauss & Co., giving back is part of our company’s DNA. Powered by the pioneering spirit that goes all the way back to our founder, Levi Strauss, we’re always seeking ways in which we can make an impact, not just in what we do, but in how we do it. That’s one of the reasons our Dockers® brand was proud to support Flannels for Heroes last year, and why they choose to return as sponsors in 2015.
On the day of the tournament, almost 400 guests were treated to a champagne reception, luncheon and a traditional British afternoon tea. Attendees included royalty, actors, musicians, composers, cricketers and other pillars of British society. There was a definite European flavor among the male movie stars attending this year — Hugo Becker and Nicolas Giraud (France), Barış Kılıç (Turkey, below right) and Álex González (Spain, below left), pictured below with Doug Conklyn of Dockers (middle).
Other celebrities included a smattering of former Harry Potter stars, including Oliver Phelps and Matthew Lewis (pictured below).
And for the first time, there was a Dockers® Flannels for Heroes team, captained by Middlesex and England test cricketer Nick Compton (pictured below right) and included among others, actors Paul Blackthorne (pictured below left), Joe Sims and Matthew Lewis, titans of business and philanthropists; Baron Edward Downpatrick (grandson of TRH The Duke and Duchess of Kent), Ben Elliot, Charlie Gilkes and George Frost.
As for the cricket, it was an exciting match, with the trophy awarded to the winning team by Lisa Collier. The most memorable part was not the runs scored, but rather the scores of funds raised for a noble and important cause. That’s team spirit at its finest.
(Photos by David M. Benett/Dave Benett / Getty Images for Dockers)
