THE SHELTER for Battered Women and Children has benefitted from the Hero Caribbean Premier League's (CPL) first charity donation for the year to the tune of $135,000.

CPL CEO and co-founder Pete Russell presented a cheque during a short function at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, on Monday.

The non-governmental organisation, commonly referred to as The Shelter, serves as a safe house for victims of domestic violence.

The Shelter was represented by recently-appointed chairman Colin Mitchell and executive member Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards.

Russell said the CPL prides itself on being a force for good on and off the pitch. 'Off the pitch,' Russell said, 'the CPL likes to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

'Domestic violence is a huge problem. Over a third of women in Trinidad suffer some form of domestic abuse, which is quite staggering.

'The shelter provides some much-needed protection to those being abused, from temporary housing to professional counselling. For that, we're eternally grateful.'

Russell credited Abdool-Richards as the 'driving force' behind the CPL and The Shelter's partnership.

He said the CPL is looking forward to further similar charitable donations this year and in the future.

Mitchell expressed gratitude to the CPL, saying it will go a long way in providing counselling and medical care to victims at the shelter.

'The shelter spends a lot of time doing advocacy work. The important thing is to highlight that this is not just a societal issue - gender-based violence; it's a criminal act and it's not acceptable in our society. Similarly throughout the Caribbean, everyone has to know that it's time to put a stop to gender-based violence.

The CPL 2022 tournament will begin in late August with the precise dates to be announced. The event will be held across multiple islands with St Lucia and St Kitts and the Grenadines among the confirmed co-hosts thus far.

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