PokerStars lengthens partnership with children's charity Right To Play

(PRESS RELEASE) -- PokerStars, an Amaya Inc. brand, has announced its corporate giving program, Helping Hands, has extended its partnership with global sports and education charity Right To Play for a further two years, taking its total support to more than £1.5 million.

Right To Play is a global charity which uses sport and play to educate and empower over one million children in some of the world's poorest communities across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Their approach is simple but effective: if learning is fun, then children are better able to absorb lessons. Through their specially-designed games, vulnerable children learn critical life skills, such as leadership, self-confidence, how to avoid disease and how to resolve conflicts without violence.

Extending this partnership for a further two years will provide Right To Play with additional funding of £600,000, which will help the charity to continue to deliver high impact programs and scale up its work. This includes building on its play-based approach in the classroom to help engage children in their core academic studies, such as maths, science and literacy, and to drive up the quality of education.

Sue Hammett, Head of Corporate Giving for PokerStars, said, "Right To Play makes such a positive impact to so many children around the world and PokerStars is incredibly proud to be able to support their valuable work. Using play to educate and empower is a philosophy that our players and staff really believe in. We're delighted to be extending our partnership for two more years."

Neil Child-Dyer, Partnerships Manager at Right To Play, said, "We are immensely proud of our partnership with PokerStars and extremely grateful for their continued support, not just in terms of funding but also for the exposure to their 108 million customers and the fabulous charity tournaments that they hold for Right To Play. Without the backing of our corporate partners like PokerStars, Right To Play would not be able to help as many children around the world."

PokerStars staff recently joined Rugby World Cup winner and Right To Play Ambassador Mike Tindall to witness how much of a difference Right To Play makes in children's lives during a trip to Ghana. You can see a video of the visit here and read the moving account of a day spent with street children in a slum in Jamestown on the website.

PokerStars are sponsoring the Right To Play Sports Quiz, which is hosted by John Inverdale and is taking place at The Grange St. Paul's, London on Wednesday, 8 March. More information can be found on the website.