Everton manager David Moyes and his squad spent the afternoon at Finch Farm finding out more about the inspirational work of the club’s official charity, Everton in the Community, to help mark its upcoming 37th birthday.
The showcase, now in its sixth year, allows the players to get hands-on with some of the charity’s flagship programmes whilst meeting the participants who benefit from its life-changing work.
Before the fun and activities got underway, the manager and the first team squad joined EitC CEO Sue Gregory in signing a commitment pledge, giving their ongoing support to the work of the charity.
This year’s Showcase saw EitC highlight six programmes from the charity’s Children and Youth Services and Adult Services including its Tackling the Blues and Stand Together projects, both of which are funded by the Premier League and Professional Footballers’ Association.
Participants from the charity’s Tackling the Blues project were joined by Toffees trio James Tarkowski, Joao Virginia and Vitalii Mykolenko as they all got stuck into an interactive game of Snakes and Ladders whilst Idrissa Gueye, Michael Keane and Youssef Chermiti engaged in a variety of teambuilding exercises including boccia with older adults from EitC’s Stand Together programme.
Blues quartet Jordan Pickford, Nathan Patterson, Jack Harrison and James Garner took part in an energetic tri-golf activity with young adults from EitC’s Premier League Kicks and Interventions programme. Meanwhile, the charity’s Starting Well programme welcomed Iliman Ndiaye, Abdoulaye Doucouré and Jarrad Branthwaite to a soft play session with parents and guardians and their under-3s.
Ashley Young, Asmir Begovic, Tim Iroegbunam, Stanley Mills and Martin Sherif met two generations of participants on the charity’s intergenerational project and worked together to complete a series of coding challenges using Sphero robots as well as a football reminiscence activity. Elsewhere, players including Beto, Jake O’Brien and Jesper Lindstrøm met Everton’s Down’s Syndrome football team and participated in football drills with the Blues stars ahead of taking them on in a friendly five-aside.
Reflecting on the Showcase, charity CEO Sue Gregory commented:
“This is my favourite day of the year, I don’t want to go home. The players are vital in helping to raise awareness of our life-changing provision and showcasing just a snapshot of this makes them, our fans and our communities proud of the work we do across Liverpool.
Everton forward Iliman Ndiaye said:
“Meeting the participants, seeing them happy and being able to play with them has been really good. I think you can see that what Everton does with Everton in the Community brings a smile to everyone’s faces.”
Jesper Lindstrøm added:
“Days like today are so important for us and for them. It’s good for everybody, for them it’s one of the best days of the year and for us it’s one of the best days to meet all the people who benefit from Everton in the Community’s work and just enjoy it.
The first-team squad saw a snapshot of EitC’s life-changing work at the Showcase, with the charity supporting tens of thousands of individuals from across the Liverpool City Region each year through its 60+ projects and initiatives.
The majority of its work, however, takes place in Liverpool 4 which is in the most deprived 1% of neighbourhoods nationally and located a stone’s throw away from Goodison Park.
The charity recently reaffirmed its commitment to the area through its ‘Forever’ campaign which ensures that Everton will remain in the heart of L4 through the pioneering work of EitC once football has moved to the waterfront.
Since 1988, the Club’s official charity has stood proudly alongside the football club, looking after and supporting those who need it most and EitC will celebrate its 37th anniversary at its dedicated birthday fixture against Leicester City on Saturday 1 February.
