Everton Football Club is recognised worldwide for the warm, passionate and unbreakable bond it holds with its local community. It is through this special bond that the Club has become known as ‘The People’s Club’, thanks to its relentless efforts to connect with its fans, to give them experiences – on and away from matchdays – they will never forget and through its unrivalled connection with its community through its official charity, Everton in the Community.
The 40 social programmes delivered by Everton in the Community (EitC) throughout Merseyside are the very embodiment of the term, ‘The People’s Club’. The unique and highly-respected connection between Everton Football Club and its wider community is one that is the envy of many Premier League clubs.
Having celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2018, Everton in the Community remains an independent ‘not-for-profit' organisation which secures over £2million per annum for community outreach activity.
Based in the shadows of Goodison Park in the recently opened ‘People’s Hub’, the charity is committed to the delivery of high-quality, inclusive social development opportunities. Its primary focus initially centred on the delivery of these activities through the power of sport for local Merseyside communities. However, as a direct result of its cumulative success, it has broadened this remit to provide programme activity throughout the North West and North Wales.
Through the cumulative efforts of the charity and Everton Football Club, the lives of many thousands of people across our city region have been enhanced and the Club has been able to reinvest in the ongoing development of those communities that so passionately support the elite game.
This delivery has also ensured that Everton in the Community has built extremely respected and valued partnerships with many of Merseyside's other sporting providers, a network which will undoubtedly help to facilitate future growth and success.
Everton in the Community has generated significant national and international acclaim and, through this, is considered to have developed and delivered many examples of best practice within the world of community sports provision.
Whilst the Club and Everton in the Community are extremely proud of these achievements and their contributions to positive social change, they are totally committed and focused on their future development and their ability to enhance and expand all that they have delivered to date. They are also extremely conscious of the need to ensure that the activity, which they have been responsible for stimulating, is sustainable and self-sufficient.
Everton in the Community works in partnership with many local, national and international partners. Through these broad relationships it has been recognised as one of the leading sports charities in the UK. A selection of recent award successes has been highlighted below:
- Women in Business Awards, Community Impact Award
- BT Sports Industry Awards, Diversity and Inclusion Award – Everton Football Club and Everton in the Community – Shortlisted
- Sports Business Awards, Best Sports Charity – Shortlisted
- Sports Business Awards, Best CSR or Community Scheme – Home Is Where the Heart Is – Shortlisted
- Community Sport and Recreation Awards, Mental Health Award (Imagine Your Goals)
- Beyond Sport Global Awards, Sport for Health and Wellbeing (Imagine Your Goals)
Find out more about EitC by clicking here.
