Evertonian Honours Grandmother's Memory By Raising Money For EitC

A lifelong Evertonian cherished the memory of his late Grandmother over the summer by raising over £1,300 for Everton in the Community with a bike ride through the Wales and England border.

Blues supporter, Joe Whitehead, alongside friend Ryan Griffiths, cycled an 83-mile route as a way of celebrating the life of his Grandmother, Ann Whitehead, who died in June at the age of 83.

“In the current climate we’re living in - I could only see her outside of her gate and when she went into hospital, we obviously weren’t allowed in” retold Joe on the difficult last few months of his Grandmother’s life.

“The day she passed, they did allow our families to go in and see her but I was in work, so the fact that I didn’t see her for the last six to seven weeks of her life was really hard for me.

“You go through all of the old pictures, it makes you want to do something for her, and raise awareness in how difficult it is losing someone in these times. I wanted to challenge myself for a family member - it’s helped me cope with the loss better and it brings a positive out of a negative.”

Like Joe, Ann was also an Evertonian, and her Grandson can rekindle the days when she’d be glued to the radio, listening to the radio for updates on her beloved Blues.

“From as long as I can remember, she would listen to BBC Radio Merseyside and if we would ever get beat, whenever I’d see her she would just moan at me. She was an Evertonian like the rest of us, she was made up when we won and it would make her weekend. That obviously brought us closer together and we’d talk about Everton for hours.”

Starting out at Hawarden in North Wales, Joe and Ryan ventured towards Mold before crossing the England and Wales border into Chester. It was there where Joe was able to take in a piece of his Grandmother’s history.

“My nan used to live above a pub on Watergate street so we went there and got a picture before cycling up to the cycle path which goes to Parkgate.

“We then went back through Little Sutton, and Ellesmere Port before finishing in Mancot outside my Nan’s house. It was an amazing coincidence that it was 83 miles, and I felt really proud of myself as I’d never cycled that distance before.”

As proud Blues, it became a natural choice for Joe to choose Everton in the Community as his chosen benefactor, and in raising a grand total £1,350, his fundraising in memory of his Grandmother will go towards the vital services the charity delivers across Merseyside – from its award-winning mental health provision, to more recently its Blue Family campaign which has so far supported tens of thousands of people in need across Merseyside during the pandemic.

 

 

“It was a cause that I’m proud to have helped” added Joe. “I was made up to represent the charity and do something for them.

“I’m very active on social media, so I just posted my JustGiving page there and within the first 24 hours, we raised £800! I’ve got a lot of friends who are Everton fans so they shared it, and then I’d share it once a week building up to it to get the word out there to promote it.

“When we were in Parkgate, an Everton fan noticed our Everton in the Community shirts and came over and started talking to us. I checked back when we finished and he donated £20 too, so even the t-shirts helped us!

“I was surprised myself at how much we raised but I’m absolutely made up!”

Like Joe, raising money in memory of a loved one could be the perfect tribute to honour your loved ones.

If you’d like to find out more about raising money for Everton in the Community in memory of a life, please contact our fundraising team on fundraising@evertonfc.com