EitC Showcases Year-Round Commitment To All Together Now

Everton in the Community is highlighting its equity, diversity and inclusion efforts, with the Club’s upcoming Men’s and Women’s home matches to be dedicated to raising awareness of the All Together Now campaign.

Launched in 2018, All Together Now is Everton’s award-winning campaign to celebrate diversity and increase awareness of everything done by the Club and its official charity to champion equity.

Everton’s All Together Now commitment is embedded at the heart of Everton in the Community’s life-changing work. 

Its long-standing Disability programme has been running for 26 years and currently offers competitive opportunities for 12 pan-disability and specific impairment teams, including its Amputees team, who are the current English Amputee Football League champions and have held the prestigious title for three consecutive seasons.

Additionally, the charity delivers weekly sports and physical activity sessions in 14 Special Educational Needs schools across Merseyside and at Alder Hey’s Sunflower House – its tier four mental health impatient unit – during half-term holidays.

EitC also provides training, volunteering and employment opportunities for disabled people, with four young people currently engaged in volunteer or workplace roles.

Across the charity’s Disability programme, EitC engages with in excess of 200 adults every week and 700 disabled children and young people every year, helping to empower them to take an active part in everyday mainstream society and giving them access to the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers.

Elsewhere, over the past 12 months, EitC’s Primary Education provision has delivered Gender Stereotyping workshops to 480 participants, focusing on supporting everyone in their choices and challenging traditional viewpoints.

In partnership with the Premier League and a local partner school, the charity also launched a brand-new Premier League Primary Stars Positive Play resource, which encourages inclusive play – ensuring all participants can access football on the playground – and is now used by 25 teachers.

Additionally, the charity’s Premier League Primary Stars programme has worked with more than 200 participants, supporting their school PE lessons and ensuring teachers are upskilled to implement inclusive practice for all participants. 

Working with the Accessibility Lead at Hill Dickinson Stadium, EitC has also enabled two schools and 16 pupils with ADHD or Autism to visit the stadium’s sensory room when it is vacant.

Meanwhile, the Club’s All Together Now commitment has been embedded throughout EitC’s Secondary Education provision over the past year. The charity has worked with 202 young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), delivering a range of targeted interventions to support their learning and personal development.

This includes delivering seven SEND-specific groups each week, helping students build communication skills, resilience and confidence so they can engage more fully in education. EitC also runs seven literacy-focused groups weekly to improve reading and writing skills, while 33 SEND students receive one-to-one mentoring to support them through school.

Over the past 12 months, the Secondary Education team has hosted a number of EDI events, including a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and SEND Women’s Team Engagement Day, where female participants living with SEND took part in E-STEAM teambuilding challenges at the charity’s Digital Skills Lab with members of Everton Women’s first team.

In addition, a group of young people who won a poster competition supporting the LGBTQ+ community had their posters proudly displayed on Merseyside Police vans.

As part of this weekend’s celebrations, representatives from each of EitC’s 12 disability teams will be welcomed on to the pitch at half-time of the Leeds fixture and will take part in the regular Hit The Bar challenge at the Brighton fixture.

Steve Johnson, EDI Manager at Everton in the Community, said: “Equity, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do at Everton in the Community.

"From our education and disability programmes to our community outreach, All Together Now is embedded in every part of our work, ensuring that everyone feels valued, included and able to reach their full potential.

“We are proud of the progress we have made, but we also know there is always more to do to make sure our programmes are accessible, welcoming and enjoyable for all.” 

To find out more about All Together Now and its values of Respect, Celebrate and Empower, click here.