Jake O’Brien Inspires Young People Living With Type 1 Diabetes

EitC

2 hours ago

By Everton

Everton defender Jake O’Brien joined schoolchildren living with Type 1 diabetes at Finch Farm for a workshop delivered by Everton in the Community (EitC), sharing his own experiences of the condition after being diagnosed at the age of 16.

Ahead of World Diabetes Day on Saturday 14 November, the Republic of Ireland international met pupils and teachers from local primary schools as part of the charity’s ongoing work to improve awareness and understanding of Type 1 diabetes and create more supportive environments for children living with the condition in schools.

Pupils from five of EitC’s Premier League Primary Stars and Steve Morgan Foundation partner schools – Hatton Hill Primary School, Dovedale Primary School, St Margaret Mary’s, Northcote Primary School and Rice Lane Primary School – took part.

As the official charitable arm of Everton Football Club, EitC is currently working closely with the NHS to deliver Type 1 diabetes awareness training to staff across its Primary Education partner schools.

Led by Paediatric Diabetes Specialist Nurse Helen Day and Diabetes Educator Michelle Quinn from Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Ormskirk Paediatric Diabetes Team, the sessions aim to help teachers better understand the condition, challenge misconceptions, support pupils living with diabetes and share their knowledge with the wider school community.

Jake joined pupils and staff in a range of interactive activities designed to improve their understanding of the condition. These included exploring a visual body board to learn how the body processes glucose and the role insulin play in regulating blood glucose levels.

Using Virtuali-Tee interactive T-shirts from EitC’s Digital Skills Lab, Jake also engaged with pupils to explore the ‘inside’ of the human body and learn more about the role of the pancreas in producing insulin.

A relaxed Q&A session then gave the 25-year-old footballer the opportunity to share his own experiences of living with Type 1 diabetes, while hearing directly from pupils about how they manage the condition.

Speaking about living with Type 1 diabetes, O’Brien said: “I was diagnosed at the age of 16. I’d been drinking a lot of water, feeling more tired than usual and losing a lot of weight, despite trying hard to gain it.

“My parents took me to the doctors as a precaution, but my blood sugar levels were so high that I was then sent to the hospital and quickly diagnosed there.

“I didn’t know much about the condition and was looking up who else had been diagnosed. I think it’s really important for these young kids to know they can do anything they set their minds to.”

By the end of the 2026/27 season, Everton in the Community aims to have supported the delivery of diabetes awareness and education sessions to staff across all its Primary and Secondary Education partner schools, as well as rolling out children’s awareness sessions to help pupils support their classmates living with Type 1 diabetes.

Primary Stars Senior Coordinator, Elena Barton, added: “Many of our young people living with Type 1 diabetes look up to Jake, so it was really special for them to have the opportunity to meet him, share their experiences and hear about his own journey. One even refers to Jake as his ‘diabetes brother’.

“Our Primary Education team is working closely with teachers across our partner schools to bring diabetes awareness learning to life, providing continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities to help educators better understand how to support pupils living with the condition.

“This is particularly important during physical education lessons, when children's blood glucose levels can fluctuate. We’ve had the training ourselves and now want to share it across our partner school network and beyond.”

To find out more information about Everton in the Community’s diabetes training sessions or get involved with future events, contact Elena at elena.barton@evertonfc.com.