The Everton in the Community Showcase returned to Finch Farm this week, as the Club’s official charity hosted an inaugural edition of the event with Everton Women’s senior team and manager Brian Sørensen where they spent the afternoon finding out more about the inspirational work of EitC.
The first-ever Everton in the Community Showcase with Everton Women’s senior team gave the players the opportunity to get hands on with some of the charity’s flagship programmes as well as meeting participants who benefit from its life-changing provision.
And before the 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 impactful work of the charity.
The charity’s Premier League Primary Stars (PLPS) and Premier League Inspires programmes were both on display at Finch Farm during the Showcase. The PLPS programme aims to inspire children aged five to 11-years-old to learn, be active and develop important life skills and supported more than 6,500 young people throughout the 2022/23 academic year.
Courtney Brosnan, Emily Ramsey, Heather Payne, Emma Bissell and Sara Holmgaard joined children from the PLPS programme and put their scientific knowledge to the test in an Active Science workshop and a LEGO-based activity, where they worked together to build a small moveable model – with both activities designed to explore forces, before taking off in a sprint parachute activity as part of a scientific experiment.
The PL Inspires programme is aimed at children and young people aged 11 to 18-years-old and looks to raise their aspirations, attainment and attendance and sees the charity work in targeted priority schools across the city. Over the course of the 2022/23 academic year, PL Inspires engaged more than 2,000 young people.
Secondary school students from the charity’s PL Inspires programme were joined by first team stars Lucy Hope, Megan Finnigan, Annie Wilding, Katja Snoeijs and Karoline Olesen, as they wasted no time in getting stuck into a series of Commando Joe team-building exercises designed to help build character, self-worth and confidence in young people, prior to engaging in an empowering activity around inspirational female role models.
Funded by the Premier League and PFA, Everton in the Community’s Disability programme empowers individuals into taking an active part in everyday society, delivering physical activity opportunities to over 650 disabled children and supporting over 130 disabled footballers a year.
A group of players including Libby Hart, Clare Wheeler, Aurora Galli, Hanna Bennison and Rikke Marsden witnessed this first-hand when they met a group of women who play for two of the charity’s 14 pan-disability teams and engaged in various multi-sports activities including seated volleyball.
And lastly, Martina Piemonte, Elise Stenevik, Eleanor Dale, Kathrine Kühl and Justine Vanhaevemaet all took part in an energetic short circuit training session that involved a number of different activities and a handball session with young women from the charity’s female-only after-school clubs and intervention groups on the 41 Goodison and Premier League Kicks programmes.
The charity’s youth support programmes use the power of sport to support ‘hard to reach’ young people in school and community settings, engaging them in positive activities and steering them away from negative influences. Everton in the Community has engaged with more than 1,800 young people through its youth engagement programmes over the last 12 months.
Reflecting on Everton in the Community’s inaugural Showcase with Everton Women’s senior team, charity CEO, Sue Gregory, said: “It’s been brilliant, the players always bring so much energy to every appearance that they take part in, but this feels extra special. The young people here today, especially the girls, see them as role models and are truly inspired by them. They have all had such a good time, it’s clear to see they’ve absolutely loved it, and we cannot thank Everton Women’s first team enough for their ongoing support to EitC by signing our commitment pledge today.”
Blues forward, Katja Snoeijs, commented: “We’ve really enjoyed today, I think it’s always important to get out and connect with the charity’s participants, but it’s been great to have them all at Finch Farm and spend some one-on-one time with them. It’s a good opportunity for us as players to engage with people outside of football within the local community, and seeing all of the kids with a smile on their faces is so rewarding.
Since 1988, Everton in the Community has become a dynamic force for good, harnessing the unifying power of football to drive social change and addressing societal challenges across Liverpool City Region.
Supported by a team of more than 130 full-time staff and more than 200 volunteers, the independently governed and independently financed charity offers in excess of 60 programmes and initiatives that tackle a diverse range of social issues. These programmes cover areas such as health, employability, anti-social behaviour, crime, exploitation, education, dementia and disability.
Everton in the Community stands firmly beside the most in need members of its local communities and its five-year Trinity Project strategic plan will see the charity tackle the ever-growing and ever-evolving needs of the city, working to bring transformational change to Liverpool 4 and beyond.
To find out more about Everton in the Community and the Trinity Project, click here.
To purchase tickets for the upcoming Barclays Women's Super League Merseyside derby between Everton Women and Liverpool Women at Goodison Park on Sunday 24 March at 1pm, click here – with under-18s tickets only £2.
