Impact
Report
We are Everton in the Community….
The official charity of Everton Football Club and one of the Premier League’s leading community schemes due to the quality and reach of our 60+ programmes and initiatives.
Since 1988, we have been at the forefront of social intervention across Merseyside. Our programmes tackle issues such as inequality, health disparities, low educational attainment, poverty, poor mental health and unemployment, with a resolute commitment to making a tangible difference.
Through our passionate and dedicated team of staff, volunteers and strategic partners, Everton in the Community has achieved widespread recognition for our impactful and innovative work.
A message from
Sue Gregory
Chief Executive Officer, Everton in the Community.
The 2023/24 campaign is yet another year we can look back on with enormous pride as custodians of Everton in the Community.
At the forefront of this year’s operation has been the launch of our much-anticipated Trinity Project, Everton in the Community’s five-year strategy. Our ambitious five-year strategy which sets out how we will create stronger communities and brighter futures.
Of course, the Trinity Project was shaped by our extensive, best-in-class delivery that has been the blueprint of Everton in the Community’s impact in the years prior. Formed through three pillars in Learns, Minds, Thrives – the strategy has seen us pledge our commitment towards tackling the social issues prevalent in our communities.
As you scroll through the award-winning impact of Everton in the Community’s delivery this year, you’ll also see how we’ve expanded our provision, broke new ground, and recognised and empowered our communities with prestige.
Our continued thanks to our strategic partners who are committed to our mutual goal in creating stronger communities and brighter futures for all.
Trustees And Patrons
Sir John Jones - Chair of
the Board of Trustees.
Dr Martin Carey.
Ms Sue Russell.
Alix Craig.
Ben Osu.
Carol Rogers MBE.
Professor Geoff Walters.
Hannah Robinson.
Louise Williams.
Tracey Gore.
John Schorah.
Everton in the Community has the dedicated support of the following patrons:
Dame Judi Dench – Honorary Patron
of Everton in the Community.
Amanda Holden – Honorary Patron
of Everton in the Community.
Everton in the Community is pleased to have the support of an esteemed group of ambassadors who champion the work of the charity:
Andy Cooke, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary and
Fire and Rescue Services.
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy KPM, Merseyside Police.
Mr Graeme Sharp.
Rt Hon Jane Kennedy.
Sir Terry Leahy.
Mr Steve Smith.
Professor Cynthia Pine CBE.
Mr Mark Kent.
Mr Mark Carney.
Mr Andrew Lancel.
Where We Deliver
Over 150 Locations
Our Vision
Our vision is a world where everyone has access to the support they need to be the best they can be, regardless of who they are, where they live or the challenges they face.
We want to be at the heart of this – empowering people and communities across Liverpool City Region to build better futures and a stronger society.
Our Mission
We will deliver innovative programmes, develop thriving partnerships and provide vital support that will build stronger, healthier and more connected communities. Our impact will leave a lasting legacy in the places where we live, work and play.
30,000
participants
engaged directly in an EitC programme.
Our delivery has impacted 156,000
people across the Liverpool City Region.
A New Bold And Transformative Mission
There was a feeling of excitement and a buzz in the air as Chief Executive Officer Sue Gregory officially launched our five-year strategy at a packed-out Alex Young Lounge at Goodison Park in October 2023.
Sue and her Directorate outlined our five-year mission and vision to the room of stakeholders and how the strategy has been designed to create lasting impact and bring positive change to the communities we serve through its Learns, Minds and Thrives pillars.
The following afternoon saw Trinity Project in action as six of the charity’s programmes - two from each pillar - were brought to Finch Farm, Everton’s training ground for Everton Men’s senior squad to sample.
The ‘Showcase’ event paved the way for Everton in the Community to harness its reputation and experience in community provision and move forward into a new, exciting era for the charity.
What is the Trinity Project?
The Trinity Project is Everton in the Community’s five-year plan to build stronger communities and brighter futures and will provide focus to the charity’s delivery by targeting the city’s key social issues and enhance its outcomes.
Why we’ve launched a new strategy?
The Trinity Project has been developed in response to the growing needs of Merseyside with a specific emphasis on L4, the location of the charity’s campus.
How will we deliver it?
Delivered through its three pillars, Learns, Minds and Thrives – each delivery strand is shaped to support the most in-need individuals in the city.
Under our Learns pillar, we’re widening the pathway to education for all and eliminating barriers to ensure each and every individual has the chance to learn and grow.
Our Minds Pillar will house our award-winning mental health provision, enhancing community wellbeing through our services whilst providing accessible support for individuals living with dementia.
Through Thrives, we will empower individuals to reach their full potential by delivering a diverse range of programmes to inspire individuals to pursue positive change and live healthier lives.
Our objective is to address the transformative change needed to tackle the social and educational inequalities prevalent in areas across our city.
The Need
• In certain areas in Merseyside, many children are well below the Liverpool average in achieving their Early Learning Goals. That gap rises to 10% when compared with the national level.
• The attainment gap continues in secondary schools. In the Liverpool Walton constituency for example, the percentage of pupils achieving Attainment 8 at GCSE is 37.6% - over 15% below the national average.
• In parts of our city, only around a quarter of young people are currently reaching some stage of higher education before the age of 19, 13% below the UK average.
• Almost a third of the local working-age population have no formal qualifications in other parts of Liverpool.
What Learns Will Aim To Achieve:
• Provide children with the best start in life by ensuring more young people achieve the expected level of Early Learning Goals.
• Support children and young people throughout their educational journey, offering tailored interventions to help them reach their full potential.
• Empower young people, helping them develop the confidence to choose their own educational and career paths.
• Equip adults with the necessary skills to thrive in future workplaces.
• Create a comprehensive lifelong learning programme that prioritises smooth transitions between education and careers.
• Renew our commitment to innovation and best practices in lifelong learning, fostering upskilling and collaboration with partners.
Addressed digital poverty and the
widening STEM skills gap by equipping
2,374 participants with key digital skills.
Provided career pathways to
351 young people.
Guided 55 adults
into employment.
How EitC Opened Up A Pathway For Adam
Adam’s journey through high school has run parallel to his engagement with Everton in the Community. Having first engaged with the charity in his first year in secondary school, Adam is now getting set to leave his school with an exciting career path ahead of him.
YEAR 7
- Adam is referred to the Premier League Inspires programme which delivers a variety of secondary education and personal development programmes. At the time, Everton in the Community is one of only a handful of clubs delivering the Inspires initiative. Adam engages with PL Inspires for three years, develops with the support of the charity’s staff and in his own words – ‘falls in love’ with the programme.
YEAR 9
- Through participating on PL Inspires, Adam is then referred on to the charity’s Pathways programme. The programme opens Adam up to a variety of initiatives and opportunities and his interest in the Law sector begins to pique.
YEAR 10
- Everton in the Community launches a new internship initiative to inspire young people into careers in the Law and Justice system. The Madison Internship welcomes Adam at its first intake and he takes part in various activities such as writing essays, conducting interviews and networking around the Law sector. Adam makes it through to the final round but just misses out on the internship.
“He’s learned so much from Everton in the Community and as a parent I’ve been so proud to see him grow alongside the programme.”
Adam’s mum, Nina
YEAR 11
- Adam enters his final year of high school and applies once again for the Madison Internship. He utilises his growing law knowledge and experience to good use and manages to land the internship at the second time of asking. Once on the internship, Adam gains first-hand experience working in Law. He works at the Crown Court and alongside Judges whilst gaining knowledge on different cases.
YEAR 12
- Adam’s passion for Law is reinforced when – in year 12, he takes part in the Weightmans Internship with Everton in the Community. He takes part in open-floor debates and networking opportunities and is once again successful in gaining an internship. He spends 50 hours during the school summer holidays working with the team at Weightmans and gains a variety of skills and knowledge that will assist him in finding a career in Law.
YEAR 13
- Adam is fully set on a career as a Lawyer and says taking part in both internships with Everton in the Community has solidified his career choice. He has now enrolled for various universities across the UK in the hope of studying Law and has received many offers.
Improving the mental wellbeing of our community
The Need
• Mental health services users in Liverpool are experiencing a lifespan that is tragically cut short by a staggering 20 years compared to the rest of the country.
• By 2025, it is estimated a staggering one million people across the UK will be living with dementia. In Liverpool alone, more than 5,000 people are currently living with the condition.
What Minds Will Aim To Achieve:
• Reduce the stigma surrounding mental health by raising awareness, improving mental health literacy and encouraging conversations.
• Offer comprehensive mental health provision to everyone when it is needed. Mental health professionals will provide a range of high-quality services in a non-clinical setting.
• Prevent poor mental health developing in ‘at-risk’ individuals by utilising bespoke services that address specific risk factors.
• Provide accessible support to people living with various mental health conditions to improve a person’s mental health and to promote suicide prevention.
• Drive innovation through expanded services and multi-disciplinary collaboration.
• Create a multi-sector partnership to promote ‘living well’ and ‘ageing well’ with dementia, while proactively identifying and addressing its underlying causes.
Provided 1,327
people
with access to vital
health screenings.
Supported over
150 people
with mental health crisis support through
our on-site nurse, clinical psychologists and GP.
Provided provision to 189
people living with dementia.
We don’t just give people hope for a better future, we are proactive in providing opportunities and support to empower people to make positive changes to their lives.
Val, aged 72 is a prime example of our wraparound support, and takes the premise of weekly engagement to a new level, in fact sometimes Val partakes in our programmes every day!
She engages in four Everton in the Community programmes every week, each of which provides Val with a different outcome and additional support to help her cope with challenging periods in her life.
A place to open up – Girls on Side
Val admits she has suffered with poor mental health for close to 40 years. A string of issues in her personal life, coupled with family tragedies has been the cause of several admissions to hospital due to her poor mental health.
However, since joining Everton in the Community, Val hasn’t been back in hospital and believes her engagement with the charity is a huge factor in that.
She joins us for Girls on Side every week – a female mental health group for like-minded women to open up on their issues in a safe and welcoming environment.
“People on Girls on Side are just like me – so you can talk and nobody is going to judge you – it’s honestly changed my life.”
A place to make new friends – Stand Together
Val attends Stand Together, Everton in the Community’s initiative to tackling social isolation amongst the older population living in the region.
Not only do the sessions give Val a chance to meet people and make friends of a similar age, they also provide her with an opportunity to broaden her horizons and try new experiences with the programme regularly hosting trips out.
“I’ve found as I’ve got older, I haven’t had the capacity to cope with my mental health. Everton in the Community is the only outlet that I have. If I could stay here all day I would, I’d never go home!”
A place to make positive changes – Everton Cares
Val has had the chance to improve her physical as well as mental wellbeing through Everton Cares – a course which empowers people deemed Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) to improve their wellbeing through physical activity.
Despite finishing the course, Val still attends the majority of the fitness sessions where she stays in touch with people and keeps up with her fitness.
“I have people around me but sometimes it’s not always fair to burden them with my problems all of the time. My situation isn’t going to change and you need somebody to talk to. I can come here and unload my problems and somebody is always there to listen.”
A place to rely on – Blue Base Pantry
From time to time, Val will utilise our Blue Base Pantry – a service supporting L4 residents with the cost-of-living crisis with high-quality discounted food and key services to tackle financial hardship.
Val enjoys visiting the pantry and accessing the charity’s services, as well as chatting and meeting her fellow Blue Pantry members.
In recognition of Val’s commitment to supporting her family, through funding from Laing O’Rourke, Everton in the Community organised for Val to take a trip away to Haven Martin Mere with her family. The trip covered her accommodation and transport to and from the holiday destination as well as additional food and drink vouchers.
“My daughter was a drug addict before she passed away and when she died, I took on her children and it just meant I lost my friends because I couldn’t go out or even go on holiday.”
“Everton in the Community has really helped me and since I’ve been here, I haven’t been back in hospital. I’ve made so many friends and I’ve got loads of people to talk to.”
Inspiring individuals to take control of their lives
Our Thrives strategy will empower, inspire, and support our community to pursue healthy, happy and fulfilling lives and transition people from surviving to thriving.
The Need
• Liverpool is the third most deprived local authority in England. Life expectancy for men (76.1 years) and women (79.9 years) is significantly worse than the national average (79.4 and 83.1, respectively). 28% of women and 23% of men in the region spend their lives in poor health.
• Around 63% of the Liverpool population live in the top 20% most deprived areas in England whilst three in every 10 children under 16 live in poverty.
• In North Liverpool, many communities are ranked in the most 1-10% deprived nationally and residents spend more of their lives in poor health (17.7 years) than those in wealthier areas.
What Thrives Will Aim To Achieve:
• Create thriving, healthy families by providing comprehensive life course approaches within L4 and beyond.
• Build stronger, respectful communities through targeted activities that combat anti-social behaviour in hotspot areas.
• Empower individuals with disabilities through physical activity, training and enrichment opportunities.
• Enhance housing options for young adults transitioning into independent living.
• Enhance inclusivity and empowerment for marginalised individuals across Liverpool City Region.
• Engage more individuals in sports and football-related pathways.
Supported 21,194
residents with food and financial insecurity through the Blue Base Pantry in 2023/24.
Enabled 1,352 disabled people
to improve their physical
activity and life skills.
Empowered 51
young people
on the neurodiverse pathway who have
fallen out of the education system.
A ‘Thriving’ Family
The impact of Everton in the Community’s delivery spreads further afield than just our participants with family, friends and the wider community also reaping the benefits of our life-changing provision.
Through our award-winning Community Impact Model, our approach is designed with families in mind, ensuring support is maximised and our impact reaches those beyond the people who receive our direct support.
Omar and Mohammed, aged 11 and 16 have been coming to our Safe Hands Intervention group since June 2023. Both children are neurodivergent, and neither had been attending school since the pandemic in 2020.
Mum, Paula, and dad, Syed had become concerned their children had become socially isolated and that their mental health had been deteriorating as a result. The burden also took its toll on the family with neither parents receiving any respite from looking after Omar, Mohammed and their siblings.
Over the course of the year, each of the four family members can speak in detail of the positive impact Everton in the Community has made on their lives.
Paula
“Omar has Autism Spectrum Disorder, dyspraxia and receptive and expressive language disorder and dyslexia, whilst Mohammed has Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, anxiety, OCD and nervous ticks, so they’re often the kids who are left out. Both couldn’t cope with mainstream education as a result, but we couldn’t put them in a special education setting because we couldn’t get them a Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP).
“I think I can vouch for all the parents whose children attend Safe Hands that our kids would still be sat at home every day with their mental health declining if it wasn’t for the programme.
“The future is a lot less scary now. Omar is turning 16 so will be moving on from the programme soon, but we’re more optimistic he has a pathway now thanks to Everton.”
Syed
“When our children were at home all day, it was very hard for me and my wife to go and do any kind of work outside or do anything together. The Safe Hands group gives us more time for us which has helped my wife and I so much.
“The group also gives us opportunities to meet with other parents who are in the same boat as us. Having that group support and being able to talk to parents and receive and offer advice provides us with a really important network.”
Mohammed
“At a mainstream school you wouldn’t have the same experience that you have at Everton. It’s just such a fun, educational experience.
“I have anxiety but Everton is a place where I can manage it better. The fact that my brother attends too also helps with that, and I feel more comfortable him being here, as annoying as he is sometimes!
If you stay long enough in the programme, you’ll absolutely love it."
Roll Of Honour
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Armstrong Projects Northwest Football Awards |
Community Club of the Year, Premier League |
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Merseyside Police’s annual |
Community First Partnership Award – |
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Steve Morgan Foundation 2024 Awards |
Disruptor for Good |
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Football Business Awards |
Best Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme Best Football Community Scheme, Silver |
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First Team Players Uncover EitC’s Life-Changing Impact
Showcase
Players from Everton’s two senior sides experienced Everton in the Community in action as the charity hosted two showcase events to highlight the breadth of its provision.
Taking place at Finch Farm, both events saw players meet participants and get stuck into the charity’s award-winning programmes with various activities taking place.
Ten stations, 44 players and over 70 participants in total were hosted across the two events.
Every first team player visited a community
appearance in 2023/24.
Over 300 EitC participants met a first team player this season.
Everton’s 2023/24 PFA Community Champions
“It’s a fantastic programme that’s truly making a positive difference to the lives of many young people across Liverpool and it’s an honour to endorse it.”
James Tarkowski
“Everton in the Community do some excellent work across Liverpool, so if I can help to make even a small difference, then that’s what I want to do.”
Katja Snoeijs
Celebrating the beating heart of Everton in the Community
Inaugural Blue Heart Awards ceremony
is hosted for the first time
There were stories of inspiration from all four corners of the room as Everton Presenters Sarah Halpin and Guilia Bould hosted the Blue Heart Awards – a prestigious awards ceremony recognising the impact and inspiring stories from Everton in the Community.
Sponsored by Causeway Technologies, the evening honoured Everton in the Community participants, volunteers and fundraisers from across the charity’s 60+ programmes and initiatives whilst key strategic partners such as the Steve Morgan Foundation, Merseyside Police and Premier League Charitable Fund were also in attendance with award categories of their own.
To add even more glamour to the evening, former heavyweight boxing champion and well-known Evertonian Tony Bellew was invited as the charity’s special guest who had some warm words for Everton’s official charity:
"Everton in the Community is the most important charity functioning in our city in my opinion."
Tony Bellew
The ‘Amazing’ Scale Of EitC And The Steve Morgan Foundation Partnership
“The Steve Morgan Community Impact Model is a vibrant, impressive and far-reaching community scheme.”
Those were the remarks from the judging panel at the Football Business Awards who acknowledged Everton in the Community and the Steve Morgan Foundation’s collaborative initiative – the Community Impact Model – as the ‘Best Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme’ and hailed the scale of the strategic partnership.
The Steve Morgan Foundation has been a key strategic partner of Everton in the Community since 2020. From supporting the charity in its COVID-19 response to more recently part-funding the build and sustainability of The People’s Place.
The Impact Model acts as the framework for Everton in the Community to deliver early intervention programmes to protect young people from exploitation and inspire them to reach their full potential. The model was initially focused in Speke-Garston, the birthplace of Steve Morgan before it was additionally rolled out across Liverpool 4 and South Sefton last July.
This year has marked a significant moment in the partnership with an independent report by socio-economic specialists, RealWorth finding that for every £1 spent to deliver the Impact Model, £17.78 of social value is created for society*. As a result, EitC has generated a remarkable £35.6million of total social value in the last three years from March 2020 to December 2023 through its delivery of the Community Impact Model.
An unbelievable testament to both organisations, Liam Eaglestone, CEO at Steve Morgan Foundation added:
“Originally inspired by Steve Morgan’s desire to give back to the community where he was born, we are delighted that the Impact Model has already changed the trajectories of so many young people living in our region. Our partnership with Everton in the Community highlights the Foundation’s approach to providing long-term secure funding, underpinned by very practical support and expertise and, we too, are excited to see the impact it has over the coming years.”
This year also saw the appointment of three Steve Morgan Foundation Ambassadors in current Everton players Courtney Brosnan and James Tarkowski alongside former Blue, Leon Osman. The three players joined forces with the Foundation to champion the Impact Model and to help inspire young people to reach their full potential.
£35.6 million
in social value generated.
Helped to improve Ofsted ratings in two of the three high schools the impact model works in.
More than 17,000 individuals across Speke-Garston have been supported, resulting in significant improvements in mental wellbeing.
Volunteers Once Again Show Why They Are The Lifeblood Of EitC
Whenever you see Everton in the Community in action, you can be safe in the knowledge a volunteer isn’t far away.
2023/24 was another year which highlighted the magnitude of the charity’s volunteers, none more so than the Blue Base Pantry, the driving force behind the life-changing impact supporting hundreds of residents every single week.
Volunteers also turned out weekly to programmes such as Tackling the Blues, Pass on the Memories and E-STEAM, enabling the charity’s staff to deliver its best-in-class provision.
We also marked a significant milestone for our longest-serving volunteer, James Ditchfield who celebrated 20 years as an Everton in the Community volunteer. Everton in the Community did what it does best in acknowledging the service of James with a special afternoon at the Goodison Campus in his honour.
Elsewhere, volunteers turned out in numbers at staple events such as the Goodison Sleepout and the Santa Dash, whilst the department retained the ‘Investors in Volunteers IiV’ accreditation.
It gave us all the more reason to celebrate when we hosted our annual volunteers event at the end of the season.
45 programmes supported
by volunteers every week.
200 active volunteers.
Over 6000 hours this year
committed by volunteers to EitC
and the L4 community.
The only Club Community Organisation to achieve 'Investors in Volunteers IiV' Accreditation.
‘Be Sound’ Campaign Raises Thousands For Life-Changing Provision
Every year, Everton men’s senior side’s first home matchday at Goodison in February is dedicated to Everton in the Community. It provides the football club with an opportunity to champion its pioneering charity and gives supporters a chance to find out more about the Club’s charitable arm.
It’s also an occasion for Everton in the Community to generate vital income through various fundraising activity on the day, so for this year’s home game against Crystal Palace, we launched a bucket collection campaign, ‘Be Sound, Bring a Pound’ which used the well-known scouse phrase to encourage as many supporters as possible to donate small change to EitC.
The campaign also marked the launch of a new ‘Thank You’ video with participants from across the charity’s programme’s given the platform to share their gratitude towards the charity.
2023/24 also marked the launch of Everton in the Community’s Philanthropic campaign, the 1878 Community Club, a network of high-net-worth people committed to making a difference to Everton in the Community and its life-changing provision.
Elsewhere, the charity’s annual Goodison Sleepout was hosted for the penultimate time with over 100 supporters taking to Goodison on a cold October night to support our Home Is Where The Heart Is programme which supports young people at-risk of being homeless.
Manager, Sean Dyche played his part in supporting Everton’s official charity by auctioning off the tracksuit that he famously worn during the Blues’ derby day victory against Liverpool in April in a bid to raise vital funds for the charity.
Everton in the Community’s fundraising strategy operates through a number of streams to ensure income generation is flexible and tailored to the various stakeholders the charity engages with. The ways in which supporters can contribute and engage with Everton in the Community can be found below.
Donate Fundraise Everton Lotteries
Corporate and Business Opportunities
1878 Community Club
The Future
Following a year in which Everton in the Community put a ‘flag in the ground’ as we launched our new five-year strategy, we will endeavour to implement the strategy’s objectives and pursue positive change over the next 12 months.
We will navigate through inevitable challenges and be reactive to the changing needs of our community through the Trinity Project whilst ensuring our focus remains on achieving the strategy’s outcomes. Next year will arguably follow the most significant period in the history of our great football club, as we bid goodbye to Goodison Park.
In the midst of poignancy and emotion, the move will provide an equally significant opportunity for the charity as we will pledge our reaffirmed commitment to remaining in L4 and build on our track record of empowering the residents of the region through Forever.
The legacy of Goodison Park will be enshrined through Everton in the Community, through our existing Goodison campus and further opportunities to build our footprint within the region. We will help form the narrative of an emotional final year at Goodison Park and provide an opportunity for our stakeholders to support the legacy of the Grand Old Lady through a dedicated fundraising campaign further reiterating the charity’s continued provision in L4.
Join us on that journey as we embark on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Everton Football Club and Liverpool City Region by clicking here.
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