Everton Women’s team volunteer for Everton in the Community

Everton Women’s senior squad and manager, Brian Sorensen, visited Everton in the Community’s campus in the heart of L4 this week for a fun-filled teambuilding day before volunteering across some of the charity’s flagship programmes. 

The day kicked off with the Blues stars and first team staff taking part in an E-STEAM session designed to encourage teamwork, where they worked together to code Sphero robots to score free kicks using a tablet and put their reactionary skills to the test in an interactive game of Cosmo. 

The players then had the opportunity to get hands-on and volunteer at a number of EitC programmes whilst meeting the participants who benefit from its life-changing work. 

Blues quartet, Toni Payne, Megan Finnigan, Karoline Olesen and Rylee Foster joined a group of children with physical and learning disabilities and engaged in some multi-sports activities with them and EitC Disability staff. 

Funded by the Premier League Charitable Fund, participants on EitC’s Premier League Primary Stars, Premier League Kicks and Premier League Inspires programmes were all joined by Everton stars. 

Honoka Hayashi, Emily Ramsey and Lauren Thomas got stuck into a PE lesson with pupils from the charity’s Premier League Primary Stars programme whilst students from EitC’s Premier League Inspires programme were joined by first team duo, Lucy Hope and Courtney Brosnan, as they took part in a session designed to support participants with Special Educational Needs. 

Meanwhile, young people from the charity’s Premier League Kicks programme welcomed Melissa Lawley and Emma Bissell to the first session of its brand-new football initiative, ‘Kicks Girls Goals Hour’ and toffees trio, Clare Wheeler, Heather Payne and Sara Holmgaard, also took part in a football session with primary school children on the charity’s Football Development programme. 

Justine Vanhaevermaet, Veatriki Sarri and Katja Snoeijs joined participants on EitC’s 41 Goodison ‘Safe Hands’ programme, funded by the Premier League and Professional Footballers’ Association Community Fund. The players took part in a functional English lesson before they got hands-on in an energetic game of Kin-ball with the young people. 

Elsewhere, Karen Holmgaard and Kenzie Weir met older participants living with dementia from the charity’s Pass on the Memories programme and helped them to create photo poems based on the participants’ special memories from Goodison Park over the years. 

Reflecting on the day, charity CEO, Sue Gregory said:

“We’re so grateful to have had the players with us for the day. They’ve not only had the chance to witness first-hand our innovative Goodison campus whilst taking part in an E-STEAM teambuilding activity, but also volunteered on some of our flagship programmes and spent precious time with our participants.” 

Everton Captain, Megan Finnigan added:

“The work that Everton in the Community does is something that we can be really proud of as a Club. For us girls, it’s so important that we come down, get involved and see certain programmes that are taking place. We’ve all created special memories today.” 

Everton in the Community is reaffirming its commitment to the area surrounding Goodison Park with a new campaign highlighting the charity’s present and future provision in Liverpool 4. ‘Forever’ will enforce the charity’s current presence in L4 whilst highlighting Everton Football Club’s commitment to the area through the life-saving work of its official charity.   

Tickets for Everton Women’s last-ever Merseyside derby against Liverpool Women at Goodison Park on Sunday 17 November at 3pm can be purchased here, with Under-18s admissions priced at just £2. 

For more information on Everton in the Community’s ‘Forever’ campaign, click here.  

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