Season › 2013-14 › News Everton In The Community Reaches £1m Goal , 2 February, 0comments | Jump to most recent Everton in the Community has seen out its silver jubilee year in style by revealing they have reached their £1million fundraising target to help improve the lives of more people across Merseyside and the North West. The Club's official charity revealed its ambitious target — set almost one year ago to the day — had been achieved during a half-time celebration at the Blues' 2-1 home win against Aston Villa, which was dedicated to Everton in the Community. Chief Executive Denise Barrett Baxendale was joined by cruiserweight boxer and life-long Everton fan Tony Bellew on the pitch to reveal the fundraising total of £1,013,128 to the Goodison faithful, who have loyally supported the charity's jubilee campaign over the past 12 months. To reach the £1million total, the charity undertook a high-profile fundraising campaign working with Everton Football Club, its partners and, of course, its fans. Article continues below video content Highlights of the year-long campaign include the incredibly popular '12 Shades' of Blue' calendar, which gave fans a glimpse of the players as they've never seen them before — and raised over £32,000, last season's dedicated birthday fixture to mark 25 years of Everton in the Community, and Marouane Fellaini turning his famous afro silver to raise £25,000. Everton in the Community is firmly established on the world stage of community sports development and since its launch in 1988 has become one of the Premier League's leading community scheme due to the quality and reach of its various programmes. For the past 26 years the Club's official charity has been at the forefront of social intervention across Merseyside, not afraid to tackle issues which others shied away from. Through its 91 dedicated full-time staff, 61 casual staff and 188 volunteers, the charity offers 41 programmes covering a range of social issues including health, employability, anti-social behaviour, crime, education, dementia, poverty, youth engagement, youth justice and disability. Operating 7 days a week, 365 days a year, Everton in the Community supports the most vulnerable and underprivileged members of local communities. Speaking after announcing the £1million fundraising target had been achieved, Denise Barrett-Baxendale said: “Our silver jubilee campaign has been a roaring success. The support from fans, grant funders, organisations and individuals from across the region has been phenomenal and I would like to thank every supporter who has contributed to the success of the campaign along with all the staff, participants and volunteers who helped make this possible. “Whilst there is a lot to be very proud of, the charity's trustees and I have a continual desire to push the boundaries and seek to improve every aspect of what we do. Although many people might already feel they have achieved their vision, the mentality of the collective team at Everton in the Community is ‘Nil Satis' and to continually raise the bar. “The charity remains hugely ambitious for its future and shows no signs of slowing down. We enter 2014 with significant aspirations to create a community campus close to Goodison Park to house all of our programmes and expand and enrich the opportunities provided to local people by reaching out even further to those who require support.” In recent years, the charity has helped more than 250 local unemployed people become ‘job ready' through its ‘Everton 4 Employment' scheme; established the ‘Imagine Your Goals' mental health programme with Mersey Care NHS Trust; and runs the biggest football programme for people with disabilities of any club in the world, with 26 teams for all ages and abilities, more than 30 players representing their country at international level and two players representing ParalympicsGB at London 2012. The charity even made history when it became the first associated to a Premier League football club to open a Free School, ‘Everton Free School'. In 2013, Everton in the Community also picked up an impressive 19 international, national and regional awards in recognition for their ground-breaking work including a Big Society Award from Prime Minister David Cameron. The Prime Minister praised Everton in the Community for using their skills, expertise and profile to make life better for people in local communities. For more information on Everton in the Community, click here About these ads © ToffeeWeb