Season › 2014-15 › News Everton spread community spirit in Kyiv , 19 March, 11comments | Jump to most recent Everton's community ethos has provided inspiration to children in Kyiv during the Club's visit to the Ukrainian capital for tonight's UEFA Europa League game against Dynamo Kyiv. Earlier today Everton ambassadors Graeme Sharp and Ian Snodin were joined by staff from the Club's official charity, Everton in the Community, to deliver a series of special coaching sessions for over 70 children at School #309 in the Poznyaky district of Kyiv. Local children also met Everton manager Roberto Martinez at the team's training session on the eve of the game (Wednesday) in the Olympic Stadium. The plight of the Ukrainian children at School #309 was brought to the attention of Club officials by global charity, UNICEF, which has been working up and down the country to provide children with safe and nurturing environments and opportunities. “It has been a real privilege to work with staff from Everton in the Community to deliver these coaching sessions today and put a smile on the faces of these fantastic children,” said Sharp, an integral part of the successful European Cup Winners' Cup team in 1985. "Community is central to Everton's identity and heritage – and meeting these children while we have been in Kyiv has been an inspiring and uplifting part of our visit. “Making a difference at the core of a community is key to who we are as a club and it's tremendously motivating and humbling to everybody at Everton – and Evertonians – to know that we are coming here and making a difference in people's lives,” added Sharp. During the Club's stay in Kyiv, Everton will also host children from Chernobyl, who have been invited to watch tonight's UEFA Europa League last 16 second leg clash against Dynamo Kyiv. A long-standing relationship between Everton and survivors from Chernobyl – forged through various charities, including Friends of Chernobyl Children, Children of Chernobyl Life Line and Chernobyl Medicine – has facilitated annual visits to Liverpool since 2003 for children from the region immediately affected by the nuclear power plant disaster of 1986. A group of 18 Chernobyl children and four adults will be special guests of the Club at Thursday's game and will be greeted by the Everton manager on arrival. Everton and Everton in the Community have worked closely with UNICEF and the charity Children of Chernobyl Life Line to facilitate the events planned during the Club's visit to Kyiv. Reader Comments (11) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Jim Lloyd 1 Posted 19/03/2015 at 16:49:02 Great stuff Blues. Brent Stephens 2 Posted 19/03/2015 at 17:01:59 Nice one. Oscar Huglin 3 Posted 19/03/2015 at 17:08:50 As disappointing as this season has been, I'll always be so proud of the way this club conducts itself when it comes to charity and community work. Fantastic. Ray Roche 4 Posted 19/03/2015 at 17:22:14 Wonderful stuff, but why isn't it on all the BBC, ITV, Sky channels? If it was a team of Mancs it'd be on the main effin' news! Andy Meighan 5 Posted 19/03/2015 at 21:16:05 That's one thing we can be proud of – our work in the community The less said about the season, the better. Graham Roberts 6 Posted 20/03/2015 at 08:24:16 Totally agree with all the points made above. At last something all Blues fans can feel proud of. Well done to the club for continuing to get involved in this kind of work. John Gee 7 Posted 20/03/2015 at 12:15:50 We were even more charitable on the pitch.Seriously, it's a good side of our club. Just about the only thing to be proud of. Ant Dwyer 8 Posted 20/03/2015 at 18:31:00 Having "Everton in the Community" on our shirt was the only good thing to come out of that Kiev game. I think it should stay on all our kit wear in all age groups and in all matches. Also itÂ’s an idea to put it on front of all kids kits instead of having it plain like the pyjama sets. Ant Dwyer 9 Posted 20/03/2015 at 22:28:24 Having "Everton in the Community" on our shirt was the only good thing to come out of that Kiev game. I think it should stay on all our kit wear in all age groups and in all matches. Also it's an idea to put it on front of all kids kits instead of having it plain like the pyjama sets. Lee Mandaracas 10 Posted 21/03/2015 at 10:59:41 That's a great idea Ant (8 & 9)Some of my kids' gear has Chang Soda on the front but they've since dropped that, presumably as we don't get Chang Soda in the UK so it was seen as a loop-hole.If the contract and bods at Chang would permit it I think it'd be a perfect solution. Graham Roberts 11 Posted 21/03/2015 at 11:50:09 Excellent point you make about the shirts, Ant (8) – couldn't agree more. Lee (10) – not sure the 'bods at Chang' would be very happy, though. I don't have huge confidence in their judgement – weren't they involved in the 'consultation' process behind last year's disastrous team badge? Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads © ToffeeWeb