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Naismith and EITC launch football foodbank appeal

, 4 October, 2comments  |  Jump to most recent

Everton striker Steven Naismith and Everton in the Community are calling upon the generosity of supporters ahead of Sunday’s 225th Merseyside derby by asking them to bring donations to a foodbank to help those less fortunate across the city.

Recent hat-trick hero Naismith and the official charity of Everton Football Club have been working with We Shall Overcome, a non-political national group set up to fight austerity throughout the UK, and ahead of Sunday’s kick-off Everton in the Community will be hosting a foodbank appeal at the Matchday Hub which will be used to replenish local supplies for families in need across Liverpool.

From 11.30am on Sunday, volunteers from Everton in the Community and The Whitechapel Centre will be on hand at the Matchday Hub at Everton Free School on Spellow Lane to collect food and toiletries which will then be distributed to local families who have fallen on hard times.

Everton in the Community works all year round to tackle poverty and homelessness across the city with a number of initiatives which all aim to help those in need, including a homeless football project in partnership with the Whitechapel Centre to inspire and motivate individuals across Merseyside as well as hosting regular People’s Picnics at Goodison Park where local families in need are offered a hot meal and an evening of entertainment.

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Upon the launch of the combined foodbank appeal, Steven Naismith said: “Foodbanks are now an ever present in our towns and cities and more people than ever are needing to access them. It would be fantastic if everyone who is coming to the game on Sunday could bring something to donate with them and together we can help Everton in the Community help as many people as possible.”

David Carter, CEO of The Whitechapel Centre, said: “The Whitechapel Centre provides breakfast every day of the year for people who have slept rough. We rely on the generosity of the public and are very grateful for the wonderful support we receive from people across the city. We are delighted to be involved with the We Shall Overcome event and would like to thank everyone who supports it this weekend.”

Val Colvin, Events Co-ordinator for We Shall Overcome Liverpool, added: “We are proud to be working alongside Everton in the Community and thank them for raising awareness of our WSO events happening between 1-5 October. All of our events are raising food or cash for foodbanks, The Whitechapel, The Brink and local community projects across Merseyside.”

Please see the below guide of the most beneficial items to donate on Sunday:

  • Dry products, such as rice, mashed potato and pasta.
  • Tinned products, such as meats, pies, stews, chilli, tuna, vegetables, beans, spaghetti, and soup.
  • Packet products, such as breakfast cereals, biscuits, long life milk and fruit juice, sugar, and teabags.
  • Toiletries, such as toothpaste, deodorant, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner.

It is believed that around 13 million people live below the poverty line in the UK with Merseyside being the food bank capital; from April 2014-March 2015 over 60,000 people were provided with three days of emergency food by The Trussell Trust’s foodbanks.
Rising costs of food and fuel, combined with static income, high unemployment and changes to the benefit systems, are causing more and more people to access food banks for help.

The weekend of 2-4 October will see 135 towns and cities across the UK host We Shall Overcome events in aid of food banks and the homeless with 22 events taking place in Liverpool from 1-5 October including music gigs and an art auction. Entrance to each event is a minimum food or cash donation of £3 which will go to benefit local foodbanks, The Whitechapel Centre and the Brink.

For more information on We Shall Overcome’s weekend of action visit www.weshallovercomeweekend.com

 

Reader Comments (2)

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Simon Temme
1 Posted 04/10/2015 at 19:53:50
All good stuff, yet again, a round of applause for EITC and Steven Naismith.
Brin Williams
2 Posted 04/10/2015 at 19:58:12
Somebody saw Brenda drop in a parcel of Sour Grapes on his way out of the ground today.

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