Date published: 19th September 2017

The Jackson Lees Group are proud to have supported Everton in the Community over the last year and a half, and we’ve seen first-hand the difference it can make to some of the lives of young vulnerable people in the community.

Everton in the Community is an amazing charity with over 40 programmes covering education, health and wellbeing, youth engagement, employment and training and social isolation. It is known as a charity that not only changes lives but saves lives. They support the most vulnerable and underprivileged members of local communities in the North West through their ‘Youth Zone’ project.

Jack, 15, first attended the 'Kicks' programme after taking part in a taster session in her school in North Liverpool.

Jack came as a shy reserved young lady, not really talking to many people. It took her quite a while to really start being involved in activities at the kicks session but after a few weeks of coming to the sessions, she started to invite her friends along. Jack felt more comfortable engaging with new people and now can see she is really starting to come out of her shell and grow in confidence, getting involved in everything and making the most of her time at Everton in the Community.

Executive Director of Everton in the Community, Phil Duffy said:

“Our aim as a Charity is to have a positive impact on the local community and provide opportunities for the most disadvantaged groups. Thanks to the generous support of Jackson Lees, we are able to provide these kind of activities that engage and empower young people and give them a brighter future in life.”

Head coach on the sessions, Jen, has said:

“Jack has really came out of her shell since attending regular sessions. This has led to spending time outside the sessions with the new people she has got to know. Through attending 28 Kicks session, her confidence and interaction with new people has soared, and she is now on first name bases with all the staff and other participants.”

Jack commented on how Everton in the Community has helped build her confidence and allowed her to feel more integrated in the community by saying:

“I love coming the Everton free school kicks sessions on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. It gives me a purpose and a place to go rather than be wandering around the streets with my mates doing nothing. We all come here now and learn all kinds of things like how to cook, do art and get more involved in playing a lot of football. I’ve started speaking to a lot more people here and we’ve started doing stuff together outside the sessions. We recently all went to the park together which was really good.”

Executive Chairman of the Jackson Lees Group, Andrew Holroyd, commented on our partnership and the way it has changed lives in the community, by saying:

“Everton in the Community makes a huge difference in the lives of so many they help. This really fits in with our ethos as a law firm and we are delighted to contribute to this great work.”