“The epitome of everything that Everton stands for…”
DURING the course of an evening spent at Liverpool’s Pullman Hotel, the same two phrases kept on being repeated. “This is what this club is all about,” was one. “This epitomises what Everton stands for,” was the other. To those on the outside, such sentiments might seem self-aggrandising but nothing could be further from the truth. As a club, Everton has a clear sense of its own identity and an empathy with its constituency that understanding itself and what it stands for is at the core of its being.
On this occasion, three former players – all of them England internationals – were competing against one another for the title of Everton Masterchef 2017. Over three courses, Peter Reid, Leon Osman and David Unsworth put their culinary skills to the test in the knowledge that those who had paid to attend would be expected to eat whatever they produced. If the competition was light hearted, the reason why the event was not with all money raised on the night being donated to Everton’s Home Is Where The Heart Is campaign to provide support Liverpool’s homeless community.
Their fundraising target is £230,000 after it was determined that amount would be sufficient to purchase, develop and operate a property close to Goodison Park where vulnerable 16-23-year-olds who have fallen outside of the care system will be offered a place to stay. Driven by Denise Barrett-Baxendale, the executive chair of Everton in the Community, and Unsworth, the club’s under-23s manager, the fundraising campaign is already halfway to its proposed target despite having only been launched towards the end of last year.
It is because Everton have committed to the initiative at all levels of the club that it is proving so successful and earning so much wholly justified praise. At the Pullman, players from Unsworth’s under-23 side (which is close to winning the Premier League 2 title) offered their service as waiters while club captain Phil Jagielka also attended to demonstrate his support.
Light heartedly describing the youngsters as “eye candy” for the diners, Jagielka also spoke eloquently about Everton’s commitment to the city it serves and the people who live there, a responsibility which he and many others at the club have embraced with an enthusiasm that goes beyond the call of duty.
“We couldn’t do any of this without you,” Unsworth said after his main course of beef in a bourguignon jus allowed him to take the Masterchef crown despite Reid’s best efforts with a vanilla cheesecake and Osman’s haddock fishcake starter. The reality, though, is that this is happening because of Everton’s commitment to its local community and the club’s ability to identify good causes and willingness to support them.
In doing so, they are also inspiring a further positive spin off with supporters feeling a sense of pride in their club and even those who don’t support Everton respecting their efforts regardless of how much they might not want to flourish on the pitch. The circle could not be much more virtuous and the beneficiaries extend beyond those who will receive direct support from Home Is Where The Heart Is with Unsworth’s under-23s also developing a sense of responsibility and a maturity that goes way beyond what is generally expected of players of that age group.
Among other activities, the youngsters have slept out on the pitch at Goodison Park on the coldest night of last year to raise awareness of homelessness and have also prepared, made and served Christmas dinner at the Whitechapel Centre for the homeless in the heart of Liverpool. “It makes me so proud as their manager to see them engaging like this,” said Unsworth. “What has really stood out for me is that they have engaged because they want to and not because they have to.” Their participation at the Pullman helped more than £5,000 to be raised on the night.
He won’t say so himself but one of the prime reasons for the players’ engagement is the example set by Unsworth himself with his social conscience constantly coming to the fore.
When he is not on the training pitch coaching a group of youngsters all of whom he believes have a chance of graduating to the first team just as Tom Davies has, the former defender is spending every available hour trying to make Home Is Where The Heart Is as successful as it can be. Which is why when Reid, a man who knows Everton at least as well as any other, described Unsworth as “the epitome of everything that Everton stands for,” he captured the mood perfectly.
To support the ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ fundraising campaign, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/EvertonU23s.
