The injured winger was a star attraction after going out of his way to check out Everton in the Community’s showcase
Jack Grealish salutes the fans during the Premier League match between Everton and Brentford at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
“You’ve got Seamus Coleman over there, Jack Grealish over there – I can’t focus.” The excitement was clear as one schoolboy skipped between activities on the indoor pitch at Everton’s Finch Farm training ground.
In one corner, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Carlos Alcaraz, Jake O’Brien and Coleman were being chased by children in a game that resembled flag rugby. In another, Jarrad Branthwaite and Iliman Ndiaye were bouncing inflatable gym balls from bedsheet to bedsheet with other young Blues.
Grealish, meanwhile, was attracting an audience as he pressed buttons as they lit up to test his reactions. He lasted the full 60 seconds without making a mistake.
His efforts were all the more impressive given he was hunched over the table leaning on crutches while wearing a protective boot as he continued his recovery from a stress fracture. And the best thing about it all? He was not even expected to be there.
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Unlike the rest of the first-team squad, Grealish’s attendance at Everton in the Community’s showcase event was not set in stone. While his team-mates were always set to take part in the fun and games put on to highlight the incredible work of the charity, the 30-year-old’s participation was, at best, dependent on his rehabilitation schedule.
Organisers were, therefore, delighted to see the Manchester City loanee wander into the training centre and throw himself into the event, happily chatting away with anyone who approached.
It was an indication of the generosity of the Champions League winner with his time and energy, the latest example of his willingness to help football operate as a vehicle for good. He was also an engaged participant when EitC’s Down Syndrome team were in Halewood for an event to coincide with World Down Syndrome Day on Saturday.
When the obstacle courses were being packed up, the queue for a selfie with Grealish was long. It was not the longest, though – David Moyes posed for pictures long after his team returned to their work.
It was a fun-filled afternoon in Halewood as EitC held its seventh showcase – viewed as an opportunity for players to engage with those the organisation works so hard to help day-in, day-out. It started the build-up to the home game with Chelsea, where the charity took centre stage on an important day for raising awareness of the life-saving and life-changing work it does.
Dewsbury-Hall, fresh from reflecting on signs of worry and anxiety with children and young people facing mental health challenges, helped via the Tackling the Blues programme, said: “It was a great afternoon meeting some of the people who are helped by Everton in the Community and seeing first-hand the impact the charity has on so many lives.”
Jack Grealish poses for a selfie with participants of an Everton in the Community showcase at Finch Farm. Image: Tony McArdle/Everton FC
Alongside him during that showpiece was club captain Coleman, a long-time champion of EitC’s work. On the growth of the charity, something he has viewed first hand during his 17 years at the club, he said: “It’s humbling to be involved in it, to be asked to go to these things and to see the impact you can have as a player, and never mind us, what the volunteers and staff do is incredible. I’ve said this quite a few times, but it’s not [just] about changing lives – it has been proven that Everton in the Community saves people’s lives. I’ve had people come to me and tell me it has saved their lives. So it’s powerful and that is something that we are and should be very proud of.
“Listen, I’ve been around long enough, I have seen the volunteers, I’ve seen the people involved. I’ve seen a lot of it and I think, to be honest, the volunteers – not that they want the credit – but I don’t know if they get enough credit.
“It is incredible what they do. I think it is important for us to come down and see it and I know when the new lads sign for the club, the club is quite good at getting them involved in it quite early and I think that is important.”
In the opposite corner to Coleman’s activity, Vitalii Mykolenko, James Tarkowski, Tyrique George, Harrison Armstrong, Mark Travers and James Garner sat down for some table-top games with users of Stand Together, a twice-weekly programme for anyone aged 65+ who may be experiencing loneliness or social isolation.
Garner, who that night was called by England manager Thomas Tuchel to be informed of his first senior call-up, excelled at a construction game in which he and his partners had to build towers with spaghetti straws and marshmallows.
Also taking part was 79-year-old Blues supporter David Hood. Opening up on what EitC means to him, he said: “It does a lot for me because it gets me out of the house. Instead of sitting there, doing nothing, you’re going out, you’re meeting people, you meet like-minded people, people who have supported Everton over the years. It’s just nice to meet people, to get out and enjoy yourself and enjoy the events they put on, which are very good.
“The volunteers are very good and so is everybody who seems to run it, so it is always enjoyable to go. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s done a lot for me and I am sure it has done a lot for other people.”
David is one of 36,000 people across the Liverpool City Region who benefit from the work of Everton in the Community every year. While the charity helps so many, much of the support is targeted to ensure it has a real impact.
Poverty remains a real issue in the area and Sue Gregory, the charity’s CEO, explained: “We’ve a real focus now on looking for opportunities and making sure we can support our students in schools.
“There are some amazing businesses coming into the city region and we are making sure that we can map the curriculum and support the curriculum so the young people can get jobs and attain in the future. There is a rise in mental health [issues], so we’re really expanding looking at our community health model.
“We won awards on a creative heart screening project linked to breathlessness and we’ve started to roll that out again – it’s the only one in Europe, I think. We are physically screening for heart disease with top cardiologists. So we’re doing so much innovation.
“I think for me the big emphasis for next year is understanding how we can all pull together and invest in the city region, but also have that real look at skills and opportunities for the whole family – what kids can do in schools, how to get people into work, get them healthy, improve their mental health and get them out of poverty.”
It has been a landmark year for EitC, with the first team’s move to Hill Dickinson Stadium providing the opportunity to build relationships with new businesses, while £13m has been invested in Goodison Park, now home of Everton Women and a base for the charity.
For Sue, events such as the showcase offer the chance for everyone to celebrate the work being undertaken.
She said: “When the players show up it means so much for our staff and participants, who are every day dealing with some of the most difficult things. They feel valued and it’s really lovely. The kids are so excited. Some say they don’t support Everton but they’re still excited. It’s so special… This is one of my favourite days.
“We just stop, pause and think. Look at what we do. This is the impact. You can see the difference we made and that makes me immensely proud.”