Best Covid-19 Community Response – Premier League
WINNER
Everton FC and Everton in the Community
Launched in March 2020, Blue Family is a coordinated engagement campaign that maintains contact with fans and participants and provides vital support and assistance to some of the most vulnerable, socially isolated and at-risk members of the community during the ongoing pandemic.
The last 10 months has seen the initiative directly support more than 27,750 individuals and families, make more than 25,000 check-in and welfare calls and delivered more than 14,450 emergency food parcels in addition to delivering bespoke online content consumed by millions across the world, aimed at keeping people connected.
Following the return to a full lockdown in early January 2021, the Club and EitC further stepped up the Blue Family efforts with the expansion of activity including increased outbound calls to fans, additional support to deal with an increase in referrals and expanded content output.
This increased support is in addition to the charity’s ongoing support for the participants of its 40+ programmes which continue to operate remotely delivering online education, fitness and coaching sessions, tailored mental health support, regular welfare calls and bespoke wrap-around support to our vulnerable, elderly and/or at-risk participants.
SILVER
Manchester City FC
From the beginning of the pandemic, Manchester City recognised the important role it had to play in supporting communities locally and globally, so developed a series of initiatives to respond to immediate need and help communities recover from the pandemic.
As the Premier League restarted, the Club launched Cityzens Giving for Recovery, a year-long programme bringing together all ten City Football Group clubs, staff, fans and players, to make a positive difference – mobilising donations, expertise, facilities, resources, and voice to support recovery-linked projects in each of the ten cities where CFG has clubs.
The programme adopted a multi-phased approach, comprising a global crowd-fund to raise £1m for recovery efforts in ten CFG Club cities, sustainable project delivery across those cities for 12+ months, delivering measurable improvements in mental wellbeing, physical health and educational attainment for thousands of young people, and a new employee volunteer programme, blending digital and physical volunteering to support recovery efforts around the globe.
BRONZE
Wolves Foundation
On 28th February, Wolves Foundation launched Feed Our Pack, an initial £500,000 project that aims to help reduce the effects of food poverty and support residents of Wolverhampton who have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic The project, which will run for an initial three-years, has been made possible by a £250,000 grant from the Premier League PFA Community Fund and a generous personal donation of £250,000 from Wolves head coach Nuno Espirito Santo Feed Our Pack will be supporting selected foodbanks in the city, with the aim of increasing the volume of food being distributed to meet increased demand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, along with combatting ‘holiday hunger’ by providing a programme of food, sport and education to local children during school holidays Like most cities, Wolverhampton has suffered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic People have suffered both physically from the virus itself, mentally from losing loved ones or issues surrounding lockdown and isolation and economically, from the pandemic’s effects on the normal operations of society.
