Liverpool Homeless Football Club once again delivered a successful Easter Egg campaign delivering over 600 chocolate eggs to family hostels across Merseyside.

This Easter was the third year in succession that the club have ran an Easter Egg appeal. Using social media sites Facebook and Twitter the club asked people to donate an extra egg this year so that some festive cheer could be spread to families who have fallen on bad times and are living in homeless hostels.

Special thanks must be given to the following organisations who volunteered to
be ‘drop off points’ for the eggs: The Brink, The Liverpool YMCA and The Whitechapel Centre.

As usual it was a herculean effort by all involved, not least the general public whose generosity never ceases to amaze. This year the club would also like to thank their community partners AFC Liverpool along with Croxteth Councillor Stephanie Till for their huge help with this year’s campaign.

Players and staff from Liverpool Homeless Football Club delivered the eggs to family hostels over the Easter Weekend. A club official said “We would like to thank everyone who donated an egg this year. It gives people, who may be in a difficult situation at the moment the chance of a smile this Easter. I’m sure this will continue to be a regular event each year as part of our work in the community!”

If you would like to more information on future events in the community or if you would like to support the club in any way.  Please contact us via email on liverpoolhomelessfootballclub@gmail.com.

March 2013 saw Liverpool Homeless Football Club strengthen their ties with another fantastic local charity: Liverpool Heartbeat. Early in the month LHFC supported a fundraising evening organised by Liverpool Heartbeat in aid of the Sefton Triathalon. As a sign of appreciation founder Robyn Baynes MBE later donated a signed Sky Sports News Shirt from their auction.

Liverpool Heartbeat is a charity that was formed in 2002 by local business man Mr Robin Baynes and in memory of his life long friend and fellow swimming competitor Kenny O’Toole. The aims of this organisation is to promote healthy lifestyles in young people in an educational and entertaining way.

One of the events that Liverpool Heartbeat support annually is the Sefton Triathalon, the UK’s largest community triathlon event. Each year hundreds of tri-athletes, whose ages ranged from 7 to 74 years old, compete in the annual
Sefton Triathlon. Robyn Baynes described the event as “truly inspirational” and he explained that “the event attracts families and young people to participant and help raise funds for charity… The beauty of this event is that the course distance is adapted to suit all abilities. The event attracts over three thousand spectators to cheer the tri-athletes on around the course, making the event all the more memorable.”

This year Liverpool Heartbeat arranged a fundraising event in the Adelphi Hotel. The evening was a great success; there was live music, acrobatic dancing and a charity auction. With generous support from Barclays Bank they were able to raise over £6,000 for the Sefton Triathalon.

LHFC chair John Finnigan,  attended the black tie event along with other staff members Stephen Barton, Steve Hawkins and Ben Carpenter (see right). John said; “It’s great to be able to support Robyn and his fantastic charity Liverpool Heartbeat. He is great at supporting healthy activity in our communities (like the Sefton Tri-athalon). Their aims are very similar to our own so it’s why we have chosen to attend and support the event.”

After the event Robyn Baynes MBE decided to gift to Liverpool Homeless Club an auction item that John had made a bid for. It is a signed and framed Sky Sports Shirt. The shirt was presented to the club by Robyn’s son Stephen Baynes at the recent meeting of the Homeless League (see picture above).

Stephen Baynes works at Newstart Homes which is another charity set up by the Baynes’ family and longstanding member of the Liverpool Homeles League. Stephen said; “This shirt is donated to LHFC to thank the club for their support for Liverpool Heartbeat. We hope that Newstart, Liverpool Heartbeat and LHFC will continue to work together bringing sport to our communities”.

Last week Comic Relief announced a £50,000 Community Cash Fund for local community groups in Liverpool. The Red Nose Day money will be promoted in The Liverpool ECHO and distributed by the Community Foundation to small organisations who are transforming lives. To launch this fund Les Dennis visited LHFC’s Homeless League.

ECHO executive editor Andrew Campbell said: “We are delighted to be  partnering such a great event to help raise cash for good causes in  Merseyside. “We would encourage everyone to get involved and have some fun while making  the world a better place. We would also appeal to organisations and groups to get in touch – you may  be in line for a slice of the £50,000 set aside for Merseyside good causes.” The deadline for applications is 8th March, read more on the: Liverpool Echo

The Homeless League meets every month at the Powerleague Centre in Kirkdale, Liverpool. Last week was the first meeting of 2013 and we were delighted to see so many old and new faces turn up for a day of football and fun. Over 80 men from across Merseyside turned up to represent their homeless agency in a 5-a-side league. The games are refereed and organised by the Liverpool County FA.

Les Dennis admitted that the concept of a football league for homeless people was one that “leapt off the page” when he was looking to visit a comic relief funded project. The local funny man stayed for most of the day, talking to players and staff and he even had a go at playing. Although he sheepishly admitted he thought the goalie let his shot in on purpose!

Talking about homelessness Les Dennis explained; “everyone’s situation is different, but when (these lads) are out on the pitch they’re not feeling sorry for themselves, they want to play hard, win and see their team go up the table”. Les was very impressed with the project and said “It’s great to see so many feel part of a team. I’m full of admiration for the players and everyone associated with Liverpool Homeless Football Club who do a wonderful job.” Listen to the full interview from Liverpool Community Radio Station

Chairman John Finnigan said: “We’re so pleased that Les came down to support  the work we’ve been doing. “The funding that we have received has made a big difference to the homeless  people we work with allowing us to fund pitch fees, referees and  refreshments. “We wouldn’t have been able to do anything without it.”

Last week saw the LHFC ladies form a team for the first time and take centre stage in the Liverpool Ladies Futsal League. For many, it was their first taste of competitive football action but nerves and shyness were left in the changing room as the team put in a stunning league debut.

Despite losing the match to League Leaders The Liverpool Futsal Ladies, there were many encouraging signs that this LHFC team can unsettle some well established teams in the division. The first half was a close contest with both teams competing hard in all areas of the pitch. LHFC Ladies were under a lot of pressure but they defended excellently and were well organised in breaking down the opposition attacks.

The futsal format of the game is very different to normal 5-a-side; the ball is much smaller and heavier and play must be controlled within the painted lines – not off the walls. The game improves players passing skills and their overall technique. It is commonly played in Brazil and Spain. Credit must be given to Tina and Lisa who bravely did some time in goal ‘between the sticks’.

When LHFC won possession of the ball, their game plan became quite clear as they looked to release star striker Jess Lomax. Jess led several counter attacks and was not shy in unleashing her deadly right foot to claim a first half hat-trick! More resolute defending by all the girls meant that the score at half time was 5-3 to Liverpool Futsal Ladies.

After the break more defensive duties were required from LHFC and this was typified by Becca who continued to put her body on the line – sometimes quite literally! Cecilia became the latest player to try her hand on goal and she proved to be an excellent shot stopper especially considering the weight of the futsal ball!

As the game drew on, the superior fitness of the opposition led to a flurry of goals which seemed to put the Liverpool Futsal Ladies out of sight. But there was still time for one last come back and debutant Natasha carried the ball into the opposition territory only to be fouled as she was about to pull the trigger. It was a nasty fall which had the crowd gasping as Natasha hit the floor! After recovering her bearings and dusting herself down, Natasha smashed the free kick past the helpless goalie and restored some LHFC  pride!

The final score of 11-5 was not reflective of the contest and was not the main feature of the night. The feeling throughout the team was of tremendous pride and sense of achievement. Coach James Buckley said proudly “All the girls did really well tonight. It’s very difficult to play Futsal and to play against such tough opposition in the first week was a real challenge but we did really well. We hit the post a few times and we improved throughout the game! I’m looking forward to next week already”

Becca revealed after the game; “It’s great to have so many (girls) turning up tonight! We feel like a proper team now and everyone is just buzzing at the moment! I think some of them have found a new hobby!”.

Training will continue for the girls each week and their coach Fara Williams will have one job just to try and contain their excitement. Tune in here next week to hear more about the LHFC Ladies as they continue in the Liverpool Futsal League!

To see the latest league tables click here:

Liverpool Homeless Football Club took part in the Liverpool Echo’s Cash for Community Project 2012. Last week the club were awarded £151.15 for their efforts and this will be put into a special budget to pay for an end of season celebration day!

The Echo launched the Cash for Communities Project in October 2012 and for seven weeks they printed Wish Tokens in the paper each day. As part of the campaign, LHFC and 200 other not for profit groups were asked to collect as many tokens as possible. Every token counts was the campaign slogan as each group would receive a percentage of the £25,000 pot depending on how many tokens they collected.

The groups ranged from well established organisations such as Zoe’s Place and Everton in the Community to smaller groups such as Scouts and Brownie groups. Liverpool Homeless Football Club managed to collect Fifteen thousand, eight hundred and seventy one wish tokens. Once they were all cut out and stuck down there was a nervous wait whilst the Echo had the unenviable task of counting everyone’s tokens.

Last week the totals were announced and we were awarded £151.15 for our efforts. We would like to thanks everyone who helped us collect the tokens! It really was a great team effort. Special praise should go to Craig Meddings, Campbell McCulloch, Phil Graves and John’s Mum for coordinating great collections! Thank you and please thank all of your contributors!

Chairman John Finnigan announced that the money would be put towards the celebration day the club holds at the end of the season in May. The day is a fantastic occasion where all of our players are rewarded for their participation throughout the season. There is food, entertainment and medals presented by club patrons. If anyone is interested, they should contact the club on liverpoolhomelessfootballclub@googlemail.com.

TRAVELLING to Mexico City recently for the Homeless World Cup was “the best experience of my life”, says Toxteth’s Becca Mushrow, one of two members of Liverpool Homeless Football Club selected to be part of the England team, the other being Jessica Lomax from Huyton.

A keen footballer since childhood, Becca was encouraged to apply for the first England Women’s Team by her key worker in her hostel. Following a six week training session during the summer, coached by Rachel Brown and Fara Williams, in association with The Homeless FA and Everton in the Community, she was selected to go for a session at the Manchester United grounds, and from there she was picked along with Jess to be part of the eight women squad.

Becca and Jessica travelled to Wembley to join team mates the day before the ten-day trip to Mexico. Over 50 countries took part in the games, and one of the first events was a visit to an Aztec temple. “This gave us an idea of the challenges ahead, because of the altitude,” Becca states.
The opening ceremony in the main square in Mexico City was a magnificent spectacle, with fireworks and stilt walkers playing a central role, she adds. Becca found herself captaining the team for the second game, against the host country. (See main image – Becca wearing the captains armband pictured with team mates Jess and Mauvhr)
Whilst in Mexico the teams from England, Scotland and Wales attended a reception at the British embassy and met the ambassador. At the closing ceremony, “We Are The Champions” was played as medals were presented and fireworks launched. Becca found it a tremendous experience to meet people from all over the world, and adds she has another 150 Facebook friends since her return, “I use Google Translate if they don’t have English”, she points out.

Describing James Buckley, who was also involved in coaching, as “my biggest inspiration”, Becca has also been busy since returning home. Becca has continued to play football and joined two new teams. She has also moved out of temporary accommodation into her own house and has enrolled to start college in September. LHFC have also helped her complete a course with Liverpool Community Radio station and she now hosts her own show!
Looking back at the benefits football has brought to her life, she states “Life was crazy before, but football got me off drugs.”

Listen to Becca talk about Homelessness, Football and her time in Mexico with the Homeless FA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r8NR7_0c6w&feature=youtube_gdata

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If0Gf1euyHU

It is January and the new year is fully under way but it is worth taking a look at the amazing amount of work that players and staff from Liverpool Homeless Football Club put in to spread Christmas cheer to others in need. Much of the work was led by club secretary Stephen Barton and the resident of the YMCA in Liverpool.

Using the Santa suits from the Annual Santa Dash, Steve led five more players and two fellow LHFC volunteers on a bike ride from the Pier Head to Alderhey hospital. At the end of the 9 mile ride the players were there to give Christmas presents to young children who are staying in the hospital. Steve explained; “It’s a fantastic thing to do. We had to beg and borrow these bikes but it’s been brilliant, we’ve all done a great bit of exercise and now we are doing something really good for children who will be in hospital over Christmas.”

Not content with the Santa dash, the Alderhey bike ride and the winter clothes campaign, LHFC saved their best Christmas effort until last. All month the club have been collecting presents for homeless children. On the Saturday before Christmas, LHFC delivered nearly 100 presents to a several family hostels based across the region. It is the third year that LHFC have done this but never before were they able to deliver so much.

Project Officer Ben Carpenter said “According to research there will be approximately 75,000 children who are without a home on Christmas Day. It’s a reminder that Christmas is not a happy time for everyone, so it’s great that the club are able to spread a bit of festive cheer to those who are not so fortunate this year.”

Thanks for your continued support.

Last month Liverpool Homeless Football Club produced a two hour documentary for Liverpool Community Radio. The show was the culmination of a four week training course that players and staff from LHFC had completed with the local internet radio station.

Development Officer Ben Carpenter along with club photographer Chris McIntyre and players Becca Mushrow and James Buckley formed an excellent team as they set about putting their new skills in to action. The course that was delivered by Liverpool Community Radio covered a range of things such as interview techniques, script writing and radio production. After only four weeks of instruction the team delivered their first live show.

The show was written and produced by the team and titled “LHFC- Kicking Misery into History”. It covers a range of subjects, includes some high profile guests and even throws in some live music. The two hour show was aired live on December the 13th and was a great success. You can listen to the show by clicking the following links.

Section 1 part 1: Homelessness, what does it mean?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD-tu1ExIDc

Section 1 part 2: Homelessness, what does it mean?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibJK5Zk6dTM

Section 2: About the club http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N8ee5xlGlc

Section 3: Interview with Chris Mcintyre http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_hTVGGHJyQ

Section 4: Interview with Becca Mushrow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r8NR7_0c6w&feature=youtube_gdata

Section 5: Becca & the HWC  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If0Gf1euyHU

Section 6 part 1: Fara Williams http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdE4WNVgTV0&feature=youtube_gdata

Section 6 part 2: The future of LHFC & questions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRQq1Txr8kY

We hope you enjoy the show. We would like to thank everyone at Liverpool Community Radio for their support, expertise and kindness throughout the four weeks course. We are hoping to feature on the channel again in the near future, watch this space!

Words by Ben Carpenter and Images by Chris McIntyre.

Liverpool Homeless Football Club has always been about much more than football. Never has this been more apparent than this week where players and staff from the club really got into the spirit of Christmas. On Sunday six players entered the annual Santa Dash, on Wednesday the club supported the Keep Warm Collective and on Thursday LHFC launched their third annual Christmas Toy Appeal for Homeless Children.

On Sunday 2nd December Liverpool City Centre was taken over by the annual Santa Dash! The streets were crawling with men, women and kids all dressed in Santa suits and wearing artificial beards! There was even some blue Santa suits knocking around as well!! For the second year running, players from LHFC entered this charity run.

Well done to Stephen Barton, Chris McIntyre, James Buckley and YMCA players Joe Savin, Steve Weild, Billy Sutton and Paul Thistlewaite for completing the 5K run. The players raised over £40 for the Alder Hey Heart Ward. This cause was chosen by Joey who has had first hand experience of their care as his baby has suffered from a heart condition.

The Keep Warm Collective is a movement led by Stephanie Till who wanted to help homeless women in Liverpool by giving them women’s clothing (find out more at http://thestaywarmsisterhood.wordpress.com/ or follow her on twitter:@CXStephanie). The initiative has one ethos, one purpose which is “to enable other women to help other women keep warm this winter in Liverpool”.

LHFC thought it was a brilliant idea and were only too happy to help. Partner agency Liverpool YMCA acted as a drop off point and this week, Stephen Barton & Christine Tierney took three bags full of coats, hats and scarves to St George’s Hall to add to the Keep warm collective. Christine said; “It’s a great idea, and this initiative means that women who are homeless and cannot afford to keep warm not only get some free warm clothing, it’s actually really nice women’s stuff – so they don’t have to wear worn out old men’s clothes!”

Last but by no means least, on Thursday 6th December LHFC launched their Christmas Toy Appeal. This is the third year that the club has run an appeal for toys. All presents that the club collects are given to children who are homeless in Merseyside.

To launch this year’s appeal stars of the royal court play nightmare on Lime Street Mark Moraghan and Anthony Watson as well as AFC Liverpool’s James Buckley came out to show their support (see above).

Steve Barton secretary of LHFC stated “this is our third year and we have also seen clients of our agencies buy a present for a child, which in turn improves there self-worth. The reality is for a lot of families out there who have no home, Christmas is a sad time, and many of these families may not have much money to buy presents at least this appeal will ensure children have something to wake up and open on Christmas morning Which will also make the parents feel better.”

James Buckley who was once homeless is now playing for AFC LIVERPOOL said “It puts a smile on my face to be able to help a child have a childhood like I had”
Rebecca Mushrow a player in the LHFC women’s programme said: “giving a gift to children in hostels is more than just giving an object, it is a gift of hope and a gift that can change their world”

John Finnigan, LHFC Chairman said “It’s great to have Mark, James and Anthony launching this appeal from there busy schedules and we would like to thank not just the Hostels this year for being drop off points but also genie in the gutter, and the Walton cornerstone centre and also for impact/angel tree who have supported us through the years.”

How can you help I hear you cry?!

• Simply – BUY A PRESENT!
• WRAP IT UP! > WRITE ON IT BOY OR GIRL AND AGE!
• THEN DROP IT OFF AT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING POINTS B Y THE 20TH DECEMBER

Drop off points for your toys are:
• Liverpool YMCA, 15 LEEDS STREET, LIVERPOOL L3 6HU,
• Darbyshire House, Salvation Army, 380 Prescot Road, Liverpool, L13 3DA
• New Start, Prospect Lodge, 49 Prospect Vale, Liverpool, Fairfield, L6 8PF
• Genie in the Gutter, 88 Rodney street, Liverpool L1 9AR
• Walton cornerstone centre, 2 Liston street, Walton, L4 5RT.
CALL Steve Barton 07764994906 or John Finnegan 07595503694 for more details.

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Matchday Two of the Homeless League took place on Tuesday 27th November where the club highlighted the dangers of Gang Culture and Gun Crime. The day was launched by Anne O’Byrne, Liverpool Labour’s Cabinet member for Housing and Community Safety. (see right) Anne is a keen supporter of Liverpool Homeless Football Club and was very happy to attend the match day to raise awareness of Liverpool City Council’s new Safe Haven initiative.

Representatives from the Community Safety Team were present to talk to players and explain about the Safe Havens. A representative explained: “Safe Havens are locations across the city that provide a feeling of security for threatened and vulnerable people and knowing that there is a secure place nearby they can go will help remove fear.” The power league venue on Whittle Street is a Safe Haven.

Alongside the Community Safety team, players were also able to talk to representatives from the Whitechapel Centre. The Whitechapel Centre is a leading homeless and housing charity for the Liverpool region. They work with people who are sleeping rough, living in hostels or struggling to manage their accommodation. Volunteers at the match day explained to players how they could access some of the many services that the Whitechapel provides. Click here for more information on the Whitechapel.

There was also lots of football on display as over 80 men had turned up to play for their hostels. There are three divisions of six teams each and the games are played under normal 5-a-side rules with 8minute halves. Each team plays each other so they are guaranteed five matches.

In Division One MAS (Men’s Accommodation & Support) continued their incredible start to the season by winning all of their games and preserving their 100% record so far! The other big movers in Division One were Aigburth Drive who won four out of their five fixtures and only narrowly losing to MAS 5-4.

In Division Two there looks to be a three way battle for the title developing between Liverpool YMCA, Homeground & the Ark. Homeground made huge progress by winning four and drawing their fifth game to take them top of the league at the end of Match Day 2! Keep your eyes on this Division for many more twists and turns!

Phoenix Futures are looking very strong and again looked impressive in Division Three. They are four points clear and have won all but one of their games so far this season! Can anyone stop them from securing promotion this year? Well I’m sure the Salvation Army & Shaw Street will have something to say about it and they are level on 12 points each!

Click Here for a look at the latest league tables.