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Post by Everton News. on Jun 8, 2017 14:51:23 GMT
Just Keep SpinningSnods supports cyclists training to take on the Goodison to Sligo challenge at Nuffield Health.With just over a week to go until Supporters Club members take on the Sligo to Goodison Cycle Challenge in support of ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’, the travelling group honed their training techniques with a gruelling double spin session at Nuffield Health in Liverpool. The weekend of 17-18 June will see 23 members from officially-affiliated Supporters’ Clubs across the country cover the 230 miles from Sligo to Goodison to raise funds for HIWTHI, a fundraising campaign led by David Unsworth and his Under-23s team with the aim of developing a supported living initiative for young people in Liverpool, delivered by Everton in the Community. Cheered on by Everton Ambassador Ian Snodin, the group took part in an intensive double spin session at Nuffield Health focusing on techniques such as hill-climbs, sprints and jumps. Led by Nuffield Health Fitness Instructors Alison and Richie, the Supporters’ Club members completed 90 minutes on the spin bikes and left the Riverside Drive-based facility discussing plans for their next training session. Nuffield Fitness and Wellbeing Gym in Liverpool has been a long-term supporter of Everton Football Club and its charitable work, with the not-for-profit organisation sharing the same values of the Blues and fully committed to building relationships with the local community and integrating with its surroundings. With 111 Fitness and Wellbeing Gyms nationwide, Nuffield Health’s aim is to make the nation healthier. Speaking after the session, Croston Blues Secretary, Jayne Leonard, said: “We are really appreciative to Nuffield Health for gifting us the use of their spin studio and instructors tonight. It was a good opportunity for us to hone our cycling techniques and check our fitness levels. “I’m part of the Everton Supporters’ Club Committee and we meet monthly with the club to discuss all things Everton and we felt as a group, and with all our members, we had an opportunity to make a change and link up with EitC for some targeted fundraising. We’ve all heard about the ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ campaign and it was an obvious choice for us to support as it is working to combat homelessness in the city that we all love. It is a fantastic initiative from a fantastic club that cares.” With a fundraising target of £60,000, the 23 Supporters’ Club members will be setting off from Sligo Rovers Football Club on Saturday 17 June and will travel in convoy to Dublin before travelling back to England via ferry before they embark on the final 100 miles to Goodison Park on Sunday 18 June. The funds raised will be used to purchase and operate a house close to Goodison Park which will offer 16 to 23-year-olds who have fallen on hard times, or have perhaps fallen out of the care system, a place to stay in Liverpool. Fans not participating in the challenge can still get in the saddle and help raise money by logging their efforts online using the popular fitness app Strava. Visit evertonfc.com/cycle and check out the 'Your Cycling Challenges' and 'Track The Cyclists' sections.
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Post by Everton News. on Jun 15, 2017 12:57:35 GMT
'Thank You Doesn't Seem Enough'Unsworth salutes Sligo To Goodison team ahead of their journey this weekend. David Unsworth admitted saying ‘thank you’ isn’t enough to those Evertonians who are cycling from Sligo to Goodison Park this weekend. Following the success of the ‘We are Everton’ Sunderland to Goodison Supporters’ Club cycle challenge in 2013, the Supporters’ Club committee are back out to raise money for the ‘Home Is Where the Heart Is’ campaign. The cycle route has been determined by the group in respect of fans' favourite Seamus Coleman, with 23 Supporters’ Club members setting off from Sligo Rovers Football Club on Saturday and cycling in convoy to Dublin, before travelling back to England via ferry on Sunday, as they embark on the final 100 miles to Goodison Park. They hope to raise £60,000 – again in homage to Coleman and his bargain transfer fee to Everton from Sligo Rovers – and Unsworth said he was proud of the group for their exploits. “I’m amazed and absolutely in awe of the group of Evertonians who are doing this,” the Under-23s coach told evertonfc.com. “For them to take this on board off their own backs and to want to generate funds and awareness for our campaign is just incredible. “Sometimes Evertonians just never cease to amaze you. They are the most special set of fans I have ever met. For them to give not just money but time and effort is fantastic. I know how much training these guys have put it so to do it off their own back and support us is just incredible – ‘thank you’ just doesn’t seem to be enough. “I am going over to set them off. I’ll speak to the group on Friday night so I will be there at the start and also at the finish on Sunday. We will give them our whole support and I am very proud of them. “It will be tough and a hard couple of days, but I am sure when they cycle into Goodison Park on Sunday night and we have generated so much interest and money, it will be thoroughly worth it.” The ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ campaign has seen David Unsworth and his team work throughout the season to reach a fundraising target of £230,000 to fund and develop a supported living initiative for young people in Liverpool, delivered by Everton in the Community. The funds raised will be used to purchase, and operate, a house close to Goodison Park which will offer 16 to 23-year-olds who have fallen on hard times, or have perhaps fallen out of the care system, a place to stay in Liverpool. Plenty of events have regularly taken place across the last 12 months. Unsworth, along with his playing squad and coaching staff, joined 50 fans and Everton Business Club members for the Goodison Sleepout, sleeping in the Park End stand for a night. An EITC Golf Day also helped raise funds, while Unsworth took on Leon Osman and Peter Reid in the Ultimate Chef competition in April, while Everton Ladies dedicated their WSL Spring Series fixture against Watford to helping to promote the campaign. Everton FC
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Post by dorf on Jun 19, 2017 11:37:56 GMT
David Unsworth has hailed the efforts of 23 Evertonians who completed a 230-mile bike ride in just two days to raise nearly £40,000 for ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’, saying, “We’re all very proud of them”.The team of brave Blues set off from Sligo Rovers FC, the former stomping ground of Toffees right-back Seamus Coleman, at 6am on Saturday morning, cycling across Ireland, north Wales and Wirral without sleep before arriving back at Goodison Park just over 36 hours later. Donate HereTheir efforts have helped significantly boost the fundraising pot for the ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ campaign, which is aiming to raise £230,000 to fund and develop a supported living initiative for homeless young people in Liverpool, delivered by Everton in the Community. “It’s an incredible achievement,” said Unsworth, who set up ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ along with his Under-23s players last December. “They’ve only gone and done it on the hottest day of the year, as well, which is even better. The camaraderie, the feeling watching them all embrace at the end, it’s just fantastic and I’ve been round to every one of them and told them that we’re proud of them, and we are. Everton FC
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Post by Everton News. on Jun 19, 2017 14:42:33 GMT
Sligo to Goodison Cycle Challenge SuccessThe hottest weekend of the year has seen 23 members from Everton’s Supporters’ Club network complete the ‘Sligo to Goodison Cycle Challenge’, raising almost £40,000 in aid of ‘Home Is Where the Heart Is’.On Friday evening, the cycling party were joined by U23 manager David Unsworth and EitC Executive Chair Denise Barrett-Baxendale at their hotel in Sligo where they were given some words of encouragement for the challenge ahead and thanked for their hard work and commitment to the campaign and all enjoyed a pint of Guinness as a thank you from the Club! With temperatures soaring into the mid-20s on both days, the 23-strong group of brave Blues from officially-affiliated Supporters’ Clubs from across the country completed the gruelling 230-mile cycle challenge in just over 36 hours, starting out from The Showgrounds, home of Sligo Rovers, at 7am on Saturday morning and arriving back at Goodison Park in convoy at 7.45pm on Sunday evening. Departing from the club where Seamus Coleman made his name, the group cycled 130 miles across Ireland on Saturday, travelling through Leitrim Village, Coole and Trim before being welcomed into Dublin by their fellow Evertonians from the Irish Toffees Supporters Club where they rested up for a few hours before the 2am three-and-a-half-hour ferry journey back to Holyhead. Touching down on Welsh soil saw the cyclists again mount their bikes for the second leg of the journey which would see them cover the 107 miles back to Goodison Park, journeying through Bangor, Rhyl and Birkenhead before catching the last ferry of the day across to Liverpool and completing the final stretch of the challenge and being welcomed back to Goodison en masse by David Unsworth, Ian Snodin, friends and family and EitC staff and supporters. “It’s an incredible achievement,” said Unsworth, who set up ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ along with his Under-23 players last December. “They’ve only gone and done it on the hottest day of the year as well, which is even better. The camaraderie, the feeling of watching them all embrace at the end, it was just fantastic and I’ve been round to each and every one of them and told them that we’re proud of them.” “I’m blown away by the amount that they’ve raised so far, who would have a thought that this campaign would gather so much momentum so quickly and capture the hearts of so many? I’m in awe of all of these cyclists and the support team who have been with them this weekend. They’ve done a sterling job and it’s a fantastic effort from everybody. We’re so close to the finishing line of our overall target of £230,000 and I can’t thank this group enough for their tremendous efforts.” “I’m not surprised they did it, I knew they would and I knew the spirit they had on Friday night would get them through. They’re a great set of people, great Evertonians and we are all really, really proud of them.” Cyclist Tasha Roks added: “We got the ferry over the Mersey toward the end and it was amazing. Just seeing the skyline with Goodison in the background it suddenly hit you and it was like, ‘wow, we’ve actually done it. Coming back into Goodison at the end all together was just amazing and I got really emotional. “The support team were phenomenal and really kept us going. They were giving us constant updates along the way and really kept us going. There were times when I just wanted to stop but all the messages of support really helped to spur us on.” The fantastic efforts of the 23-strong group and support party saw them raise almost £40,000 for the campaign with the aim of developing a supported living initiative for young people in Liverpool, delivered by Everton in the Community. You can still donate to the cause by visiting HERE
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