LFC sprinkles Christmas magic on its local communities

The club is continuing its huge community response to the COVID-19 pandemic by today launching ‘Operation Christmas Magic’ - a campaign which is focused on supporting local people in need.

The campaign is specifically aimed at tackling food poverty and social isolation during the build-up to Christmas.

Anfield chefs will produce 1,000 free meals every week throughout December for the community, which takes the total to more than 30,000 free meals since April this year.

The club’s retail stores have also stepped in and are donating 1,000 LFC gifts to Radio City’s ‘Cash for Kids’ toy appeal so local children can wake up on Christmas morning with a present.

LFC’s Red Neighbours team will donate and deliver 1,500 Christmas food hampers to local residents in Anfield and Kirkby. The hampers will include fresh food to prepare a turkey roast dinner and a host of festive treats. Club partners Quorn, Cadbury, AXA, Joie, Lavazza and NH Foods are also supporting the Christmas food hampers to ensure they have that extra special touch.

Cadbury will also be teaming up with Red Neighbours and LFC Foundation as part of its ‘Secret Santa’ campaign.

Billy Hogan, chief executive officer of Liverpool FC, said: “Since this dreadful pandemic began, we immediately adapted our support for the local community, particularly for those who are faced with food poverty and social isolation.

“We now want to extend that even further and we have all corners of the club backing our campaign to support local families in the run-up to Christmas, which we know can be a difficult time for a lot of people.

“We hope that the thousands of free meals donated throughout December and our first ever virtual Christmas events will go some way to helping people feel like they’re not alone this Christmas.”

LFC will bring the festivities home to its communities by hosting a range of virtual events, including the first team’s annual visit to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, a first virtual community Christmas carol service with star guests, and a free community winter wonderland family event hosted by LFC Foundation.

If you would like to show your support, you can donate to Radio City’s ‘Cash for Kids’ campaign here.

Fans can also support by donating new and unwrapped gifts and dropping them off at collection points located at any Liverpool FC Store in Liverpool or Chester. Alternatively, you can text the word CITY to 70910 to donate £10, or CITY to 70920 to donate £20.   

Christmas can be a difficult time for many people. If you or someone you know needs specialist support, please contact:

Age UK - 0800 678 1602
Samaritans - 116 123
MIND - www.mind.org.uk
Childline - 0800 1111