Operation Christmas MagicJoie donates £4.5k worth of pushchairs to local community hubs
As part of Liverpool FC's annual Operation Christmas Magic campaign, Joie has donated £4,500 worth of pushchairs to five LFC Foundation community hubs to help support families and their communities over the festive period.
Operation Christmas Magic is the club’s annual campaign that supports its local communities, neighbours and fans through a range of Christmas-themed activities, with the aim of making a difference in areas of need during this festive period and beyond.
Families from LFC Foundation community hubs from across the Liverpool City Region – including Northwood Community Centre, Anfield Sports and Community Centre, The Green House Project Nursery (Tiber Football Centre), Brunswick Youth and Community Centre, and The Hive, Wirral Youth Zone – were invited to attend a festive ‘play and stay’ session at Anfield Sports and Community Centre.
The families enjoyed a festive welcome from club mascot Mighty Red, soft play, games and Christmas-themed craft activities.
Reds legend Phil Thompson also paid a special visit to the community hub and met with families and then presented the pushchairs on behalf of Joie.
“I am delighted to be able to make this presentation on behalf of Joie – an organisation that has been supporting the Liverpool community as an LFC partner for six years through a range of initiatives,” said Thompson.
“We know this time of year can be hard for families, especially at the moment, so it’s fantastic to see the LFC family come together as part of Operation Christmas Magic to spread some festive cheer.”
David Welsh, managing director at Joie, said: “At Joie, family is at the very heart of everything we do, so we are honoured to be able to support this amazing cause at what can be a difficult time of year for families in need.”
LFC Foundation currently has five community hubs located across Merseyside in some of the most deprived areas of the country.
- Anfield Sports and Community Centre, Anfield
- Tiber Football Centre, Toxteth
- The Brunswick Youth and Community Centre, Bootle
- Northwood Community Centre Association, Kirkby
- The Hive, Wirral Youth Zone, Birkenhead
LFC Foundation aims to create life-changing opportunities for young people and their families, and by having supporting community hubs it can reach thousands of individuals in their community setting.
In the last 12 months alone, LFC Foundation has supported more than 83,000 people, put £8 million directly into the local economy and contributed almost £25 million in health benefits.
Fans can also help support the club’s Operation Christmas Magic campaign this season:
Mission Christmas
To ensure no child across the Liverpool City Region wakes up on Christmas morning without a gift, LFC is once again lending its support to Radio City Cash for Kids’ Mission Christmas by donating 1,000 gifts.
Fans can support by donating new and unwrapped gifts and dropping them at collection points located at any official LFC store in Liverpool, Chester or Belfast. A text-to-donate option is also available, simply by texting CITY to 70910 to give £10 or 70920 to donate £20.
A dedicated LFC fundraising page is also available for fans who wish to make a cash donation online here.
North Liverpool Foodbank
For six years LFC has worked with and supported St Andrew’s Community Network – home of the North Liverpool Foodbank – on the ongoing issue of food poverty.
The club will host a festive food collection at its home fixture against Leicester City on December 30, encouraging fans and staff to donate essential food items to the Foodbank and Pantry Network across the Liverpool City Region.
Fans can also donate directly to the North Liverpool Foodbank by simply texting FOODBANKFC to 70460 to donate £5 or by visiting www.standrewslive.org.uk/donate.