June 2022: Daniel Calvert & Callum Kerrigan

Daniel and Callum were nominated for their commitment to their Onside sessions at school, with them taking an interest in teaching and often asking the LFC Foundation staff member to allow them to help with the delivery of the presentation to the rest of their group.

They were then tasked with prepare and delivering their own presentation on a topic that was important to them. They wanted to focus on knife crime as both boys had sadly experiences a loss to knife crime some months earlier. They focused on the impact it had through the eyes of a child, whilst exploring the direct and further impact on the community.

They both stated that ‘it is important for people to know about the issues and how it effects families.’ They delivered the presentation to a high standard showing dignity, compassion and sensitivity towards the topic. Furthermore, they committed and emotionally supported each other from the initial preparation and final delivery of the presentation.”

July 2022: Nicole Carruthers

Nicole was nominated for her participation in our Premier League Inspires programme, showing commitment to the sessions. The programme has taught her so many different skills which included, organisation, research, time management, working in a team and leadership. Nicole gave 100% commitment to the programme and demonstrated her leadership skills from day one.

She organised her team and ensured that deadlines were met and was pivotal in encouraging her team member to keep going when they came up against difficulties. Nicole has been inspired so much by the work of PL Inspires and has also made new friends during the project and continues to use the skills developed in her everyday life.

August 2022: Ste Hunt

Ste was nominated as he embodies LFC’s four core values in everything he does (Ambition, Commitment, Unity and Dignity).

He has been attending Kicks Inclusion sessions for many years and is the heart and soul of the sessions. He was very honoured to be given this award and will continue to inspire other for many more years to come!

September 2022: Rosie Smith

Rosie, part of our Foundation Youth Panel was nominated by Rob Harper, #iwill Social Action Co-ordinator and Youth Panel Leader at the LFC Foundation.

Rosie was selected as one of the 82 new #iwill Ambassadors from across the UK at the end of 2022. She was chosen due to her commitment to youth social action, evident in her continued hard work within the LFC Foundations Youth Panel. She has been an integral part of all the fantastic social action projects the team have completed over the last few years, and we’re excited to see what she does in the future.

October 2022: Amelia Jones

Rachael, a LFC Foundation Youth Support Work Apprentice who works at Speke Adventure Playground nominated Amelia for a Champion of the Month award due to her commitment in a most recent UK wide art project called ‘The World Reimagined.’

Young people from Speke Adventure Playground were involved in the art project and it involved empowering community groups working with young people to create a future where racial justice is better understood by learning about the transatlantic slave trade.

Amelia deserves to be recognised for her commitment to the project – she is only 8 and on the night of the launch, she made friends with staff who worked for Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotherham and other important people in Liverpool. She had the confidence to explain to people politely and confidently how they had made their globes, the ideas and meaning behind the project and why it is important that young people are involved in projects like this.

November 2022: Millie Wick

Millie was nominated for her participation in the Foundation Game On programme and a participant at our Player Development programme.

Millie is a particularly gifted young athlete and has always had an appetite for sport. Since attending the Game On sessions, Millie has since signed up and regularly attends the LFC Foundation Player Development sessions weekly and utilises the transferrable skills from Game On to take her football progression to another level. She has since been invited to trials at LFC Girls Academy too and also been accepted into the Liverpool School Girls Squad, representing Liverpool nationally.

December 2022: Lauren Copeland

Lauren was nominated by #iwill coordinator Jake McGovern for making a huge difference to her local community.

Lauren is part of the Hive Youth Zone’s Senior Volunteer Group. After completing a social action project in 2021 with the Hive on mental health, Lauren jumped at the opportunity to not just participate in another project with #iWill but also to volunteer for the junior group every Wednesday evening as well as her great work on Thursdays. She even took the lead to organise an event for refugees at the Hive at the end of 2022.

She has given her whole senior group inspiration and is also a massive role model to the junior group at the Hive having currently fundraised over £100 for her current fundraiser for Hearts for Refugees.’

January 2023: Delilah Williams

Delilah was nominated by our Premier League Primary Stars Co-Ordinator Scott Hoather for being an inspiration to other children whilst taking part in our programme.

Through Delilah’s time on the programme, Scott and the team have learnt that children have such a massive impact on their peers. It’s vital that we recognise this and help them to utilise their power to motivate, support and challenge their friends and classmates to strive for success.

Delilah’s commitment to the Primary Stars programme, after school clubs, supporting her classmates and representing LFC on national television will hopefully inspire children near and far. She has allowed other LFC Foundation coaches to see the importance of using children to support one another.

February 2023: Gracie May Clark

Gracie May was nominated by one of our School & Youth Intervention Co-ordinators, for the huge difference in her confidence and outlook in life across the 12 weeks of working on our Onside Programme.

Gracie May is a 14-year-old female student at Formby High School and is currently in Year 10. She suffers with anxiety and is currently being tested for ADHD. Gracie is generally a very happy and pleasant young girl. She has a wonderful sense of humour and a pleasure to be around. Gracie has adapted well to the 12-week Onside Programme and has tackled her anxiety head on by taking part in the course and meeting new people in her group. Gracie is very enthusiastic and has the ability to ‘lift’ every learner in the group, even when the activities are not what the whole group want to do. Gracie has faced some family hardships over the past year but despite this, she continues to fully engage and maintain a great relationship with her peers and teachers in school.

She reinforces the Club’s values, showing dignity in the face of adversity, commitment to the programme, ambition to do well in school, and unity by working together to bring the best out of everyone. Gracie is an inspiration, to staff and students alike.

March 2023: Oliver McWatt

Oliver McOwat was nominated for his great ambition and wonderful personality during the MOVE programme.

Oliver has cystic fibrosis (CF) and was referred to the MOVE programme in August 2021 but was reserved about taking part in the physical activity sessions which help to manage the condition.

Our team spoke to Oliver's mum again in November 2022 and encouraged them to try a session and see how he found it. He has now taken part in over 7 sessions on a 1-1 basis and is thriving and enjoying them. Since starting the programme he's also joined a martial arts club close to his home, been walking to and from school more often to increase his activity and also put his name forward for the school football team. All of these activities are beneficial in helping to manage his health condition as well as giving him a positive mentality towards physical activity.

April 2023: Josh Redman

Josh was nominated for his great commitment and personality during the Kicks Targeted programme.

Since starting his 1-2-1s, Josh has clearly demonstrated such a positive change, both whilst in school and at home. He has struggled in many areas, but has started to address his behaviours and has realised he can achieve many things when he applies himself in a positive manner.

Due to Josh completing his time in high school and believing in himself, as well as behaving in an acceptable way, Josh has also now secured a place at Southport College, where he will be studying Construction. For the Foundation, this clearly shows that the 1-2-1 engagement given to Josh has had a huge difference and can actually help them turn lives around and look forward to a positive future. Without the support from the Kicks Targeted team and the LFC Foundation, life for Josh would be so different. Josh does have a bright future ahead of him, should he continue making positive steps in the right direction as he has clearly demonstrated how a young person can get back on track and create a better future for themselves.

Good Luck to all of the nominees - you should be so proud of yourselves