To take young people from deprived areas of Liverpool to Glenbuck, the home of Bill Shankly, to play a football tournament
The Shankly Family Foundation have been engaging young people from some of the most deprived areas of Liverpool using football as a positive engagement tool. Many of these young people come from families that have been involved in crime and anti-social behaviour and have never had any positive direction in their lives. We are working with young people from areas such as Norris Green and Yew Tree that have been victim to gun and gang crime over many years.
We have forged links with Glenbuck Football Academy, a grass roots football organisation that has been created in Ayrshire in the area that Bill Shankly was born and raised. They are doing positive work with young people from the region to educate them as to the history and achievements of Bill Shankly and to use that as a catalyst for them to achieve as individuals.
The Foundation would like to take the young people engaged in the sessions in Liverpool, up to Glenbuck, for a weekend. They will play a tournament against teams from the Glenbuck and Ayrshire area. They will also be give a historical lesson in Bill Shankly and the area he came from, whilst engaging in fun positive activities such as taking them to the cinema,bowling and out to eat. They will travel to Scotland on the Friday night and stay Friday night and Saturday night, playing the tournament on Sunday and then travelling home late Sunday afternoon.
Many of these young people have never had the opportunity to even leave their local neighbourhood, let along the City or the country. They gave never had the opportunity to access structured positive activity with many of their families living hand to mouth. The trip is more than a football tournament, it is an opportunity for them to experience poitive activities in a safe structured way and for them to interact and learn vital social skills for the rest of their life.
The trip will receive publicity both locally in Liverpool media, but also in Scotland due to the Shankly name. The Shankly Family Foundation has alsready been supported by both local and national media and the story that the Shankly family will be returning to Glenbuck (Chris his Grandson is the Chair of the Foundation), with a charity in his name, to play a football match will be widely covered both locally and nationally.