A day to inspire, resource and celebrate

The Steve Morgan Foundation 2024 Conference & Awards was held on Monday 22^nd April at Carden Park Hotel in Cheshire, where we awarded more than £100,000 to local charities. The event brought together more than 160 people from within the Foundation’s family of charities in a day to inspire, resource and celebrate.

With inspirational keynote speeches, a live interview with Steve Morgan and a series of collaborative workshops, the day culminated with the prestigious awards to celebrate the incredible work of the organisations and people supported by The Steve Morgan Foundation, recognising the valuable contribution they make towards changing lives for good.

Hosted by award-winning journalist, Chris Maguire, the day got underway with a conference designed to offer support, advice and share best practice through a series of workshops covering a range of topics from planning for organisational growth to rediscovering the value of community. The workshops were interspersed with speeches from inspiring guest speakers including Matt Parish, CEO of Liverpool FC Foundation, Andy Cook, Chief Executive of Centre of Social Justice and professional yachtsman and three times World Record holder, Jack Trigger.

Q&A with Steve Morgan on stage at SMF conference and awards 2024

Liam Eaglestone, CEO of The Steve Morgan Foundation, said:

“The Steve Morgan Foundation 2024 Conference and Awards not only honours and celebrates the fantastic achievements of the organisations and people within our family of charities, but also provides an opportunity to recognise and share some wonderful best practice in our region as well as learn from and inspire one another. This year we are continuing that learning with follow-on communities, kindly hosted by the leaders of our Associate Charities, promoting peer-led discussion and reflection to support each other in the work we are doing.”

The day ended on a celebratory note with the Awards presentations. This year, prize money was awarded for outstanding service delivery and commitment across eight award categories. The winning charity of each award received £10,000 with a further £2,000 awarded to the remaining two category finalists. The winner of a discretionary award, chosen by Steve himself, was also unveiled during the awards presentations.

Commenting on the award entries, our Founder and Chairman, Steve Morgan, said:

“It was fantastic to read about all the amazing work that is being done for our communities within our family of charities and every entry we received was worthy of recognition. The standard of entries to this year’s awards has been extremely high and it was certainly no easy task to select the finalists and winners from over a hundred entries.”

Unlike other awards, the ethos behind our event is to bring charities together to foster collaboration rather than competition and to recognise and celebrate all of their incredible achievements in making a positive difference to people’s lives.

Having undergone intense scrutiny by the judging panel consisting of the Trustees of the Foundation, Steve and Sally Morgan, Vincent Fairclough, Rhiannon Walker OBE, Ashley Lewis, Jane Harris and Brian Clark, all of whom have first-hand knowledge of the charities having worked closely with them, three finalists were agreed on for each of the categories.

The winners of the Steve Morgan Foundation 2024 Awards

Charity Leader of the Year was awarded to Kathy Wright who is Centre Head at Maggie’s Wirral. Maggie’s delivers support, help and advice for families who are affected by cancer. The centre offers a warm, safe environment for people to talk, connect and seek refuge. Kathy is a true ambassador for Maggie’s, embodying their values with kindness, with integrity, with each other and with courage in every aspect of her work. Her extraordinary leadership, compassionate nature, and exceptional commitment to Maggie’s Wirral have undoubtedly maximised the impact Maggie’s Wirral has been able to make in recent years. Kathy leads by example, never more apparent than when she took part in last year’s triathlon.

Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Ben Meadows of Cerebral Palsy United Football Club. Ben began to volunteer at the age of fourteen in the Club’s ‘Our Futures’ program, remaining behind after his own training session, to work with and support the sessions of his younger club mates. He is now 23 and is a lead coach at the Liverpool centre. Over the last 18 months Ben has gone above and beyond his coaching duties and has become a mentor to ten student physiotherapists from LJM university.

Young Volunteer of the Year was scooped up by Rebecca Clark of Pure Insight. Rebecca is a member of the Experts by Experience group and has helped to design and deliver ‘through our eyes’ training to new volunteers, team members and other professionals and decision makers supporting care leavers. Rebecca also regularly sits on interview panels helping to recruit the right team and volunteers.

Collecting Best Small/Medium Charity or Social Enterprise (t/o less than £1m) was Breckfield & North Everton Neighbourhood Council. Breckfield and North Everton Neighbouring Council has a small team of dedicated staff and community volunteers and provides its residents in Everton and Anfield with information, advice, support, training, community events and access to resources.

Best Large Charity or Social Enterprise (t/o more than £1m) went to End Furniture Poverty. End Furniture Poverty was created nine years ago to raise awareness of furniture poverty and to work with partners to develop scaled solutions. End Furniture Poverty supports social landlords to create furniture schemes for tenants and with the support of the Steve Morgan Foundation recently launched Time for Bed, a fundraising appeal giving away free beds to children across Merseyside.

Scooping the Disruptor for Good award was Everton in the Community. Everton in the Community (EitC) is the charitable arm of Everton Football Club and is one of the UK’s top sporting charities. EitC is considered to be one of the Premier League’s leading community schemes due to the quality and reach of its programmes which seek to transform lives and create positive change.

Partnership of the Year award was picked up by Right to Succeed. Right to Succeed supports communities in areas of high deprivation, aiming to give children and young people the best start in life by bringing together residents, professionals and decision-makers to co-design long-term, sustainable programmes that are bespoke to the needs of the local community. They received this award for the delivery of the Cradle to Career programme in partnership with over 100 organisations.

And finally, taking the accolade of the discretionary Outstanding Contribution award was the Foundation’s own Jane Harris. Jane has been the driving force behind the Foundation for a number of years and is now a Trustee. Steve Morgan personally selected Jane as the winner due to her unwavering commitment, not only to the Steve Morgan Foundation, but also to the charities and organisations we support.

Steve added:

“This award was created to recognise the individual that I felt had gone the extra mile in the contribution they make towards their charity. It was a difficult decision as there were several worthy winners, but I was delighted to present the award to Jane, who has been instrumental to the development of the Steve Morgan Foundation over the last 17 years. As well as her outstanding contribution while working for the Foundation, Jane remains passionately involved as a Trustee in supporting our charities and helping us deliver philanthropy at its best.”

View the full list of finalists here.

2024 Conference and Awards image gallery

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-335

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-100

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-412

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-424

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-434

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-450

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-203

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-144

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-114

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-226

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-195

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-130

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-347

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-353

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-125

Carden-Park-Lindy-Rogers-Photography-267

Introducing the EitC and SMF Ambassadors

We are delighted to announce that Everton first team stars James Tarkowski and Courtney Brosnan and former Blues player Leon Osman have joined forces with Everton in the Community and the Steve Morgan Foundation to become official Ambassadors of our strategic partnership, championing the Steve Morgan Community Impact Model.

The Steve Morgan Foundation has been working with the charitable arm of Everton Football Club since 2020, delivering the ‘Steve Morgan Community Impact Model’ in Speke-Garston to protect young people from exploitation and inspire them to reach their full potential. In July 2023, the Foundation awarded additional funding to extend the Impact Model to Liverpool 4 and South Sefton – with both communities also facing a number of socio-economic challenges that severely hinder educational achievements. The trio of new ambassadors will work to support this delivery and visit sessions during the course of the season.

Made possible thanks to the funding received from Steve Morgan Foundation, Everton in the Community’s delivery of the Impact Model has significantly enhanced the lives of more than 13,500 young people in Speke-Garston and contributed to wider school and community changes, including improved literary scores and declining anti-social behaviour trends in an area where 40% of young people aged 16+ have no qualifications and 40% of children live in poverty. The new funding for Liverpool 4 and South Sefton has seen the charity commence targeted interventions in identified high schools and primary schools, with the aim of replicating the positive impact achieved in Speke-Garston.

As EitC and Steve Morgan Foundation Ambassadors, Tarkowski, Brosnan and Osman will help raise awareness of the Impact Model and the remarkable impact it has had on South Liverpool, L4 and South Sefton. Their role will also see them visit Steve Morgan Foundation-funded sessions and witness the beneficial effects that the charity’s delivery has had on the lives of thousands of young people across Liverpool City Region.

Comments from our new ambassadors

Toffees defender Tarkowski: “It’s always a pleasure to support Everton in the Community’s work, and I’ve seen first-hand the impact of their delivery of the Steve Morgan Community Impact Model in raising children’s self-esteem when I visited a local secondary school last year. It’s a fantastic programme that’s truly making a positive difference to the lives of many young people across Liverpool and it’s an honour to endorse it.”

Everton Women goalkeeper Brosnan: “I’ve had the privilege of attending a number of the charity’s sessions over the years and meeting the participants who benefit from its work. It’s clear to see that the Steve Morgan Community Impact Model has been instrumental in tackling the many barriers facing young people within the local community, so it’s a great opportunity to be able to support the programme and I look forward to visiting one of the sessions.”

Former Blues stalwart Leon Osman: “I’m proud to be able to represent both Everton in the Community and the Steve Morgan Foundation in this ambassadorial role. The work the charity has achieved in raising the aspirations of young people within the most deprived communities across the city is astounding and it’s a pleasure to be able to help promote its significant impact even further.”

Changing lives for good

Liam Eaglestone, CEO of the Steve Morgan Foundation added: “We are delighted that the Steve Morgan Impact Model is having such a significant effect on the lives of so many young people in our region. Along with our commitment to provide long-term secure funding for our partnership with Everton in the Community, we will also continue to provide practical support and expertise to keep driving positive change.

“With the additional support of our new ambassadors championing the Impact Model, we’re looking forward to changing more young lives for good.”

Sue Gregory, Chief Executive Officer at Everton in the Community stated: “We’re thrilled to welcome James, Courtney and Leon onboard as our first ever EitC and Steve Morgan Foundation Ambassadors. It’s fantastic to get their backing in reinforcing the objectives of our Impact Model as well as the significant value it has had and continues to have on the lives of so many young people in the most deprived communities across the city region.

“Our vision is to keep creating positive systematic change in South Liverpool, L4 and South Sefton, and with the support of these fantastic role models, this will help to further enforce that messaging and promote our partnership with the Steve Morgan Foundation far and wide.”

Steve Morgan Foundation donates 100th minibus

The Steve Morgan Foundation has been providing grants for minibuses and specialised transport since 2006 and has reached a milestone donation of its 100^th minibus.

The 100^th minibus has been awarded to Walton Youth and Community Project and was proudly presented to the charity by the Foundation’s founder Steve Morgan.

Our grant funding covers both standard and wheelchair accessible minibuses for beneficiaries such as SEN schools, charities and community transport organisations. We also fund other essential transport vehicles including blood bikes and vans. The first minibus in our fleet was awarded to The Barstondale Centre in March 2006 and, almost exactly 18 years on, we are delighted to be giving away our 100^th minibus, complete with branding.

About Walton Youth and Community Project

Walton Youth was founded in 1960 as a centre to engage with young people and families from the local area and wider community of Walton in North Liverpool. Their mission is to provide a bustling hub of community activity involving people of all ages. They adopt a ‘grassroots’ approach to encourage meaningful relationships, increase opportunities and aspirations, provide an inclusive service and enable active participation.

The charity offers a localised needs-led provision that evolves in the reflection of community needs and is accessible five days a week, covering evenings, nights and weekends to provide support when it’s needed the most by its users.

Walton Youth and Community Project applied for our minibus grant to replace their ailing 15-year-old bus, which was proving too costly to keep on the road and was impacting on the charity’s funds.

The new minibus will allow the charity to continue offering enrichment activities and day trips as well as provide its daily services of delivering food parcels and activity packs to the vulnerable, unwell and young carers. It will also provide the transport for taking members to health appointments, job interviews, educational events and shopping trips for those who struggle to access the shops on their own.

On receiving the 100^th minibus, Darren Simpson, Youth and Community Manager at the charity said:

“We are immensely grateful for the generous donation of the 100^th minibus to our project. It is an indispensable resource that will enable us to continue our mission of Changing Lives for the Better and will have a significant impact on our ability to offer a more comprehensive approach to youth and community provision.

The bus will allow our community to experience new things and explore the world beyond the borders of Liverpool. We cannot thank The Steve Morgan Foundation enough for their support.”