Liverpool youngster Ben Woodburn has helped launch an appeal which aims to raise money for disadvantaged adults and children across the North West and North Wales.
The forward, who is currently on a season-long loan with League One side Oxford, has teamed up with former Reds team-mate Danny Ward, local charity the Emily Ffion Trust and Chester restaurant Hickory’s Smokehouse. The appeal will raise funds for children’s charity Cash 4 Kids, which is proving vital support to families and vulnerable individuals during the coronavirus crisis.
Woodburn grew up in the Cheshire village of Tattenhall, and in November 2016 became the youngest goalscorer in Liverpool’s history, netting against Leeds in the League Cup aged just 17 years and 45 days.
Now 20, he has made a total of 11 first-team appearances for the Reds. He spent the first half of last season on loan at Sheffield United before joining Oxford last summer on a season-long deal. There, he made 11 appearances before suffering a broken foot which has kept him sidelined since October.
Fellow Welsh international Ward, meanwhile, joined Liverpool from Wrexham in 2012 and spent six years at the club, making three senior appearances before joining Leicester in a £12 million deal in July 2018.
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The pair are involved closely with the Emily Ffion Trust, a charity set up in honour of the niece of former Crewe midfielder Dave Brammer, who now acts as the pair’s agent.
The trust was founded in 2013, and has since raised thousands of pounds to support medical research and fund equipment to treat Bronchiolitis, and to help families cope with bereavement and childhood loss.
“Players had been called out a bit in terms of being told they should be doing this, that and the other but as well as being involved in the 'Players Together' fund, Ben and Danny were aware that they should do something personal as well which they wanted to do," Brammer said.
“Along with a friend of mine who owns the Hickory's Smokehouse chain of restaurants and The Emily Ffion Trust, we decided to do something together. Ben and Danny are putting some money in themselves and hopefully through various channels we can get the word out.
“There are that many people trying to do stuff but if you can help a little bit, it's great.”
The money raised by Woodburn and Co. will be used to aid family centres in Liverpool and on the Wirral, and an Emergency Women & Family Hostel in Chester, where women and children have been forced to leave their family home due to domestic abuse.
The money will also help a number of families across the North West who have lost loved ones to Covid-19, including the four children of a 31-year-old man who died suddenly from the virus earlier this month.
It will fund basic essentials such as food and drink, everyday items like toothpaste & soap, providing electricity and helping with rent payments. Pencils, paper, books and colouring books will also be purchased to help keep children occupied during lockdown, while Hickory’s, who have been involved with Cash 4 Kids for the last five years, have pledged to provide at least 1000 meals for those in need.
To donate to the Cash 4 Kids appeal, please visit this link.