The ultimate edition of one of the charity’s most popular events will take place on Friday 11 October 2024, and those looking to create lasting memories at the Grand Old Lady whilst raising awareness and funds for Everton in the Community’s ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ programme can register their place now.

The news comes following the Club’s announcement last month that the 2024/25 season will be its last at Goodison Park before moving to Bramley-Moore Dock, its new waterfront home.

A key date in Everton Football Club’s charitable arm’s fundraising calendar, it costs just £25 to secure a place and the charity is setting participants the challenge to raise £134 or more to mark the 134 years of Goodison Park.

The Goodison Sleepout has become synonymous amongst Everton in the Community supporters since it was first hosted eight years ago in a bid to combat youth homelessness and poverty across the Liverpool City Region.

The first edition in 2015 saw the event under the guise of a CEO Sleepout before former Everton Academy Director and Under-23s manager, David Unsworth led a campaign a year later to help Everton in the Community fund a dedicated programme which would support young people who are on the cusp of homelessness.

It saw the full Under-23s squad take part in the event in 2016, and their participation continued in the years that followed until 2019, where enough funds were raised to purchase a four-bedroom residential house which would allow Everton in the Community to launch the ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ programme that summer.

In 2020, Everton Women’s first team participated in the event for the first time, and the event continued in 2021, 2022 and 2023; each year raising money for the development and sustainability of the programme, which has helped to prevent 62 young people from falling into homelessness to date.

The residence has not only provided these at-risk young people with a safe space to stay, but also kept them on track through tailored outreach support, enabling them to find education, training and employment. Many of the residents – former and current – have gained key life skills, been given guidance to manage their finances, received help with mending fractured family relationships as well as support with their mental and physical wellbeing.

The final instalment of the Goodison Sleepout is set to be a sentimental evening filled with nostalgia as Everton in the Community and its sleepout supporters bid farewell to the Grand Old Lady.

Sarah Hunter, Fundraising Manager at Everton in the Community, said:

“This year’s Goodison Sleepout is certainly going to be an emotional one, marking the final time our supporters will be able to come together to celebrate one of the charity’s most significant fundraising events.

“The wonderful support we have received from the sleepout’s loyal following over the years has been truly overwhelming, and we hope they’ll all be joining us again in October – along with new faces – for what will be the last opportunity to take part at Goodison Park.”

Those wishing to experience the last opportunity to camp out in the stands of the Sir Philip Carter Park end can sign up here: https://evertonfc.tfaforms.net/1283.