The matchday photographs of the Everton squad are set to undergo a heart-warming change for Tuesday's visit of Newcastle United.
Portraits created by schoolchildren will replace in-match player graphics on the Goodison Park screens for the team announcement and substitutions for the whole squad - while the pictures will also be used in the official match programme.
Club partner USM invited Year 4 pupils from Linacre Primary School in Bootle to visit Finch Farm to take part in a drawing session - where they were surprised by first team stars Fabian Delph, Theo Walcott, Seamus Coleman and Jonas Lossl.
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The event was part of USM's Unlock The Potential campaign, in support of Everton in the Community's Tackling the Blues programme.
The latter aims to teach young people strategies for good mental and physical health, while also improving self-esteem and confidence - and has engaged more than 850 young people in the last three years.
Delivered collaboratively by Everton in the Community and Edge Hill University, and funded by The Premier League, Tackling the Blues is co-designed and developed with young people, student mentors and education workers who act as project collaborators, help recruit participants and deliver peer mentor workshops.
Michael Salla, Director of Health and Sport at Everton in the Community said: “In England, between 9 and 13% of 5-15-year-olds reported having a mental health disorder, with older young people reporting higher rates of mental illness. Suicide is the biggest killer of schoolchildren each year, with 200 on average taking their own lives.
“It is fantastic to see USM showing their support for Tackling the Blues. Programmes like this are vital in providing young people with tools and strategies that they can use as they get older to maintain good mental and physical health.
“It is also about removing stigma around mental health and making it clear that it is important to talk about mental health at any age, to ask for help and support when you need it, and ensuring that young people know where to find that support.
"The player portraits are a great way of sharing that message, and I am sure that the children will be delighted when they see their drawings on the big screen."
The four Everton first team stars who surprised the children for their drawing session also took part in a Q&A on topics including acceptance, self-esteem, diversity and respect.
The pupils have also been invited to attend Tuesday's clash with Newcastle at Goodison Park to see their portraits come to life across the stadium.
Club captain Coleman said: "We've come here to speak to the kids, they're drawing pictures of the lads and they're speaking about their feelings - and they had a few questions for the lads as well about if they had low feelings in the past or how do they deal with things.
"They're at the age now where it's important to be happy and enjoying life. Hopefully that can continue."
