Everton FC boss Rafa Benitez and wife Monste donate caravan in north Wales to bereaved children

Football manager Rafa Benitez and his wife Montse hope a holiday home can help change the lives of bereaved and deprived children.

The Catholic couple are patrons of the Liverpool-based OLLY (Our Lost Love Years) Foundation and have presented the charity with a static caravan to use for holidays.

The Everton boss said the caravan, on the Lyons Robin Hood Park in Rhyl, would create “good memories” for the children who in many cases live in poverty and have never been on holiday.

“They will have fresh air, and the enjoyment of being in a safe environment as well,” added Montse.

Montse, who runs the Montse Benitez Foundation, said in an interview with the BBC: “Something like this can change the life of people – it gives hope that there is a better life out there and that people care.

“The main thing is to be sure that we help the people in the community in Merseyside, the local people. You can see what you are doing, and you can see the benefits of what you are trying to do. the OLLY foundation are doing a great job and we want to support that,” said Rafa.

“We try to donate, help and do something. You can see the smiles on the faces of the children. That is the idea of the caravan, it was to help them to have holidays and remember them.”

“For me, children deserve everything,” said Montse, “and we always thought that it’s good to share fortune in life.”

OLLY Founder Jean Taylor, from Greasby on the Wirral, set up the charity following the tragic murder her daughter, Chantel Taylor, a 27-year-old mum-of-three from Birkenhead, in 2004.

It was after this devastating event that Jean’s grandson Joseph asked his nan for a place where children who have experienced similar circumstances could come together.

The charity, based in Liverpool city centre, now has more than 700 children using its services.

OLLY (Our Lost Love Years) Foundation, Liverpool: https://ourlostloveyears.co.uk

Montse Venitez Foundation: http://www.rafabenitez.com/mbfoundation/

Reporting by BBC Wales, and Joseph Kelly at www.thecatholicnetwork.co.uk