Stephen Naismith Lends the Homeless a Hand

Scottish forward Steven Naismith has not seen the pitch much this season but he is not letting that affect his holiday spirit. Last week Naismith sponsored the annual Loaves and Fishes event that provides Christmas dinner to the homeless in Glasgow. Also, this past Monday,for the fourth consecutive year, Naismith sponsored a Christmas lunch for the homeless in Liverpool with local charity, The Whitechapel Centre.

The player has a history of contributing to charity and lending a hand to those in need. Last year, he donated tickets to Everton home matches to the unemployed in Liverpool. He also sponsors the club that he first played for in Scotland, Stewarton Annick.

This is another of several stories about how Everton, the players and staff are giving back this holiday season. Earlier this week, the squad paid a visit to the Alder Hey Children's Hospital to hand out gifts and spend time with the young patients and their families.

The Scott called the experience in Glasgow "humbling and inspiring" noting that while he was with Rangers he had gone through a string of injuries and was not playing much. During that time he decided to get involved and give back to the community. He spoke with his family and friends and Loaves and Fishes was an organization that was mentioned often.

PHOTOS: Steven Naismith sponsors Christmas lunch for local homeless people at @WhitechapelLiv for fourth year. #EFC pic.twitter.com/awm5FjiOM1

— Everton (@Everton) December 15, 2015

Naismith's time in Merseyside may be coming to an end though as he seems to have lost his position in the first team. After appearing in the club's first nine Premier League matches, including scoring a hat trick against Chelsea, Naismith hasn't moved off the bench. His last action was in the 3-0 loss to Manchester United on October 17^th.

He has recently made comments his potential departure from the club in the January transfer window. Roberto Martinez has also confirmed the same, stating that he would not stand in the player's way if another team comes calling. Making this a likely scenario is the fact that Norwich City approached Everton with a transfer deadline-day bid for Naismith in the last window only to be turned down.

This week the manager addressed the player's situation:

"That's something we need to look into whenever that situation arises. It happened in August, it wasn't the right time. We're going to see how the next three or four weeks go."

"It's so important to have a strong squad. We've got a period of a lot of games in a short amount of days and every single player will have a very important role in those weeks...So I'm sure in four or five weeks we'll have a clear idea of where we are and it'll be the right time to make a decision."

"Steven is a very intelligent man, intelligent footballer, and I think he's got an incredible degree of confidence."

Regardless of what happens in the future, it's worth taking a moment to note this nice gesture by Naismith and also highlight his continued support of the under-served.

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