Held on the Greenwich Peninsula in London, the fundraiser gave people an opportunity to swap their bed for a sleeping bag for the night, providing insight into the challenges faced by those sleeping rough.
Event organiser and registered charity Centrepoint has been a leading youth homelessness charity for over 45 years, providing homes and support services to young people in London, Manchester, Yorkshire, and the North East.
Head of HR at SBSUK, Sarah Coates comments: “At Sharp, our CSR steering group and CSR Champions ensure that we put our all behind our chosen charities, and one of our central CSR policies is to enrich young lives, that’s why this year Sharp is very excited to be supporting Centrepoint nationally. Our CSR Champions are organising for staff to attend each of the organisations Sleep Outs to really maximise the partnership.
“This event was very different for our staff, but it was an important way of shedding some light on what homeless people actually go through.”
Over 103,000 people asked for help out of homelessness from their councils last year, so Centrepoint’s work has never been so important or relevant.
Part of SBSUK’s CSR steering group, Thomas Gibson says: “The London Sleep Out was a great success, we held a local fundraising day at our Stockley head office on the day of the Sleep Out to give participants a final push and raise awareness.”
The day included a ‘dress down’ initiative, and a ‘Big Broth’ soup prepared by catering company Blue Apple, which raised an additional £140 for Centrepoint.
Sarah Coates continues: “I am so proud of everyone that got behind this event. Homelessness is still one of the biggest tragedies happening right now in developed countries like the UK!”
The money raised will be used by Centrepoint for counselling sessions to help a young person overcome a traumatic past, put on healthy living workshops to teach them how to take care of themselves, or provide lessons so that they can learn functional skills needed for work or education.
For more information about youth homelessness, or to see how you can get involved, take a look at the Centrepoint website here:https://centrepoint.org.uk
