On Friday 15th November, 14 students and 3 staff members braved the cold by sleeping outside for the night to raise fundraise and raise awareness for two local charities supporting homeless and vulnerable people in Leeds - St George's Crypt and Homeless Street Angels.
The night began with talks from both charities. These were extremely moving and showed the staff and students exactly how important this work is. The honesty and vulnerability that the visitors showed, sharing the story of how and why they became homeless, and how it made them feel was deeply insightful and made what our staff and students were doing even more worth it.
Karen Elden, Community Fundraiser at St George's Crypt said, 'I just wanted to pass on my sincerest thanks to all involved in the organising and participation of the sleepout fundraiser. Caroline, Stewart, Jules and I all really appreciate the opportunity we had to share a little about the good work that's done at the Crypt to support the homeless and vulnerable in Leeds'.
After having some pizzas everyone wrapped up warm, ready for the cold November night, and made their 'beds' with just cardboard and a sleeping bag. Fortunately, the weather stayed dry but it was a windy night.
Alice Ainsworth, Assistant Marketing Manager and organiser of the event said 'I was fortunate enough to be able to tour St George's Crypt and visit Homeless Street Angels prior to the sleepout, which helped me to recognise the fantastic work that they do, and gave me so much more motivation to try and make a difference, whether that be fundraising or student awareness. The talks for me were definitely the highlight and made me reflect a lot on the night ahead and how easy it is to become homeless'.
So far we have raised £750 online alone, and you can donate to St George's Crypt and Homeless Street Angels here.
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