This Saturday 28 September, Coventry is once again playing host to a mass sponsored sleepout, raising funds to help raise funds for our homelessness charity.
The large-scale City SleepOut event, organised by Three Spires Round Table, will take place at Coventry & North Warwickshire Cricket Club on Binley Road. Proceeds will support Emmaus Coventry & Warwickshire.
More than 70 people have already signed up for the event and organisers are calling on more local people to sign up and join them.
City SleepOut Event Chairman Leigh Cunningham said: “Coventry Three Spires Round Table was very proud to have hosted the first City SleepOut in Coventry last year. It was amazing, raising £2,276 for the charity with a great deal of enthusiasm from everyone who took part. This year we want to raise as much money as possible. There are still places available so we’re encouraging people to come and experience how tough it is sleeping outside whilst raising funds to tackle homelessness along the way. It’s a great way to meet new people and gain a deeper understanding of the issue of homelessness.”
Emmaus Coventry & Warwickshire provides a home and meaningful work for 18 people who have experienced homelessness and social exclusion. Some stay for a while as they gain confidence and skills before they are ready to move on to independent living; others are in need of longer-term support and are able to stay for as long as they need to. Those being supported help to run social enterprises, including our second-hand furniture shop on Coventry’s Red Lane, to help fund the charity’s work.
City SleepOut participants will sleep under the stars from 7pm until 7am, with cardboard boxes provided for an authentic experience and hot soup available until midnight. Each participant will be given a City Sleepout scarf plus a hot breakfast in the morning.
Geraldine Tsakirakis, Emmaus Coventry & Warwickshire’s Community Director, said:
“It is sometimes hard to imagine what it feels like to sleep on the streets.
“With homelessness numbers continuing to rise, events such as the City Sleepout offer the chance to experience what it feels like to be out in the cold all night, with no place to call home.
Every penny raised will go towards our work in Coventry and Warwickshire, offering formerly homeless people a roof over their heads, as well as meaningful work.”
Registration is £20; to find out more and book your place visit www.citysleepout.org