Billy, a 14-year-old schoolboy from Leeds and one of our star fundraisers, has reached an incredible milestone – two years since he began camping in a tent in his garden to raise money for Emmaus.
He was inspired to sleep outdoors after getting a teepee for his birthday in June 2022, and hasn’t looked back since. Billy’s original mission was to sleep in a tent in his garden for 100 nights to raise £150. Several tents, one lawn and over 700 days later, he has managed to raise over £3,500 to take action on homelessness.
Despite smashing his fundraising target, Billy is determined to keep going to raise funds for Emmaus and beat the three-year sleepout record, currently held by ‘Boy in the Tent’ Max Woosey.
Asked about his experience so far, Billy said: “The most enjoyable experience is just knowing that I’m helping people.”
Explaining why he’s fundraising for Emmaus, Billy said: “I think Emmaus is just a really good charity for what they do and what they accomplish, because it’s not one time support, it’s continuous.”
Visit to Emmaus Leeds
In the run up to his two-year milestone, Billy was invited to Emmaus Leeds, one of more than 30 Emmaus communities and groups across the UK, for a tour and to meet the people the charity supports.
“Since I’ve been to Emmaus, it’s really helped to be able to see what I’ve done and who it’s helping and how it’s helping them,” he said.
“The quality of accommodation is high and it shows how people can be so supportive of people in need – it’s not all doom and gloom.”
Billy met one of the 850 formerly homeless people Emmaus supports across the UK (known as ‘companions’), Andy J. Andy J told Billy how he moved to Emmaus Leeds in 2021 after experiencing homelessness and getting support from other Emmaus communities across the UK.
“Andy told us about how he moved across from the country because of what was happening in his area, and what happened to all the homeless people there,” he said.
“The values of what I’m doing, and why, has changed slightly, because it used to be ‘oh, I’m just helping homeless people’. Now it’s changed from that to ‘I’m actually helping people to live a better life’.”
The visit also caught the attention of the BBC, which filmed and wrote a piece about Billy meeting Andy.
Yuen Chu, Fundraising Officer at Emmaus UK, said: “We would like to say well done and thank you again to Billy for completing his second year of his camp out challenge. He’s raised nearly £3,500 which is marvellous and has had donations from across Europe. Everyone has been inspired by what he’s doing.
“The donations made will go towards supporting people who have experienced homelessness by providing them with a home, individual support and work opportunities within a community setting, so we’d also like to thank everyone who has supported Billy so far.”
Billy also told us about the impressive facilities he saw at Emmaus Leeds during his tour. He said: “It was exciting to see how modern it is, because it’s not just a bed, a table and a chair, you know, there’s TVs, there’s an Xbox, devices and things.
“It’s not just old stuff, it’s fit for purpose.”
Asked if he will keep going beyond the three-year record, Billy said: “Yeah, definitely. If there’s still donations coming in once every so often, then I’d still keep on going.”