The Aspire Property Group gathered a team of colleagues to host their own Sleep Out for Centrepoint in Yorkshire. Hear from Emma as she describes the planning, preparation and how it panned out on the night.
Why did you choose to do a Sleep Out for Centrepoint?
Six of us decided to take part in Sleep Out. We work in property and one of our values is that we are family-focused, as our work involves managing generational wealth. Homelessness is at the other end of that scale, and so was something we wanted to get involved with.
Centrepoint have services here in Yorkshire so we can see the work you’re doing. We love to get involved with charity work, and our director is very influential online and has a large following, so we were able to make the most of that. We work in a corporate world so it’s lovely to give back.
Can you tell me a bit about the planning for your Sleep Out?
We looked at different venues and took into account safeguarding and health and safety. People were very nervous about anything that could be dangerous. Fortunately, a member of my family has farmland, so we picked a faraway corner of a field with no amenities. We took festival tents, built a small fire, and sat on the ground by our tents. We obviously had warm clothes.
We know it’s not about mimicking homelessness, it’s a way of raising awareness and it’s a fundraising event – making ourselves uncomfortable overnight to bring in that challenge element.
How did you fundraise for the Sleep Out?
We shared the JustGiving link internally with the rest of our work colleagues and on our social media. We did a countdown on our socials and got the media team involved with that which helped drum up support. We also shared it on our WhatsApp groups.
We made sure to take lots of pictures on the night and shared those, which kept people giving throughout the night. We shared a lot of the Centrepoint young people’s stories and explained, “this much could pay for…”, which showed the clear impact of our fundraising, so that people knew where their money would be going.
Most of the donations came in towards the event day and on the night itself, over £1,000! So yes, we kept sharing stories on Instagram and our Managing Director even did a livestream.
In the run up, my advice would be always post on payday!
How did it go on the night?
I arrived first, and it was silent. I felt lonely.
Once everyone had arrived, we took some time to reflect on why we were doing this. We had lots of discussions about social housing and asked ourselves why, in this country, anyone is homeless? It doesn’t seem right. We talked about the different things that could lead to homelessness and spoke about the political influences because of the nature of what we do.
We then did a mix of games and some of the Centrepoint activities and went to sleep. Someone snored, one girl didn’t sleep at all, some slept really well. The main thing I felt was the anxiety of not being in my own bed.
Do you have any top tips for someone considering holding their own Sleep Out?
- Don’t market it as mimicking homelessness, it's about raising awareness and fundraising.
- Be safe – don’t risk your safety.
- From a fundraising point of view, make the most of social media and use Centrepoint’s resources. Communicate the ‘what’ and ‘why’ and share, share, share!
- It’s ok to have some fun!
Want to take part in a Sleep Out?
Join a Centrepoint Sleep Out or host your own - challenge yourself for one night so no young person has to face homelessness alone.