The team hope to raise £10,000 for St Basils, a charity that works with young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness across the Midlands. At any one time St Basils could have over 400 young people living in one of their 27 supported accommodation schemes and each year help over 4,000 break the cycle of homelessness by giving them the necessary skills and training.
The charity is striving to raise £750,000 this year to provide intensive support to their young residents for their Learning, Skills and Work service, which is an integral part of helping young people move on successfully.
Hundreds of people take part in the event, spending a cold night with nothing but a sleeping bag, cardboard and team spirit to keep them warm. Every year there is friendly competition to create the best cardboard accommodation. Never ones to turn down a challenge, the CEF team will be keeping busy and warm making their own cardboard creation. You will be able to catch up on how they did at CEF.co.uk/news after the event or follow #bigsleepout on social media.
Charles Beddows, managing director at CEF said: ‘Not many people would choose to spend a night sleeping outside in a Birmingham Car Park on a cold November night. We are doing this to raise much needed funds and support people who have to do this as a way of life.’
If you would like to make a donation you can do so at the CEF Just Giving page: justgiving.com/cefsleepout/, Or you can find out more about the charity at Stbasils.org.uk
