Member Article

Byte Night Confirms Date for 2012 Sleep Out

Byte Night, the IT industry’s annual sleep out in support of Action for Children, has announced that Byte Night 2012 will be taking place on Friday 5th October. The launch of this year’s event will be held at the Reading offices of BDO, at 20 - 30 Kings Road, from 6pm till 8pm on 10th May. The launch event will offer new recruits and veteran sleepers alike the opportunity to hear from Action for Children, Byte Night’s selected charity, about how the money raised will be used to help vulnerable youths across the UK. It will also provide attendees with hints and tips on fundraising, as well as an overview of what to expect on the night and the chance to meet and greet others that are involved with the charity event.

This year’s Byte Night will begin at the Apex Plaza, Reading, for meet and greet and will continue onto Forbury Gardens, Reading, for the big sleep. Last year’s event was the most successful Byte Night to date, raising over £750,000 across the UK, an increase of £180,000 compared to the previous year. The sleep outs took place in four separate locations: Edinburgh, Cambridge, London and Reading. More than 800 sleepers participated in the event throughout the UK, with 125 taking part in the 2011 Thames Valley Byte Night alone, which took place in Forbury Gardens in Reading. Since Byte Night started fourteen years ago the event has raised more than £4 million and the goal by fifteen years is to raise £5 million.

Byte Night raises vital funds for Action for Children to help tackle the root causes of youth homelessness. At least 75,000 children and young people experience homelessness each year, and of those, 1 in 3 will attempt suicide and 1 in 7 will be physically or sexually assaulted. But solving youth homelessness is about more than taking people off the streets. Action for Children works to prevent youth homelessness through early intervention by ensuring that young people across the UK are given the support they need before it’s too late. With your support Action for Children can help thousands more young people to build better lives by providing essential support, accommodation, education and training.

Sally Hanson, Chair of the Thames Valley Byte Night Board, comments: ‘I’m really looking forward to the sleep out again this year, to know that we are helping such a fantastic cause and that we are making a difference to children’s lives is a great feeling. We raised an outstanding amount last year and we’re hoping to raise even more this year. Byte Night welcomes all Thames Valley Businesses to give up their bed for one night to support the cause and help to raise money. We’re currently recruiting new board members and sleepers and we want to make people aware that anyone is welcome to join the cause.“

Find out more about the ways you can get involved and raise money to support action for children and to make awareness and support the cause on www.bytenight.org.

To find out more about Byte Night 2012 over the coming months or to register visit: www.bytenight.org. For additional queries or to discuss ways in which you can support Byte Night please contact Helen Beasley on 0118 900 1133 or email helen@c8consulting.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Byte Night 2012 .