Member Article

Gradvert team sleep out to raise money for the homeless in Newcastle

The Gradvert team are giving up their beds and sleeping out for one night, to raise funds to support the homeless and get them off the streets.

The event will be held at St James’ Park on March 21st and will be staged by CEO Sleepout, a homeless charity, with funds raised going directly to the homeless in Newcastle and Tyneside.

Michaela Reaney, Managing Director at Gradvert, said: “Giving up the comfort of your bed to help people who are marginalised and living in isolation is a humbling, valuable and memorable experience.

“The Gradvert team and I will be out there with our sleeping bags today, and we’d urge everyone to get behind this great cause.”

The overnight event, which begins at 8pm and finishes at 6am, will see people from a number of different businesses raising money for Changing Lives, who support vulnerable and homeless people right across the UK, and the Newcastle United Foundation, who use football to engage with the most marginalised young people across the North East to get their lives back on track.

Bianca Robinson, from CEO Sleepout, said: “Newcastle is the most compassionate city outside of London, where there is a real community feel with the people of the city really looking after their own.”

There are 100 people sleeping in St James’ Park tonight, with tens of thousands having already been raised for the cause, with even more expected to get donated during and after the event.

Hannah Lennox, Communications Coordinator at Gradvert, said: “The fact that the whole team are getting behind such a great cause, and doing something like this creates awareness for what rough sleepers have to go through.

“We’re in a position where we can give back, and the fact that it’s in a city close to all of our hearts, it was a no brainer to get involved.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hannah Lennox .