Volunteers brave the cold at St Basils Big Sleepout
After a hugely successful event last year, St Basils returned to Millennium Point on Friday 25th November to host their annual big sleepout. The event took place in our Cinema Square car park and was once again successful at raising funds to help end youth homelessness.
The St Basils Big Sleepout is the oldest, longest running event of its kind. It’s one of St Basils most popular events among their community, with volunteers challenged with sleeping out in the cold during winter to understand the difficulties that homeless people go through on a daily basis.
How St Basils are doing their bit to beat homelessness
St Basils work with young people ages 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, to enable them to find and keep a home, grow their confidence, develop their skills, increase opportunities, and prevent homelessness.
This year St Basils announced the annual event had amazingly raised £62,000 and funds are still coming in.
A community united
It was fantastic to see so many organisations braving the cold and taking part in the event, 400 individuals settled in for the night in cardboard boxes all to raise funds for the good cause. Throughout the night volunteers took part in the much loved Creative Cardboard Competition for the best dwelling, with a prize given to the lucky winner. The cardboard boxes were provided by Schumacher, who have been providing packaging for the sleepout for over 15 years.
Much needed warmth was delivered with free vegan curry and hot drinks provided by the Langar Aid project.
Fundraisers were also entertained during the night by The Band of the West Midlands Fire Services to keep spirits high on a very cold evening.
Couldn’t make it to the sleepout? You can still make a difference
It costs £5 a day to support a young person and keep them at a St Basils project. Supporters can make a one-off donation here. Help change a young person’s life for the better today.
