By Aaron Cordy
HOMELESS rates continue to rise, affecting more people in the community than ever before. To help raise funds for the plight of people living rough is the ‘Sleep at the G’ or the ‘CEO Sleepout.’
But what of the growing number of local homeless people?
The Salvation Army North East Youth Services is holding its very own VIP Sleepout event, Under the Same Stars, this April, at the Deakin Reserve and they want everyone in the community to get involved. This is a fundraiser, with tickets for VIPs $199, general public $49, and 16–25-year-olds free.
“This is a first for us, but we know the appetite is there,” said Jim Gow, Youth Participation Worker at Salvation Army North East Youth Services.
“We are aware that people want to help but aren’t always sure how. This is a great opportunity to not only help, but to network with others and experience what many experience each and every single day. Think of it as a networking event with a purpose.”
100 per cent of the funds will go to supporting youth services locally.
“It’s important that the funds stay locally for us. Many fundraisers send money to different areas; however, this money is raised by locals to stay local.” said Mr Gow
In addition to ‘Under the Same Stars,’ a side event is also contributing to raising funds for youth homelessness. ‘100 Miles From Home’ is a fundraiser being held by local runners, including Peter Ralph of Ray Dobson Real Estate and Vic Bovalino of Vab Hairdressing. They will run 100 miles (161 km) back to Shepparton, ending at the sleepout event.
“We have run 100km events before and we wanted to take the next step when it came to distance running. This has been in our minds for a while, and why not raise funds for a worthy cause by doing it, everybody wins. My business, Ray Dobson Real Estate, is proud to be partnering for this event and assisting in the preparation for a really great cause,” said Ralph.
The event is on Wednesday, April 16, at 6pm at the Deakin Reserve, going all night until 6am the following morning. Tickets are available online for both CEO’s/ VIPs and the general public at https://www.trybooking.com/CXZLN.
This event is fully supervised and is a drug, alcohol, smoke and vape free event.
