Kind-hearted colleagues from PA Housing raised more than £2,000 after giving up their beds for a night in support of a campaign to help homeless people in Leicestershire.
Six charity champions from the social housing provider swapped their creature comforts for the concrete floors of Leicester City Football Club’s King Power Stadium as part of YMCA Leicestershire’s first ever Sleep Easy initiative.
Simon Hatchman, executive director of resources, Emma Macnish, director of people, Erica Myers, HR operations manager, Charlene Curtis, income team manager, Josh Ingram, internal recruiter, and Marco Cardoni, junior communications officer, joined 50 other fundraisers who participated in the event.
They smashed their original target to raise £250, collecting an impressive £2,281 in sponsorship.
All the money raised through the event will benefit local young people and adults who are experiencing homelessness, enabling YMCA Leicestershire to continue to run and, importantly, expand its vital services.
This includes providing safe supported housing for homeless young people aged 16-25, as well as mental health support, and personalised skills sessions to help them to move forward positively with their lives.
The charity also offers a safe and welcoming environment at YASC for rough sleepers of all ages, providing them with home comforts such as a cup of tea, breakfast and clean clothes, as well as advice on finding suitable accommodation and support for issues such as poor mental health, unemployment, and loneliness.
Emma Macnish, director of people at PA Housing, said: “The Sleep Easy event was an extremely humbling experience for all of us and one that will stay in our memories for a long time.
“Although we knew that giving up our beds for one night wouldn’t replicate the harsh reality experienced by people who sleep rough across the county, we really wanted to play a part in helping to improve the lives of those who face that challenge on a nightly basis.
“At PA Housing we are passionate about our community, so it was great to be able to extend our commitment to helping those in need beyond the working day and support the incredible work carried out by YMCA Leicestershire.”
Emma Knight, fundraising and communications manager at YMCA Leicestershire, added: “The PA Housing team showed great camaraderie sleeping outside at the stadium and generating an incredible level of donations, which will make a big difference to people experiencing homelessness.
“They genuinely care about their local community and we couldn’t have wished for a better bunch of people to help make our first ever Sleep Easy such a buzzing success.”
Since its launch in 2010, 7,000 people across the country have taken part in YMCA’s national Sleep Easy campaign, raising over £1.5 million to fund local YMCA services.
