Last week, consultant Paul Magee took part inThe Big Sleep Out in aid of The Foxton Centre - an incredibly worthwhile charity who we work closely with.
They are a community base that help people on the margins of city life – rough sleepers, street sex workers and young people in Preston who often face problems with poverty, addiction, and mental health issues.
Paul tells us how he got on...
Why did you decide to take part in The Big Sleep Out and did you get any other stories from other people who took part as to why they did it?
I like to help where I can and feel like I don't give enough of my free time to help others. It’s easy to get lost in your day to day routine or caught up in your own personal issues which are mostly minor in comparison to what the homeless have to endure especially during the winter period.
As life is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster at times it can very quickly become a slippery slope into a pit that is very hard to crawl back out from. For that reason, I believe becoming homeless and lacking support is something that could happen to anyone, more should be done on the whole by everyone… you can.trade a couple of the hours we all spend wasting either watching TV or scrolling on social media whenever the opportunity arises.
For the PNE Big Sleep Out, we were not out in the elements like many people on the streets are. We were all prepared in every aspect - people out on the streets will not have the same resource we have and will face lack of food, no warm clothing or waterproofs… even a safe place to sleep - in comparison, we had it really easy!
How many people took part?
Approximately 300 people signed up to take part, I didn’t specifically count everyone but it was enough to ensure we were almost shoulder with the person next to us.
How much did you raise personally / how much was raised overall so far?
I raised £238 online £5 offline I was really struggling to raise anything to be honest as everyone has so many requests to sponsor people these days, but thanks to the help of Service Care Solutions, the management, employees, the candidates and even Lancashire Glass Replacement, I was able to raise this at the last minute. The Big Sleep Out has raised £55,032 in total so far - smashing the target of £55,000!
Best bits / worst bits?
Best Bits – Seeing everyone from different walks of life taking the time to come together to try and make a difference, I was very surprised and impressed.
Worst bits – Obviously the cold and lack of comfort of sleeping on concrete - as well as the noise from all the snoring!!
Paul Bradley, Chair of our CSR Committee commented,"We would like to give Paul a special mention as he is always the first one to volunteer for various charity initiatives we have going on and we are really grateful for that!"
If you would like to work for a company that sees the value in supporting others, please call 01772 555530
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