We are delighted to support the fundraising efforts of ‘The Cambian Girls’ who completed a sleepout on a cold winter’s day in January! They raised £730 for Julian House.
Sarah Shapter, Danielle Gaye and Karen Sanders signed up for the ‘Big Sleep’ event earlier this year. Below, they share their experiences and why they were determined to raise money for Julian House in Exeter.
“We wanted to do this so that we could raise money for Julian House in Exeter, which supports the homeless community with food, shelter and access to other services. Homelessness is really prevalent in Exeter and Julian House need a lot of financial support to run this on a full time basis.
“Sarah volunteers weekly in a homeless shelter in Torquay and knows how hard it is to try and support so many people, often with very little resources. There is a lot of pleading that takes place to make sure that The Homeless Community can be fully supported; many businesses donate food and supplies and many people give up time to ensure that these can run.
“We all headed to Exeter with limited supplies of a cardboard box, ground sheet, sleeping bag, warm clothes, snacks and a really good group spirit. We did not know what to expect and what we discovered was quite an eye opener. We were able to set up camp on the terraces, but this was already an awful thought as they are concrete and we would be sleeping there for the night… the place filled up quickly and there were positive vibes in the air. We had soup and snacks and chatted with others. A young person from one of our homes came all the way from Plymouth to cheer us on and this was amazing!!!!
“Lights were turned out early and we all tried to sleep, but this was difficult due to some of us being old and having aching bones and the noise from the surrounding areas did not help. It really brought home what it must be like to not have anywhere to live and to need to sleep where you can and regardless of how cold and noisy it is.
We woke bleary-eyed and still had to pack up. We were then given a breakfast of a bap and cup of tea before
we were able to go home to our families, a warm bed and other creature comforts that we take for granted on a daily basis. It was difficult to manoeuvre our stuff around and this struggle is real for some people every day. They have to do this as there is nowhere safe to leave their limited possessions during the day…. We were lucky enough to be able to put this in the car.
“We would like to thank everyone that sponsored us. We raised a grand total of £730 and the CareTech Foundation kindly matched this total, so we were able to give a grand total £1,460 to Julian House!”