Business community sleeps out to raise £42,000 for local charities
More than forty people from the Milton Keynes businesses community bosses slept outside at Milton Keynes College’s Bletchley campus in the CEO Sleepout MK to raise awareness and funds for homelessness charities.
The event has raised over £46,000 so far for YMCA Milton Keynes, Unity MK and The Bus Shelter MK. Four colleagues from Milton Keynes College Group took part: CEO and Group Principal Sally Alexander, Workplace Trainer Richie Carter, Executive Principal Mark Fell and Head of Community Engagement Rebecca Myrie. The team has raised over £3,100 already for YMCA Milton Keynes, which provides local young people with a safe place to call home, people they can trust and support to fulfil their potential.
Sally Alexander, CEO and Group Principal of Milton Keynes College Group, said, “This is the second year in a row that we’ve hosted CEO Sleepout MK – we’re delighted to be a part in bringing together the local business community to support those facing homelessness. We see the challenges our local communities face every day, and we want to do everything we can to help the amazing charities that provide much-needed support in our city.
“Sleeping out on a cold November night, gave us just a hint of what it must be like to be truly homeless. We were in a safe place for just one night and had food and a hot drink in the morning. Genuinely homeless people are not so lucky, and the three charities being supported are a real lifeline for many of those people. Lots of thanks to Janey from CEO Sleepout, our college colleagues who took part and supported the event to take place, and to those members of the MK business community who joined in. The Milton Keynes College Group’s commitment to Deliver Fairer Futures is a sincere one, and we will keep looking for ways to support the various communities in our city, especially those facing real disadvantages.”
National boss of CEO Sleepout, Bianca Robinson, said, “It’s great to bring CEO Sleepout back to Milton Keynes, which has already proved itself as one of the UK’s most compassionate cities. The business community really pulled together for the cause, which is more important than ever. We can’t unsee what’s happening to people just like us – who are forced out of their homes and in some cases, onto the streets. Since 2013, CEO Sleepout has raised over £4.2 million via CEO Sleepout events alone, with only one full-time employee. So, I want to say a huge thank you to each and every person who showed up on 14th November, and to all their generous supporters. Together we’ve made a difference to the incredible charities working so hard to change lives day after day.”
To date, CEO Sleepout has raised £5 million from 9000+ business leaders, donated to 200+ charities and changed countless lives. The Milton Keynes event included a panel discussion with representatives from the three charities involved, explaining the support their charities provide to those in Milton Keynes facing homelessness, how the need for their services has increased since the start of the cost-of-living-crisis, and how the local business community can support the vital work they do.
You can still sponsor the team from MK College Group at CEO Sleepout: CEO Sleepout Milton Keynes 2024