More than 70 people in senior leadership positions at Manchester businesses have signed up for an event which will see them sleep outside to help the homeless.
The CEO Sleepout event will see participants sleep outside for one night at Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground on November 4 from 8pm.
Deloitte LLP partner Tim Grogan, partner at law firm BLM Steve Kuncewicz and Gear4Music operations director Anne-Marie O’Neill are among those committed to take part.
Partaking business leaders are challenged to raise £1,000 each as a minimum or make a donation from their business.
Bianca Robinson, the chief executive of the CEO Sleepout charity, said: “They come down with a sleeping bag, with lots of warm layers, and they’ll spend the night outside at Old Trafford as well as fundraising in the lead up to that.”
The raised funds are split between the CEO Sleepout UK charity itself and local charities working “on the front line of homeless and poverty”, including Lancashire CCC Foundation, Walking With the Wounded, MASH Manchester, Mustard Tree, Back on Track and the Manchester City Mission.
Ms Robinson said the event is very much “no frills”.
She said: “We’ll hear from a charity, we’ll hear from somebody affected, there might be a little panel discussion but it’s very informal.
“We don’t bang them over the head with a sledgehammer, but when they hear what the charities that support homeless people are doing, they can go away and think about that and can go away and think about what they can do in their business to help reduce inequality.
“It’s very important to tell the human story behind it because that’s how you unlock the empathy so our goal is to unlock the empathy and compassion as well as raising the big funds.”
She stressed the event doesn’t not and “never will come close to what it’s like to someone sleeping rough”.
“We’re not trying to emulate what it’s like to sleep rough, we’re just trying to gauge some insight and understanding and raise the money, that’s why we do keep it no frills.”
Ms Robinson said one of the aims of this year’s sleepout will be to raise more than the £76,000 raised in 2018.
The number of participants signed up for the event has surpassed the number that took part last year, 61, with Ms Robinson estimating a turnout of between 90 to 100 people.
The Manchester sleepout is one of many the charity holds across the country, with sleepouts taking place from Northumberland to Portsmouth.
Ms Robinson said the Manchester event is always “hugely” well supported.
“The business community really gets behind it and shows just what a compassionate city Manchester is.
“It’s becoming a fixture in the business calendar with people coming year after year, the same people, so that tells me that it’s a really powerful event that they feel are doing good and want to keep supporting.”
