Youth homelessness charity Centrepoint is asking fundraisers if they can go one night without sleep to raise money for homeless young people.
Centrepoint’s fundraising event STAY:UP is making a comeback after raising over £270k when it replaced the charity’s well-known Sleep Out fundraiser in 2020 due to social distancing restrictions.
STAY:UP asks participants to stay awake all night to raise awareness of the challenges homeless young people face, as they often have nowhere safe to sleep. That’s why Centrepoint are challenging participants to stay up from 8pm on Friday 28th May until 8am the following morning (Saturday 29th May), while raising money for homeless young people.
The virtual event is open to everyone and will kick off with content from some of Centrepoint’s celebrity ambassadors on @CentrepointUK YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9dtu7Y8JpHiil4ousVlmEA .
Last year’s STAY:UP event saw appearances from ‘The Bill’ actress and Centrepoint ambassador Lisa Maxwell, boyband The Vamps and Olympic athlete Jade Johnson. The 2020 event saw over 1,000 fundraisers taking part, including Australian comedian John Robertson performing 12 hours of unpleasant challenges on Twitch, a Yorkshire carver making wooden spoons, a 22 year old who cycled a GPS route across London in the shape of a cyclist on a bike, Make Mee Studio organised a late night sewing session, an East London local cycled a 200km route crossing all bridges along the Thames and the Co-operative Bank spent 12 hours quizzing.
Before the pandemic, youth homelessness was at a crisis point. Centrepoint estimates that over 120,000 young people were facing homelessness between 2019/20, an increase of more than 10,000 on the previous year. During this unprecedented period, many young people have found themselves unemployed and struggling to pay their rent, increasing their risk of homelessness.
Abby Clyndes Centrepoint’s Corporate Development Manager, said:
“This past year has been extremely challenging for vulnerable young people. The coronavirus pandemic has led to more young people sleeping rough and made it harder for those trying to turn their lives around to find work.
“That’s why we’re urging our supporters to stay up and raise money and awareness for homeless young people. Last year our fundraisers showed dedication and commitment and we’re looking forward to seeing the efforts that are made this year.”
The money raised this year will go towards the local Centrepoint hostels that provide homeless young people safe and stable accommodation while teaching them the skills needed to live independently, support for homeless young people’s physical and mental health and will provide them access to training and education.
To get involved sign up here: https://stayup.centrepoint.org.uk/
