Stonepillow's Little Big Sleep Out at HomeStonepillow's Little Big Sleep Out at Home
Stonepillow's Little Big Sleep Out at Home

Little Big Sleep Out at Home: £14,000 raised for Chichester charity as more than 500 people ditch their beds for the night

Supporters of a Chichester homelessness charity have raised more than £14,000 by ditching the comfort of their beds for one night.

Stonepillow urged people to take part in The Little Big Sleep Out at Home on Saturday after it had to cancel its annual fundraising event due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Team Bosham brought together more than 40 families in the village who all camped out for the night: “We loved being able to do something as a community and are delighted with the money raised for Stonepillow who do such amazing work for vulnerable people in West Sussex. Some of our team were still camping out three days later.”

A number of staff and councillors from across Chichester District Council supported the event by finding creative new places to sleep at home.

Linda Grange, divisional manager for housing, slept in the bath while councillor Alan Sutton, Adrian Moss, Sarah Sharp and Sarah Lishman swapped their beds for a summerhouse, wheelbarrow, cargo trike and the top floor of a double-decker bus, respectively.

Councillors Janet Duncton, Gareth Evans and Martyn Bell, as well as the council’s rural towns co-ordinator Steve Hill, also took part in the event.

Mr Sutton, cabinet member for housing, communications, licensing and events, said: “Taking part in the Little Big Sleep Out at Home was a fantastic experience and I’m very proud of all my colleagues who took part. Together we raised over £4,000 for Stonepillow and increased awareness of homelessness.

“I was especially touched by the last donation I received on the night, from a nine-year-old boy in my neighbourhood. He knew I was taking part in the event and wanted to help out so he knocked on my door and gave me his £6 pocket money as a donation. It was a lovely gesture and really highlights the kindness of our district and everyone who has supported this cause.”

Stonepillow’s fundraising manager, Sarah Dakin, said: “We came up with the idea of the Little Big Sleep Out at Home because we wanted to offer the community an online fun event that anyone could get involved with during lockdown. Just because we weren’t able to get together in the same place, we decided to unite everyone virtually, and were delighted that over 500 people took part in the challenge putting the fun into fundraising.”

Money raised will help Stonepillow continue to provide the housing and essential support its clients need to stay safe and nourished during the pandemic.

Sarah said: “We are truly grateful for the generosity of the community, and to everyone that embraced the challenge by taking part.”

---

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.

Related topics: