A Gloucestershire homelessness charity is looking for up to 100 business leaders to sleep 'rough' on the night of 10th October, World Homeless Day.

The CCP SleepOut is an event to raise awareness of the issues facing rough sleepers in the county, whilst raising cash to help Caring for Communities and People (CCP) tackle the problem, by preventing homelessness and supporting those who are already homeless into sustainable accommodation.

Participants will sleep within the grounds of Gloucester Rugby Club to raise funds for CCP. They will all challenge themselves to raise at least £1,000 to rough sleep in as genuine conditions as possible and go to work the next day as normal. 

Cordell Ray, chief executive of CCP, said: "We are hugely excited about this new event. By gathering together high profile business leaders in this way, we plan to highlight the plight of the homeless and give those participating just a taste of what it is like to have to sleep rough. When we came up with the idea for this event, it seemed only fitting that we coincide it with World Homeless Day, with its aim of drawing attention to homeless people's needs locally and provide opportunities for the community to get involved. SleepOut as an event has the potential to raise a very substantial sum of money that will go towards our work in preventing homelessness and supporting those who are already homeless."

David Owen, chief executive of GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership, is one of a number of Gloucestershire business leaders who have already pledged their support.

He said: "When CCP approached me with the idea, I had no hesitation in agreeing to take part. Even one person being homeless is one too many and anything we can do to highlight their plight has to be a good thing. CCP are doing some amazing work preventing homelessness and the money we raise will I am sure be put to very good use. Whilst you cannot fully replicate what it is like to sleep rough in an exercise like this, it will be interesting to see how we all cope the day after the SleepOut, going about a normal working day."

Over a dozen business leaders have already signed up to take part. If you would like to join them, you can find out more about the event on the SleepOut section of the CCP website www.sleepout.org.uk  



CCP is also keen to hear from businesses that might want to sponsor the event.

Cordell Ray outlined said: "SleepOut represents a unique opportunity for businesses to associate themselves with a high profile event and put their brand in front of a very select audience. We will be working hard to ensure that any business that sponsors gets a good return on their investment. The sponsorship will underwrite the costs of the event and any surplus will add to the proceeds that go towards the work we do with the homeless."




Pictured top: Back row from left to right: Michael Ratcliffe (Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce), Chris Creed (Creed Foodservice), Michael Chittenden (Manor By The Lake), Claire Thayers (Folk 2 Folk), Suzanne Hall-Gibbins (Circle 2 Success), Darren Stevens (Prestbury Marketing), Roman Cooper (AllCooper). Front row from left to right: Dave Jones (CCP), Russell Marchant (Hartpury College), Phil Vickery (Rugby Legend), Kevan Blackadder (Cheltenham BID), David Owen (GFirst LEP), Cordell Ray (CCP)



Pictured bottom: From left to right: Suzanne Hall-Gibbins (Circle 2 Success), David Owen (GFirst LEP), Phil Vickery, Cordell Ray (CCP).