Newbury Building Society has raised over £8,900 in sponsorship and donations after taking part in this year’s Mortgage Sleep Out, more than twice its £3,500 target.
The 35-strong team faced a wet night in the middle of Falkland Cricket Club’s training ground on the 30 November 2018 in aid of the event’s charity partner End Youth Homelessness. A total of £8,940 (including gift aid) was donated by over 200 supporters via the society’s JustGiving page.
Emma Simms, marketing and communications manager at Newbury Building Society, who led the campaign, said: “We can’t thank those who supported us enough for their encouragement and kind donations.
“We are amazed with the amount we have raised; it will help a lot of young people in need this winter, who are without a warm, safe refuge.”
Nick Connolly, managing director at End Youth Homelessness, added: “We are incredibly grateful that Newbury Building Society demonstrated their faith in homeless young people by participating in the Mortgage Sleep Out.
“They did a wonderful job raising vital funds for End Youth Homelessness’ Member Charities and their fundraising will help us deliver life changing services for young people all across the UK.”
Roland Gardner, chief executive of Newbury Building Society, said: “The donations will make a genuine difference to the lives of 30,000 young people who do not have a place they can call home.
“Whether dealing with their housing, health or training issues, End Youth Homelessness support these young people and help them return to the type of life the rest of us take for granted.”
“This is undoubtedly the largest charity event arranged in my time as CEO and it was an unqualified success. Thank you to the employees who volunteered to take part and to those who generously donated.”
The national event, which has now broken the £100,000 barrier, was conceived four months ago when Rob Jupp, chief executive of Brightstar Financial, tweeted: “Shocking how many ‘rough sleepers’ there are in London. I can’t remember a time where there have been so many. It’s a national outrage.”
Maria Harris, Atom Bank’s director of intermediary lending was quick to pick up on the tweet and responded: “It’s heart breaking. Maybe we should do a financial services sleep out to raise funds for awareness?”
