Bosses brave the cold to raise funds for homeless
More than 150 business executives and politicians will be battling the winter temperatures in Brisbane on Thursday night to raise awareness of homelessness.
Some high profile CEOs taking part include lord mayor Graham Quirk, former prime minister Kevin Rudd, Queensland treasurer Tim Nicholls and Kenlynn Properties Australia joint managing director Anthony Flynn who has raised $56,000.
It is the third nationally-run St Vincent’s de Paul Society’s CEO Sleep out.
The CEOs will be sleeping at the Suncorp Piazza in South Bank to raise awareness and money for homelessness around Queensland and Australia.
St Vincent’s de Paul Society CEO Peter Maher said the ultimate goal was to end homelessness in Australia.
“In the meantime we use the funds raised to support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness,” he said.
“We hope to exceed last year’s fundraising effort in Queensland of almost $550,000.”
The 157 CEOs signed up in Queensland for the sleep out have raised a combined total of $663,000.
Carnival Australia CEO Ann Sherry said she was sleeping out to raise awareness for female homelessness in Australia.
“For me, the number of women and children who are homeless is a statistic and phenomena that we shouldn’t tolerate, and I think that is true of all homelessness,” she said.
Vinnies’ CEO Sleep out began in Parramatta near Sydney in 2006 before it expanded to a national campaign in 2010 with more than 700 CEOs participating across Australia in the first year.
According to the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics 104,700 Australians were counted as homeless with 50,256 Australian’s sleeping on the streets every night.
Donations can be made through www.ceosleepout.org.au.
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