These people have raised over £4K for charity by sleeping out on Doncaster’s streets

More than 25 people have raised over £4,000 for a charity which supports homeless people by spending a night outside.
Two of the participants who have spent a night sleeping on Doncaster's streets to raise awareness of homelessness and also funds for the YMCA charity.Two of the participants who have spent a night sleeping on Doncaster's streets to raise awareness of homelessness and also funds for the YMCA charity.
Two of the participants who have spent a night sleeping on Doncaster's streets to raise awareness of homelessness and also funds for the YMCA charity.

People slept in the grounds of Doncaster College for the night earlier this month to raise funds for YMCA Doncaster and raise awareness of the hardship young, homeless people face during a night rough sleeping.

To date, they have raised over £4,000 with the ‘Sleep Easy’ event, but donations are still coming in.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Joanne, a ‘Sleep Easy’ participant, said “It was a very humbling experience. It opened my eyes to the difficulties our young homeless people have to go through whilst living and sleeping on the streets.

“I put a lot of work into my shelter before the event and had the time to prepare myself. Knowing that young homeless people don’t have that time to prepare, or even have the means to build a shelter, really got to me and made me think.

“It’s definitely taught me to appreciate the life I have more, because not everyone gets a chance to have a bed at night and that’s just not right.”

The fundraising event saw participants sleeping in DIY cardboard shelters for the night and gather sponsorship money from their friends and family for their efforts.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Every penny raised from the event has been given to YMCA to support their work with vulnerable young people in Doncaster.

Olivia Burton, a manager at YMCA Doncaster, said: “’Sleep Easy’ has become a big event in our calendar each year. I’m thrilled about this year’s success and I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part and spent the night out with us.

“We hope everyone left with the message that made us plan this - how difficult it is to endure homelessness.”

Visit ymcadoncaster.org.uk for more.