In the spirit of raising awareness and funds for the homeless the Vinnies CEO Sleepout will be taking place at Aurora Stadium on Thursday, June 23, 2016.

Registrations are now open and Vinnies are calling on all business managers, community leaders and CEOs to join and help fight homelessness. 

This will be the sixth year the event has been hosted in Tasmania by Vinnies and the eleventh year nationally.

So far Vinnies in Tasmanian have raised $580,000 to help with our programs and services throughout the State.

Chief executive officer for St Vincent de Paul Society Tasmania,  Merleen Cronin is hoping for an increase in last years fundraising efforts of $151,000.

“The response to the event has been excellent with forty five registrations so far.

“This year we are inviting teams to participate and have had an enthusiastic response with teams from Hays Recruitment, MyState, Parry Property and  the Australian Bureau of Statistics already registered.

“We are hoping to increase the number of team registrations. Collectively we can provide a whole community response,” Ms Cronin said

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Hays manager James Ower is participating with a team of four colleagues, he said last year’s experience was an eye-opener. 

“I think it was minus four degrees. You get that rough idea but you know it’s 10 times worse for people having to do it every night,” he said.

Vinnies aim to make the sleepout a relatable experience for all CEOs and teams by having guest speakers who will talk about their own experiences of homelessness. 

Justin Wright of Harvey Norman, Launceston who will be taking part again this year said the guest speakers stories really brought home why the sleepout was such an important event. 

“It was very interesting to listen to the guest speakers stories last year, I just couldn’t believe how bad some peoples situations are.

“If you have the opportunity to get involved then do it, if not you can still support the fundraising efforts, so dig deep,” he said. 

The CEO sleepout at Aurora will focus on how to prevent homelessness and how best to support those already experiencing homelessness.

 “At this year’s event our focus will be on supporting those experiencing homelessness but also discussing the prevention and early intervention work that Vinnies undertakes to support people at risk of losing their homes and maintaining their tenancies,”Ms Cronin said

More information on how to get involved in this years CEO sleepout can be found at: https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/events/tas-sleepout/ where you can donate, register and even nominate your own CEO.