An event which saw more than 80 hardy business leaders from across the region ‘sleep rough’ for a night has raised over £63,000 for charity.
The CEO Sleepout Cardiff took place in the grounds of Cardiff Castle last night (March 27) to raise awareness of poverty and homelessness in South Wales.
The money will now be distributed among four local charities involved in addressing the causes of homelessness, and supporting individuals faced with severe hardship.
Those charities are: the Trussell Trust (Cardiff Foodbank), Llamau, CEOSleepout UK, and Service Leavers Wales, an organisation which supports UK veterans after they leave the Armed Forces.
The money raised by the CEOSleepout Cardiff makes it the most successful event of its kind in the UK so far. A similar event held in Newcastle last October raised more than £56,000, while the first event held in Middlesbrough last March raised more than £30,000.
CEOSleepoutUK founder and chairman Andy Preston said: “I am delighted to say that Cardiff hosted the most generous CEOSleepout event in the UK so far.
“The energy and compassion of Cardiff’s business leaders has genuinely inspired me.”
One of the organisers for the Cardiff event, Dan Langford, of Acorn, said: “It was wonderful to see the business community of South Wales come together in this unique way, and the amount of money pledged, especially in the last couple of days, shows just how much this event captured people’s imagination.
“We did not, for one moment, imagine that we were replicating a life on the streets, but hopefully, we have raised not just a lot of money, but also, awareness of this situation.”