YMCA Cheltenham's 11th Sleep Easy Event: Fundraising and Awareness

YMCA Cheltenham are proud to announce that on Friday 1st March 2024, they will host their 11th SLEEP EASY event to raise vital funds and awareness to support the work of YMCA Cheltenham across Gloucestershire.

Sleep Easy is a unique challenge, offering an insight into the terrible reality of having to sleep rough, while presenting people an opportunity to raise much-needed funds.

As the cost-of-living crisis continues, more and more people are at risk of becoming homeless and now, more than ever, they need your help.

By sleeping rough for one night, you can make even more of a difference to the lives of vulnerable people in the community. You can help be the light in someone’s darkest of times and give hope where there is despair.

You can take part by yourself, or join a team with family, friends, or work colleagues.

Head of Operations, David Kinghorn took part in last year's event.

“Sleep easy 2023 actually fell on my birthday so I woke up on a in sleeping bag cocooned in a cardboard box on my 40th birthday feeling incredibly lucky and grateful that I would be back in my bed that night and able to spend the day with my family and loved ones. The reality for people we work with and those waiting to get into our services is that they don’t always have that feeling when they wake up. It was cold and quiet and lonely, even though I was surrounded by other cardboard boxes and creations to sleep in for the night, it wasn’t comfortable or relaxing. There was a desperate sense that this is the reality for some people.”

Registration for Sleep Easy 2024 is now open.

Join the YMCA Cheltenham team, Mayor - Cllr Matt Babbage and many others, as they create positive change in Cheltenham. Sign up to begin your fundraising journey.

They understand that sleeping rough, even for one night, is a big ask and not everyone who would like to sleep out and raise funds is able to do so. Therefore, this year YMCA Cheltenham are inviting you to join them and visit in their brand-new Sleep Easy 2024 Soup Kitchen.

Taking place on Friday 1st March (the same evening as Sleep Easy) from 6.00-7.30pm, they hope to serve a cup of soup and a bread roll to as many people as possible, with the aim of raising funds and changing lives. They are asking for a donation of £10 per person. Each meal bought will help the YMCA to continue their vital work in the community.

This gathering extends beyond a meal – it represents an opportunity to stand in unity with the homeless and to bolster the impactful work of YMCA Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.