Sehida Frawley and her team from SAP Canberra. Photos: Thomas Lucraft.
CEOs and other high-ranking Canberrans gathered last night for the 15th annual Vinnies CEO Sleepout, held for the very first time at Parliament House.
Vinnies Canberra/Goulburn CEO Lucy Hohnen said she was thrilled by the number of people willing to spend the night sleeping in a car park for the sake of the community.
“We have had more than 120 business, community and government leaders show up tonight to spend a night sleeping rough to support the Canberra community,” Lucy said.
“It’s great to see so many people here today sacrificing a night in their own warm beds for the sake of people who might not have that luxury.
“We thank the generosity of our participants and community for raising these essential funds. At Vinnies, we see firsthand what the cost of living and housing crisis is doing to people from all backgrounds and stages of life. We know that it’s never been worse”.
Along with the CEOs roughing it for the night, Vinnies had dozens of volunteers set up in the car park, ready to serve the community in any way possible.
Raine and Horne managing director Mark Nicholls was ready to brave the cold for a second year, hoping to raise as much money as he could for the cause.
“I did attend last year and managed to raise about $5000. It was cold but absolutely worth it to raise money for such a great group,” Mark said.
“I wanted to come back again because my wife does a bit of volunteer work for the Vinnies food van, and the stories she will hear about some people’s living conditions are just awful, and I really want to do anything I can to help combat that.”
This year marks 13 years of the Sleepout for Canberra Toyota dealer principal Mirko Milic, who said he wants to continue to raise as much money as he can every year.
“I love taking part in the event each year. It’s so important that we get behind Vinnies and support them in any way we can,” Mirko said.
“We are so lucky to be having it at Parliament House this year.”
Mirko’s passion for the cause saw him raise $41,413 – the most in the Canberra region this year. Across all his Sleepout efforts, his tally is now $293,400.
The town of Young also took part for the first time, managing to get more than 30 people at the Young Railway Station to raise money to go directly back into the Young community.
This year’s goal across the three Sleepouts in the Canberra region was $800,000 – so far, $811,828 has been raised.
It’s not too late to donate to help those living rough. More donations are always welcome through Vinnies CEO Sleepout.
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