On 18 October, 30 Society employees spent a wet and windy night sleeping outside to raise money for their head office charity partner, Newbury Soup Kitchen. So far, the sleepout has raised more than £7,000 for the charity via JustGiving – more than triple the original goal.
The Newbury Building Society team were joined by sleepers from LifeCycle Software, who also support the charity, as well as some of the team from Newbury Soup Kitchen themselves. Meryl Praill, CEO of Newbury Soup Kitchen, also attended the event to speak about the support the charity offers, as well as serve some much-needed hot food and drink.
The relationship between Newbury Building Society and Newbury Soup Kitchen has been a lot of fun. We have immensely enjoyed getting to know the team and being involved in the fundraising they have done for our charity. The sleepout tops it all. We are in awe of the commitment, dedication, and enthusiasm shown by everybody who slept outside in that horrendous weather. I cannot believe that one person slept under a tarpaulin all night without the cover of a tent! Newbury Soup Kitchen supported by providing hot dogs and teas and coffees to get everybody ready for the night ahead. More people are at risk of death from the wet than the cold. Friday night highlighted how difficult it is to be outside in weather like that. A fun night was had by all; however, underneath is the serious subject of homelessness. We are incredibly grateful for the funds raised by Newbury Building Society, which will make a big difference to the service and support we can provide individuals in this community experiencing homelessness and or who are vulnerably housed.
Jamie Troughton, Head of Treasury, chose to forego the tent and sleep in the elements after surpassing his fundraising target of £500. He commented: “The sleep out was a humbling experience. I'm proud of the fact I spent the night outside without a tent in the pouring rain, however, we were all able to go back to our warm homes and beds in the morning, unlike those that Newbury Soup Kitchen supports. They do incredible work, and it was great to hear them talk about some of it on the night. It was fantastic that we have been able to raise over £7,000 – a huge thank you to the organisers, those who took part, and those who donated!”
Emma Gentry, Head of Marketing and Communications and one of the event organisers said, “We’ve been overwhelmed by the support our participants have received. We cannot thank everyone enough for their encouragement and donations. The money raised will significantly benefit many vulnerable local people through the work of Newbury Soup Kitchen, who ironically are due to find themselves without a premises soon.
"Thank you to Meryl and her team for their support, and to Falkland Cricket Club for the use of their training ground. We were lucky to have a safe place to sleep, but that is not the case for many people in our community – we hope this event will continue to raise awareness of the work Newbury Soup Kitchen do to support local people experiencing homelessness.”
Learn more about our charity partnership scheme here.
