For a decade, Sunshine Coast Business Council (SCBC) members have answered the call for the Vinnies CEO Sleepout, sleeping rough for a night at Maroochydore Beach to raise funds to combat homelessness, and this year the team is challenging more fellow business and community leaders to join them.
With 47,000 Sunshine Coast locals accessing Vinnies services in the last 12 months, which is a 10.3% increase from the previous 12 months, SCBC members including Sandy Zubrinich, Adrian Allen and Kristine Hazlewood are participating in the CEO Sleepout on Thursday 20 June to raise urgent awareness and financial support.
SCBC Chair Sandy Zubrinich said she forgoes the usual home comforts to instead spend a night with just a sleeping bag, a sheet of cardboard, a cup of soup and slice of bread because it helps bring attention to escalating homelessness rates on the Sunshine Coast.
“Sunshine Coast Business Council members have been supporting the Vinnies CEO Sleepout for 10 years and we urge fellow business and community leaders to put their money where their mouth is and join us,” Ms Zubrinich said.
“The Sunshine Coast Business Council team aims to raise $65,000, our largest fundraising goal ever, with every dollar going towards helping local people access crisis accommodation and get off the streets.
“It’s no secret that the Sunshine Coast is facing an affordable housing crisis – Vinnies tell us rent costs increased by an average of 6.7 per cent across the Sunshine Coast in the last 12 months and by more than 9.3 per cent in the last three years – exacerbating the struggle for many in our community to secure stable housing.
“Official numbers tell us over 122,000 Australians are homeless, including more than 1,200 people on the Sunshine Coast, but given the ongoing housing crisis, we suspect the actual number is much higher.”
Stockland Development Director Adrian Allen said this will be his fifth Vinnies CEO Sleepout, all of which have helped him face-up to the uncomfortable reality of homelessness.
“I’ve been doing it because homelessness is such a terrible infliction on our society and if you don’t do the Sleepout, you don’t know how terrible it is,” Mr Allen said.
“Participating in the Sleepout brings us closer to understanding the struggles of people facing homelessness.
“So, get involved, raise funds and support Vinnies – it’s an important cause.”
Covey Associates Director Kristine Hazlewood, who raised more than $7,800 last year, said she encourages everyone in our community to get involved in the Sleepout.
“When I think about children in particular experiencing homelessness it breaks my heart and that’s the reason I am heading back to the beach this year,” Ms Hazlewood said.
“It’s easy to donate money to charity, but to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes and experience what it’s like to spend a night in these conditions is eye-opening.
“If pulling off the duvet feels too hard this year, however, please consider donating to support those who don’t have that luxury.”
Other SCBC members participating in this year’s Vinnies’s CEO Sleepout include Habitance Director Alex Hoffman, Caloundra Chamber of Commerce CEO Brady Sullivan, Food and Agribusiness Network CEO Nicole McNaughton and Covey Associates Structural Engineer Jack Whaley.
To support the Sunshine Coast Business Council team, please donate at www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/sunshinecoastbusinesscouncilfriends.
