Vinnies CEO Sleepout
The recent arrival of the cold weather signalled that time of year again when we turn our attention to those much less fortunate than ourselves, braving the cold for just one night at Vinnies CEO Sleepout. On Thursday the 20th of June we joined 101 other business leaders for just a small glimpse of what it might be like to not have a roof over our heads, with the Perth event raising an incredible $770,000 albeit short of their $850,000 target.
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I am always humbled by the incredible staff and volunteers of Vinnies. On Thursday night we got to hear from the Vinnies community about their ongoing amazing work at the two Passages Youth Engagement Hubs as well as their Compass Outreach Program and the recently opened Wandjoo Bidi located on Murray Street in West Perth. Full credit to the State Government, Vinnies enterprise and private sector donations for providing the significant funding required to support these amazing facilities. We were disappointed to learn that the pilot Compass Outreach program was unable to secure ongoing government funding despite the documented successful impact it has had over 18 months on the lives of 37 young people. It was impressed upon us to ensure we work collaboratively to support the services in place for youth homelessness and having witnessed firsthand at Tom Fisher House the numerous homeless people that have been on the streets for decades, we truly must do all we can to support young people experiencing homelessness to get back on their feet.
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In addition to the programs mentioned above, Vinnies provides a wide range of support including helping to keep people in their homes, which in the current housing market is a huge challenge. Here’s a glimpse of Vinnies impact in 2023 — made possible thanks to incredible fundraising and a whole lot of volunteers!
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If you haven’t yet had a chance to donate you can do so by clicking on the link below:
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At Celsius our livelihood comes about by creating homes for people to either rent or buy and yet each year it seems so many more West Australians are finding it increasingly difficult to stay in a home or find a roof over their head. Whilst we all see those that are homeless at most traffic lights, my early morning training runs have opened my eyes to just how many every day West Aussies are currently sleeping in their car whilst trying to hold down a job.
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The property industry is incredibly focused and determined to deliver more supply across the housing continuum at a time when supply is simply not keeping up with demand. It is humbling to be able to represent the property industry at the CEO sleepout and this year Team UDIA, represented by Andrew Roberts (ABN), Brenton Downing (Celsius) and myself raised over $84,000 thanks to our very generous supporters. An especially big shout out to Andrew for being the 2nd best fundraiser at the event, single handedly raising over $60,000. Huge accolades to Pat Tallon (Civmec) for being the number one Perth fundraiser raising over $135,000.
Let’s all work together to raise as much funds as possible to support the great initiatives of Vinnies whilst ensuring we also raise awareness of our homeless and in turn provide them the support and care they deserve on our everyday travels.
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All the very best,
Richard