CEOs to swap four-poster beds for sleeping bags in CEO Sleepout

On the night of June 21, CEOs and senior management at many major Australian companies won’t be going home to their penthouse apartments but will sleep on the ground to raise money for the Saint Vincent de Paul Society.

Participants of the CEO Sleepout will spend a night sleeping outside to experience a night of homelessness with limited bedding and food.

So far 1,032 participants have raised a total of $1.48 million, in an effort to raise awareness of homelessness in Australia.

The event was launched by Carnival Australia CEO Ann Sherry, who spoke about hidden face of female homelessness.

“For me, the number of women and children who are homeless is a statistic and phenomena that we shouldn’t tolerate, and I think that is true of all homelessness.”

She called on female business colleagues to take up the challenge.

NSW is well in the lead in terms of fundraising at the time of writing. NSW has raised $767,646 with 271 participants, Queensland’s 158 have raised $499,433, WA’s 114 have raised $360,098, Victoria’s 148 have raised $299,817, South Australia’s 100 have raised $226,094, ACT’s 153 have raised $225,694 Northern Territory’s 37 have raised $58,487 and Tasmania’s 51 have raised $49,036.

The participants include Westpac’s Gail Kelly, Commonwealth Bank’s Ian Narev, ABC’s Mark Scott, Jones Lang La Salle’s Andrew Balzanelli and CBRE’s Phil Rundle and Andrew Stewart.

Kevin Rudd will take part in the event again this year. Last year he opted to sleep in Melbourne, saying Queensland’s warm nights were “simply too soft”. Malcolm Turnbull has signed up this year though so far he’s raised just $365 since signing up on May 24. Other politicians include Federal MP Kelly O’Dwyer and Queensland’s leader of the opposition Annastacia Palaszczuk.

To donate, visit http://www.ceosleepout.org.au