A MAJOR charity event raising awareness of homelessness in Worcester is returning next month.

The Big Worcester Sleep Out is returning for 2022 on October 14 for its fourth year.

This event is organised by the Maggs Day Centre, St Paul’s Hostel and The Warriors Foundation.

It will see local politicians, business leaders and members of the public sleeping outside overnight at Sixways stadium. 

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Carol Hart, CEO of The Warriors Foundation said: “We are delighted to be running The Big Worcester Sleep Out once again and want to encourage everyone from across the local community to sign up and get involved.” 

This year, the event is aiming for 100 fundraisers sleeping out on the night to raise £25,000 in donations, which will be distributed between the three charities. 

The ongoing collaborative approach of the three charities to raising awareness and funds was welcomed by Mel Kirk, chief executive of Maggs, and Johnathan Sutton, CEO of St Paul’s. 

Mel Kirk said: "It is getting harder and harder to challenge perceptions and fund-raise. A lot of our fundraising comes through grant-making trusts and we are having to compete with more and more organisations, so to be able to run The Big Sleep Out as a collaborative event is fabulous.”

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Jonathon Sutton said: "By bringing our charities together to educate and drive change, we can create a much bigger impact.

"We can reach a much bigger audience and build more awareness. Our previous sleep-outs have been hugely successful in engaging the local community and businesses to change perceptions, and we hope this year will continue that theme."

For 2022 the event is sponsored by Hewett Recruitment, recruiters in IT, Engineering, Industrial, Finance, Commercial and Executive Search across the Three Counties and West Midlands.

The event is free to register for all individuals and teams, with free catering kindly provided by AC Events, and The Rapid Relief Team. Doors will open from 6.30pm. 

For more information on The Big Worcester Sleep Out, to sign up for the October event, or make a donation, you can visit the website at https://worcestersleepout.co.uk/.