Sleep in

Students and staff from Cardiff Business School have raised over £180 for Llamau, a youth homelessness charity, by taking part in a sleep in event at Cardiff University.

Organised by Teri Fitzpatrick, Sara Fleming, Eleanor Piercy, Sara Wong, Abdullatif Al Omani and Maria Shikai, year two BSc Business Management undergraduates studying at Cardiff Business School, participants spent the night ‘sleeping rough’ in the foyer of the Postgraduate Teaching Centre.

The sleep in was part of a project on the Marketing and Society module of their course led by Dr Carolyn Strong.

A brand new fundraising event introduced by the Cardiff-based charity, sleep ins are an opportunity for schools, colleges and youth groups across Wales to play their part in ending youth homelessness by raising money and awareness.

As well as playing games courtesy of the University’s Gaming Society, watching films and sharing food thanks to Domino’s Pizza, participants used reclaimed materials from across the School in a shelter building competition.

A raffle with prizes donated by Stag Coffee, Love Cardiff Clothing, Groom for Men and New Dimensions Hair Salon also helped maximise the event’s fundraising success.

Teri Fitzpatrick, who will shortly complete her second year on the BSc Business Management,said: “It is such an important cause to raise awareness and donations for young vulnerable people in Wales who may have to experience homelessness.

“For thousands of people in Wales, homelessness is a frightening reality so we tried to do what we could as a student community to raise awareness and donations for something that effects the local community here in Cardiff.”

Earlier this year, Cardiff Business School made the first in a series of donations to Llamau after choosing the third sector organisation as its charity of the year.

Following the sleep in and an event which saw staff, students, family and friends celebrate the School’s 30^th Birthday with a community day, total donations to date amount to £3,340.

Fiona Hawthorn, Corporate and Community Fundraiser at Llamau, said:

“They have a great understanding of our mission to end youth homelessness and homelessness for vulnerable women; their fantastic support and fundraising efforts truly will change the futures for the people we support.

Llamau’s mission is to eradicate homelessness for young people and vulnerable women in Wales. For information on holding your own sleep in, visit the Llamau website.

Teri Fitzpatrick added: “Youth homelessness is so much more than not having somewhere to sleep. Young homeless people have complex needs and need to be supported with more than just accommodation to move on from homelessness.

“It is such a worthy cause, for an issue that noticeably affects Cardiff. I would definitely want to participate in an activity for Llamau again.”