Founding members of Beaulieu College, Tessa Hughes, Bobby Bain and Noele Hillen, will take part in this year’s School SleepOut, a branch off of the hugely successful CEO SleepOut, in an effort to develop pupils’ empathy for vulnerable communities and to celebrate 20 years since the college’s founding.
Bain explained that the decision to take part in the School SleepOut aligned with the school motto, To reach for the stars. “When filling out the registration forms from the get go, our purpose for entering was to pay it forward and to extend our reach to the community,” she said.
The school has chosen Africa Food for Thought as its beneficiary, a non-profit organisation which aims to provide nutrition to school children in order to promote concentration and learning.
She said the school hoped to raise enough money to buy two containers filled with food which they would then donate to their beneficiary.
Bain explained that, so far, the response from pupils was amazing and that a number of pupils had already pledged to join in. Kirsty Milne, a Grade 12 pupil at the college said, “[Last year] my mom’s company was involved [in the CEO SleepOut] and so I felt it was a good idea to get everyone to understand what people go through.”
Hughes added that the School SleepOut provided an opportunity to walk in the shoes of some of the most vulnerable members of society. “Until you are frozen all night, you never really understand what some people go through,” she said.
For Bain, the SleepOut provided an opportunity to come together to make a greater impact.
Schools across the country will demonstrate their commitment by sleeping out on 28 July at their school premises.
Read more:
Calling all schools to participate in the 2016 Sleepout!
Schools registering to sleep out for charity
A peek into what CEOs can expect on SleepOut
