our big sleep out fundraiser 2024

on the coldest night in april this year, 40 of our incredible supporters slept the night outside without shelter to fundraise for our wee charity. 

on the lawn of carlowrie castle, the sleep out was a great night of community connection, education and awareness with people from all kinds of different backgrounds and experiences. 

to start the night we had a guest speaker, Walter DeForest, who spoke about his own experience with homelessness and how community and art helped him through some difficult times.

following the speeches, we layered on socks and thermals and coats and beanies and anything else we could find to keep us warm as we curled up into our sleeping bags to catch some sleep. 

between the snores and the tossing and turning, on average we each slept for about 3 hours before the sun came up and it was time for a breakfast of coffee and bacon rolls. 

we know that sleeping outside for one night, especially in a beautiful location and with the support of others around us, could never compare to the harsh reality of homelessness that thousands of people face each night. while we chose to spend the night outside, many others don’t have that same option. 

we’re over the moon that our sleep out raised over £11,000 that will go towards setting up our community hub and charity shop, the bothy boutique. 

the bothy boutique will be a welcoming place for community connection and will provide employment opportunities for our breakfast bothy guests. we look forward to welcoming you there soon!