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YMCA Norfolk plea to give up your bed for a night 

YMCA Norfolk is asking you to give up your own bed for one night to join with hundreds of others in a nationwide Sleep Easy event to raise money for and awareness of youth homelessness.

YMCA Norfolk’s Sleep Easy is taking place on from 7pm on Friday March 26 to 7am on Saturday March 27. The team are asking people to join in by sleeping anywhere other than your bed - maybe your garden, lounge, hallway or other safe space. The aim is to raise as much money as possible for YMCA Norfolk youth supported accommodation projects by encouraging your friends and family to sponsor you for taking part.
 
YMCAs across England will be taking part in the challenge to raise awareness of the thousands of young people who are made homeless each year.
 
YMCA Norfolk hosted its first Sleep Easy in 2010 and over the last decade has raised over £100,000 through the event.  These funds have helped support nearly 500 people each year by providing accommodation and support to help vulnerable people towards independent living whilst also providing employment, training and work experience through social enterprises and employability projects.
 
Covid-19 restrictions mean that this year will see people going solo or with their families and swapping the streets for bathtubs, sofas or garden tents. It is hoped that this special collaborative event will help YMCA Norfolk raise more funding than ever in aid of youth homelessness.
 
Susie Knights, Marketing and Fundraising Manager of YMCA Norfolk, said: “Last year was more difficult and heart-breaking than anyone could ever have anticipated, but one overwhelming positive that emerged was the power of community and the difference that can make to people’s lives.  
 
“We know from our own experience over the past 165 years of working in Norfolk that without the support offered by YMCA and our partners, many more vulnerable young people would be forced to sleep on the streets with less options and less chance of realising their potential.
 
“With this in mind, we are calling on the community to sleep somewhere other than their beds and help raise a record sum of money for this special Sleep Easy event. Please participate, donate and nominate to spread the word: one night can make a lifetime of difference.” 
 
YMCA is the largest voluntary sector provider of supported housing for young people in England and Wales, providing a bed for 8,800 people each night and collectively helping more than 20,000 people experiencing homelessness each year.
 
For more information or to register for Virtual Sleep Easy 2021, please visit ymcanorfolk.org or contact Events Officer Judy on judy.bailey@ymcanorfolk.org
 

Keith Morris, 24/02/2021

Keith Morris
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