Image: Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Graham Quirk gets into bed with Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale at the CEO Sleepout launch in King George Square
The city’s business elite will get a small taste of life on the streets this winter as they spend a night in the cold to raise money for the homeless.
Volunteers from Rosies – Friends on the Street will offer hospitality at the Vinnies CEO Sleepout at Southbank’s Courier Mail Piazza on June 19 with coffee supplied by Gold Coast business I Luv Coffee.
Participating CEOs will also be given a cup of soup and a bread roll before they settle down in their sleeping bags for the night.
Rosies CEO Troy Bailey will be amongst the rough sleepers that night, though he says he will be sleeping a little less rough than most of the others.
“I’m going to be in a Backpack Bed, not a sleeping bag,” said Mr Bailey.
“I talk so highly about these things because they work – my night will be a bit more comfortable than most of the CEOs there.”
A Rosies van was on site at the launch of the CEO Sleepout on Wednesday, with volunteer Emily Rosemond on hand to supervise as participating executives donned aprons to serve coffee and soup.
Vinnies CEO Peter Maher tries on a Backpack Bed for size
“It will be good for some of the CEOs there to get a bit of an idea what life is like on the other side of the van,” said Mr Bailey.
Mr Bailey says organisations like Rosies and Vinnies are working in partnership to end homelessness.
“Homelessness is such a huge problem. In Queensland, there are around 20,000 people who are homeless right now, and about a quarter of them are children.
“The gap between street and home is getting wider, so there’s so much work to be done.
“As a participating CEO, I’m raising money for Vinnies to support the work they do.
“But on the night, we will be auctioning off a Backpack Bed and the proceeds of that will go to Rosies, so we can continue to provide beds to homeless people across the State.
“We’re all in this together.”
If you’d like to contribute to Mr Bailey’s fundraising campaign in support of Vinnies CEO Sleepout, click .
