Bill Bailey and Sandi Toksvig bedded down with over 250 people outside Southwark Cathedral last Friday to raise money for the homeless.
Bailey led a line up of entertainment in the evening, including local singer Dominick Felix and brass band Oompah, with Toksvig giving an on-stage interview later on.
The entrance of Southwark Cathedral.
There was also a gala auction before all the volunteers raising money braved the cold and wind in a safe and secure sleeping area in London Bridge.
The SleepOut hoped to raise £130,000, which will fund half of the running costs of the Robes Project’s two homeless shelters for every night of the Winter. The shelters provide clean bedding, hot food, showers and heating to those who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets.
The charity uses 28 churches to provide 5000 beds for homeless people every night and also give advice and support to 75 rough sleepers in London.
The 7th annual SleepOut at Southwark Cathedral hopes to build upon the last year’s success where over £100,000 was raised by over 120 brave fundraisers, helping the Robes Project rehouse 44 people last year.
Bill Bailey said about his involvement “It is a great honour. Homelessness should not be happening in our advanced society, and we must do all that we can to help those who spend every night sleeping rough.
“It is vital that everyone should have a safe, dry and warm place that they can call home. I applaud anyone who is willing to join the SleepOut and raise as much as they can to get people off the streets this winter.”
The Very Revd Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark said “No one should have to sleep on the streets of London. The SleepOut helps bring this goal closer to reality. We are very pleased to welcome Bill Bailey, Sandi Toksvig, Dominick Felix, and Oompah Brass who will help us have a perfect night of entertainment.”
It was a night of great entertainment and a great fundraising success which raised over £106,000, just short of the ambitious target.
