BCS Byte Night team sleep out to raise money for Action for Children

13 Oct 2016 06:17 PM

A team of ten colleagues from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT took to the streets for the night to raise money for a childrens' charity last week.

The BCS Byte Night sleepers joined the Thames Valley Sleep Out on Friday 7 October to help raise money for *Action for Children.

Byte Night is Action for Children's biggest annual fundraiser; a national ‘sleep out’ event. Each year, hundreds of like-minded people from the technology sector give up their beds for one night to raise awareness of youth homelessness and fundraise to help change the lives of vulnerable children.

Paul Fletcher, Group Chief Executive at BCS who took part in the sleep out explains: “We were out in Reading city centre from 6pm until 9am the next morning with only a sleeping bag to keep warm. We were well looked after and kept each other company through the long, cold hours in order to complete the challenge. It was a novelty for us and just about bearable for one night, but we were all glad to get home to our safe, warm homes and comfortable beds afterwards. This experience was a one-off for our team, but unfortunately the situation is a reality for many vulnerable young people.”

As well as the sleep out, the Byte Night team have washed cars and organised a BCS Bake Off for colleagues at their headquarters in Swindon to raise money. The team have already exceeded their original target of £6,000 and have several more fun fundraising events planned over the coming months.

If you can relate to this cause and want to help, please visit their just giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Team-Byte-Back

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Action for Children works in local communities across the UK to protect and support the young and vulnerable.