Effie, Seth and their little sister India, took on the YMCA sleepout challenge on Friday 6th November. It is a fantastic cause which aims to raise money to help build awareness about the homelessness problem in the UK, as well as provide facilities for those individuals that find themselves sleeping rough. Both Effie and Seth have taken part in the YMCA sleepout previously, with India this year being the youngest to take part at 2 years old and the oldest participant being 92 years young!
The original idea was for Effie and Seth to sleep outside in their tent with their Dad, with India and Mrs Bowman sleeping inside on the kitchen floor. However, India didn’t want to miss out on the fun, so she joined the sleep her siblings outside in the tent! It was a cold evening and the ground was damp because of the recent rain, which meant the cold seeped through. Effie, Seth and India wore lots of layers to stay warm and managed to sleep right through the night!
Read why Effie and Seth enjoy participating in the YMCA sleepout each year!
Effie
I enjoy doing the sleepout but that is only because we only have to do it for one night a year. I wouldn’t like to do it night after night after night. It’s quite uncomfortable and you don’t get the best nights sleep. It’s also very cold. The ground was very wet and the cold seeped through. I felt safe doing it with my family but I wouldn’t like to be sleeping alone. Lots of homeless people get bullied and hurt by other people and I wouldn’t feel safe. Also, when we finished it we got to have a warm shower afterwards, get into clean clothes and have some nice warm breakfast. People who are homeless don’t get this opportunity and then they have to go back on the streets during the day, with nowhere to warm up. They then have to wait until night time to find somewhere to sleep. They also have to find some food to eat. It must be so awful. We are very lucky to have houses and warm beds and clean fresh clothes. I hope the sleepout raises lots of money so the YMCA can help the homeless people and people who are struggling with money because of the impact of Covid-19. Thank you to everyone who sponsored us, as they have all helped make someone’s life better.
Seth
I really liked doing the sleepout because it feels good to know we are raising money for people who are homeless so they can have food and somewhere to sleep. It was so cold though! Luckily I have a super snug sleeping bag and the tent stopped some of the wind getting to us. My little sister India was like a hot water bottle to me as well. But homeless people may not have warm sleeping bags or somewhere to get away from bad weather. It was really nice to get into my own bed after and get all cosy and warm. I want to do it next year and hopefully my friends can do it too. Helping people feels really nice. Hopefully we have raised enough money that the YMCA can help lots and lots of people. I wish no one had to be homeless.
So far the family have raised a total of £450 and there is still time to make a donation!
Click here to donate
There will be a big ‘reveal’ on 3rd December on Facebook which will confirm the final amount!