Balls to Homelessness | Sleepout for Wintercomfort for the homeless

Hardy souls from Team CPL got a brief taste of what life is like for the homeless of Cambridge when they joined 25 others sleeping in the open air at Cambridge United's Abbey ground on Friday night.

The event – Balls to Homelessness – was organised to raise cash for the Cambridge charity for the homeless Wintercomfort and Cambridge United Community Trust, which supports the local community through a number of initiatives. To date CPL has raised more than £1,400 of the total, which will be split equally between the two charities.

Wintercomfort, which helps men and women who are homeless or vulnerably housed by offering them vital welfare services and opportunities for learning and training, is one of CPL's official charities. Six people under the CPL banner took part in the sleepout, including CPL MD Mike Sewell.

"In no way can this relate to the real hardship and challenges faced by those who are homeless, especially during the recent tough weather of Storm Ciara," said Mike, "but we all learned to appreciate a bit more what an ever-growing number of people have to endure day after day."

Phil Minett, CPL's managing editor, who also took part in the sleepout, said: "We're delighted to support Wintercomfort as one of our offical charities, and it is great to see so many kind people donating and supporting such a worthwhile cause!"

The Mayor of Cambridge, Gerri Bird, was on hand at 6.30am the next morning to thank those who took part in the sleepout and point them in the direction of much-needed coffee and bacon sandwiches.

Sam Gomarsall, Cambridge United Community Trust manager, said: "It was certainly a challenging evening and – as I mentioned to lots of people in the morning – each year I do this, I am struck by how unbelievably tough it must be to sleep rough night in, night out. We have raised an amazing £7,300+ and the amount is still rising."

If you would like to make a donation, please go to CPL's JustGiving page.