Thames Valley Byte Night Board launches a new charity event – ‘Boycott Your Bed’ – to help raise money and awareness for Action For Children, which provides practical and emotional care and support for children and young people.
The charity has launched this national event to encourage individuals, families, friends, and colleagues to ditch their usual home comforts of beds, blankets, pillows and duvets to sleep in the most unusual places within their homes or gardens on Friday 21st August 2020.
With many taking home comforts for granted, the reality is that there are families who cannot afford to use the heating and are struggling to provide these essential items within our neighbourhoods around the UK. The idea of the event ‘Boycott Your Bed’ is to sleep for one night without the luxury of pillows and warm blankets, and in a very small and simple way understand what some families have to deal with on a regular basis, while at the same time raising awareness of UK child poverty.
Thames Valley Byte Night Board is encouraging as many participants as possible from the Thames Valley to sleep in their gardens, or to pitch a tent under the dining room table, sleep on the floor in the lounge or sleep for the night in the bath. The great aspect of this event is that whilst giving an idea of others’ struggles, it is incredibly inclusive. Thames Valley will be joining other Byte Night Boards and individuals around the country and, throughout the night, there will be fundraising activities along with virtual entertainment to bring people and homes together right across the UK.
Paul Britton, Co-Chair of the Thames Valley Byte Night Board said: “In the past we have driven participation in Action for Children’s charity event ‘Byte Night’, a night of sleeping rough in selected parks around the UK. However, since the pandemic, we felt that this event wouldn’t be suitable and working with Action for Children we changed it so that it adheres to social distancing, and health and safety guidelines. ‘Boycott Your Bed’ is a fantastic alternative and is incredibly inclusive and engaging. We will raise money and plenty of appreciation for this great cause, whilst remaining safe for everyone who decides to participate.”
Most importantly Boycott Your Bed will help raise levels of awareness of the number of vulnerable families and children who are struggling in the UK, which is increasing and for whom the Covid-19 pandemic has added a further layer of uncertainty. Whether it is affecting a family’s health or a parent’s job security with furlough and redundancy, it is no surprise that the level of child poverty is expected to rise, beyond an already alarming figure. Before coronavirus hit the UK, more than 4.2 million children were locked in poverty, but now the UK will be facing an even greater increase in families needing support. Today, Action for Children runs 476 services across the UK, helping more than 387,000 children, young people and families every year, working tirelessly to make sure every child has a safe and happy childhood.
If you are interested in finding out how you can participate in ‘Boycott Your Bed’, please visit the Action for Children website or if you wish to donate, please click here.
