One of the main features at the Sun International CEO SleepOut™ will be Brand South Africa’s Play your Part Library of Hope.
The CEO SleepOut™ takes place on Thursday, 28 July 2016 on the Nelson Mandela Bridge. The Library of Hope is one of the many activations enabled by Brand South Africa’s Play your Part campaign.
Brand South Africa has requested that participants each bring along two books and place them in the Library of Hope structure which will be erected on the Nelson Mandela Bridge.
“We are hoping to collect over 1 000 books during the evening of 28 July 2016,” says Brand South Africa CEO Kingsley Makhubela. “We will then distribute the books to disadvantaged schools.”
In return for bringing books, each CEO will get a piece of puzzle on which they will write a pledge showing their commitment to Play their Part.
When all the CEOs have placed their pieces of the puzzle, it will make up the South African flag.
The Virtual Wallet, another feature of the CEO SleepOut™, allows participants to actively Play their Part by participating in the activities set up in the various kiosks on the Nelson Mandela Bridge. Participants will earn Virtual Money through the activities, enabling them to purchase items for the evening – soup, coffee, sleeping bags and blankets.
All participants partaking in the activities on the bridge will earn virtual money to ‘survive the night on the street’.
On the morning after the event, about 1 000 homeless people will be invited to collect what was ‘purchased’ the night before by the participants.
The CEO Sleepout™ was created to mobilise business leaders to look beyond profits towards social change.
This year’s theme is Rise To The Challenge, and CEOs have been asked to bring three future leaders with them to spend the night outdoors, raise awareness and empathy for the homeless, and to raise funds for education.
The Sun International CEO SleepOut™ is part of a global movement, effecting positive social change for vulnerable and homeless communities. It asks current and future business leaders to spend a winter’s night on the streets, raising funds and empathy for the homeless, and resulting in real change around the world.
Founded in Australia 10 years ago, The CEO SleepOut™ is now a global initiative, with SleepOuts taking place in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. It is leading the new wave of philanthropy and social entrepreneurship, where profits are being used for purpose, and leaders are inspiring others to find compassion and sustainable solutions for those who need it most.
The inaugural CEO SleepOut™ in South Africa took place in 2015 when 247 CEO and C-Suite members raised more than R26-million for Girls & Boys Town.
In 2016, The CEO SleepOut™ is focusing on supporting education as a means to eradicate homelessness. On Thursday 28 July, C-Suite members, along with a colleague, a student and a matric learner with notable leadership qualities, will Rise To The Challenge and spend the night on The Nelson Mandela Bridge.
The funds raised will be awarded to the 2016 Beneficiary Partners, namely ASHA Trust, Columba Leadership and the Steve Biko Foundation, all of whom work tirelessly to educate our youth.
There is also a national call to action for the rest of the country to get involved; #SouthAfricaMustRise. Companies, universities and schools can SleepOut™ in solidarity at their own Sympathy, Student and School SleepOut™ events.
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