The CEO SleepOut™ Trust’s mission to bring about positive social change is achieved through The Sun International CEO SleepOut™ and it’s affiliated projects, such as HopeTalk, a publication distributed with Homeless Talk, that directly benefits the street vendors.
As part of its commitment to creating positive social change, The 2016 Sun International CEO SleepOut™ is once again producing a Special Edition Publication called HopeTalk, edited by notable Johannesburg-based writer and author Nia Magoulianiti-McGregor, and supported by Sun International, Caxton CTP Publishers & Printers and Caxton Local Media.
A 40-page publication featuring both inspirational and light-hearted features, HopeTalk will be given for free to the street vendors who sell the Homeless Talk newspaper. The vendors will be able to sell the Special Edition publication for R10 a copy, keeping all of the profits. Along with the money from sales directly benefiting the vendors, The CEO SleepOut™Champions, comprising of Partners, Sponsors and Friends, will purchase advertising space in the publication, and these funds will be awarded to Homeless Talk.
“The 2015 CEO SleepOut™ rescued Homeless Talk Street Newspaper during extremely frustrating financial difficulties,” says Luke Jentile, Chief of Operations Manager of Homeless Talk. “We warmly welcome the call for our inclusion in The 2016 CEO SleepOut™. We are looking forward to actively participating in this world record-making social responsibility event.”
HopeTalk will feature well-known international stars such as Seal, Dr. Phil and Halle Berry, talking about their fight to get off the streets, as well as stories from local stars, such as comedian and actor Desmond Dube, 2014 Idols winner, Vincent Bones, and Lonmin CEO, Ben Magara, who all faced challenges while living on the streets.
Other feature stories include; interviews with Homeless Talk street vendors; news of homelessness around the world – including South Africa’s participation in the 2016 Homeless World Cup soccer tournament, in Scotland; and an extract of Empathy 1World, a coffee table book that features haunting images and stories from the local homeless community. It also features advice on which organisations you could support in order to make a difference to South Africa’s vulnerable communities.
The idea is that this publication will help the homeless, directly and swiftly. Says editor Nia Magoulianiti-McGregor, “Helping your local HopeTalk and Homeless Talk seller by buying a copy is not going to dent homelessness or hunger long-term but it’ll help someone – a parent, a child, perhaps the same age as your own, a real person with dreams and hopes, with a history and a story – sleep a bit better tonight.”
It’s a project that inspires all who work on it, including Caxton CTP Publishers & Printer and Caxton Local Media, who will lay out and print the publication for free. “HopeTalk, which will be a supplement of Homeless Talk, especially lies close to my heart,” says Jaco Koekemoer, CEO Caxton Coldset Printers.
“This single newspaper is only published once a month, but is sold by close to 200 street vendors, and it is amazing to see that such a small paper pays it forward to assist and feed 200 households. We hope that through these projects we can assist those that need it most in our country, and create awareness that there are many people who need our assistance.”
HopeTalk will be available and launch on Mandela Day from Homeless Talk Street Vendors on Monday 18 July 2016.
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