A bit of frostbite, wet sleeping bags and the odd head cold were the small price we had to pay for such an amazing experience. The 24th Annual Belvedere College Sleep Out and Fast was a roaring success!
Despite the current economic situation and the abysmal December weather, with the help of you the public, an extraordinary total of €139,000 was raised over three days. I would love to express our sincere gratitude to and appreciation for anyone who contributed in any way, great or small. This year’s Sleep Out would not have been possible without you!
Many readers may not know about the Sleep Out. As insane as it sounds, every Christmas around sixty students from the Jesuit School, Belvedere College – both past and present with the ‘odd’ teacher joining in – spend three days and two nights sleeping it rough in the heart of Dublin’s O’Connell Street. There is an added 24hr fast just to make things interesting. We’re not doing this for the good of our health. All the money raised goes to three superb charities that work to combat the growing problem of homelessness in Ireland today: The Peter McVerry Trust, Focus Ireland and the Home Again Society. The great work done by these people is only short of saintly, and we were thrilled to be able to give such a fantastic gift to help them out.
Often people came up to us and asked, ‘Why in the name of God are you doing this, lads?’ The only reply I could think of was: ‘Why not? That could just as easily be you or me placed in that situation, so it’s only right to try and help in anyway we can’. Many involved are also involved in the St. Vincent de Paul Society in the College and know quite a number of the city centre homeless through the weekly soup-run. We had to endure the wet and cold for only three days, but these people have no other choice but to endure it 365 days a year. So a runny nose and wet socks are nothing for us to be complaining about! And we’re not the only ‘weirdo’ teenagers out there; we had students from all over the city coming in to show their support. It’s really great to know that other young people are just as concerned with social justice as we are! The Sleep Out is about raising awareness of the issue of homelessness and developing an empathy with those on the street, as well as being about fundraising.
Doing the Sleep Out for the past two years must have been the best thing I’ve ever done. By the time we got back to school for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, dirty, tired and more than a little crazy from lack of sleep, we were filled with a great sense of achievement. Maybe even more important was an appreciation for what can seem the normal things in life, like a home, a loving family and caring friends. That made this Christmas special for every single one of us.
So to sum it all up, I just want to thank everyone again for all their time, effort, patience, generosity and good humour. The Sleep Out is a huge part of our year and was made amazing because of you. It’s brilliant to see that people understand that, regardless of whether you’re sleeping in or sleeping out you still matter. Homeless does not mean hopeless.
Cheers for everything, and we’ll see you all next year!