Britney R., age 16, knew little about Sleep Out Saturday when her church youth coordinator asked for her help with it three years ago. Now the team leader for St. Thomas the Apostle in Naperville, Britney is busy planning activities and motivating her teammates for SOS 2010.
“I’ve learned so much from SOS,” Britney says. “I knew homelessness was a problem in other areas but I never thought it was so close to us until I heard the stories of real people who have gone through it.”
While planning this year’s activities, Britney remembers her favorites from past years including: the dependency and trust walk showing how much homeless people have to depend on other people, and a scavenger hunt illustrating how much homeless people have to worry about finding things to wear, somewhere to bathe and food to eat.
“This year’s theme, NO PLACE LIKE HOME, really does show how hard it would be to be homeless,” Britney says. “Home is where you can relax and feel comfortable and it’d be so stressful to be without one.”
Britney hopes to collaborate with 100 of her peers from St. Thomas the Apostle to sleep out this year.
The three-year SOS veteran offers advice to other participants:
- Be open-minded
- Wear warm clothes
- Don’t be shy to meet new people
- Reach out to people for donations, even those who you wouldn’t expect to donate
- Explain what you’ve learned about homelessness in the area when asking for donations
- Tell everyone you know about Text to Donate! Text BRIDGE to 20222 and $10 will automatically be added to your phone bill. It's so easy!
“Anyone can do it,” she says. “SOS draws so many different ages. We have little kids all the way through Grandparents who participate. You learn so much but it is a lot of fun, too. I encourage everyone to get involved.”
Can you take Britney up on her challenge to get involved? Register your group or family at https://bridgecommunities.org/sleep-out-saturday/register.html
Check out this video of a family that was helped by donations received from Sleep Out Saturday.
For more information on Sleep Out Saturday, call Jennie at 630-545-0610, ext. 19.
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