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Alan Bateson, the Brand Director for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Ireland, will join other leading business people in sleeping rough for a night in Dublin and Cork, to help raise funds for and awareness of homelessness in Ireland.
The sleep-out is the idea of the Focus Ireland, and sees the business community coming together to stand (and sleep) in solidarity with Ireland's homeless community, at locations in Christ Church, Dublin and the old City Gaol in Cork.
Commenting ahead of the night, Alan said: "I was shocked to realise that today there are over 8,000 people homeless in Ireland and that 3,000 of these are children, children just like mine and yours and that statistic really hits home. This is an increase of 60 per cent in 12 months, homelessness is now at levels never witnessed before. I've signed up for 'Shine a Light Night' so I can play my part in helping Focus Ireland provide vital prevention services which help change these people's lives. I have committed to raise a minimum of €3,000 by Friday, 13th October, please demonstrate your solidarity by sponsoring me today no matter how small it is it is truly appreciated. To support this cause, please visit Shine a Light Night 2017 and help tackle this enormous issue in Ireland."
Since 2012, the annual sleep-out has raised €2.5-million to try to help tackle Ireland's fast-growing homeless problem, Focus Ireland aims to break the cycle of homelessness by giving people access to information, housing, childcare and a range of education services throughout Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Clare and Wexford.
You can find out more ways you can help on the Focus Ireland website or follow the #ShineALight conversation on Twitter.