Year 8 twins Amber and Summer along with their friend Madalina, took part the Northampton District Scout Group’s Big Sleep Out to raising £170 towards the £1500 raised by the Scouts for The Hope Centre.
The event, organised by the 46th Northampton Scout group in Overstone, was open to all Northampton Scouts and Guides groups in the district.
The girls, along with around 10 others from their own Scout group 38th Moulton, spent the night in the woods at the Overstone Scout Activity Centre, where they made their bed for the night, using resources such as cardboard boxes and tarpaulins in order to experience a glimpse of what it’s like for people living on the streets in freezing temperatures. They only had their clothes, plastic sheeting and blankets to keep warm.
Supporting people less fortunate than themselves is something the girls have been passionate about since they were very young and they are totally dedicated to helping people in need. The girls show humility by being reluctant to talk about their fundraising work but their mother told us:
"Homelessness is something that has concerned them since they were very young. They don’t understand how we as one of the richest countries in the world can let this happen and that if everyone helped and supported each other then there wouldn’t be a problem. The girls always want to help where they can by often handing out gift cards to the homeless from Greggs, or by volunteering to help at a local soup kitchen."
When asked why they were taking in the sleep out, the girls said:
“We like to help people; we care about the homeless. They have a lot less than us, so we want to help them by raising money for things they don’t have. It’s going be cold sleeping outside we'll all be sleeping on the ground in cardboard boxes and tarpaulins."
Northampton Academy is proud of them for displaying our civic character values of service, neighbourliness, citizenship, community awareness, volunteering and social justice.
Well done girls and also to Ethan in Year 7 who also took part. Northamptonshire Scouts raised just over £1500.