Byte Night Hopes To Raise £1m For Children

Byte Night, the industry charity which raised nearly £1 million for children last year by volunteers sleeping rough for a night, aims to beat that figure and hit seven digits this year.

Registration for the Byte Night charity is now open, and anyone connected with the tech industry is invited to take part, sleep out on October 4, and raise money through sponsorship. All funds raised go to Action for Children to fight youth homelessness and neglect.

£5 million raised so far

Over the past 16 years, Byte Night has raised a total of £5 million for Action for Children and has had 4,000 volunteers sleeping rough during that time. Organisers say, if it breaks the £1 million barrier, raising that figure in one year, it will establish it as one of  the UK’s top fundraising events.

“In its sixteen years Byte Night has gone from strength to strength,” said Ken Deeks, Byte Night founder and director of the Amber Group. “It is enormously inspiring to see so many people willing to sleep out in a cold October night to help make a real difference to so many.

“This year we want to smash the £6 million mark by raising £1 million in one night, our largest total to date. I have no doubt that through the commitment of our supporters and generosity of our corporate sponsors that we will achieve this target.”

Byte Night will take place at seven locations – including Belfast, Cambridge, London, the Midlands, North West, Scotland and Thames Valley.  Deeks is hoping for 1,500 sleepers this year, which will include senior people from BT, RBS, Dell and Accenture.

The IT manager for the London Olympics, Gerry Pennell, said: “Last year there was a huge focus on young people as the UK came together to celebrate hope, dreams and achievements. It is so important to keep that momentum going into 2013, and continue focusing on helping vulnerable youngsters fulfil their aspirations and dreams.”

TechWeekEurope will be sleeping out this year – we will publish sponsorship details soon.

In the meantime….

Sign up here to sleep out with Byte Night!