Soup, Stories, but not a lot of Sleep

On Thursday 22 June 2017 the McLaughlins CEO Sleepout Team, consisting of Alex Hamlyn, Joelene Nel and Anna Doughan as well as Geoff Smith of McLaughlins (as chairperson of Sports Gold Coast) rugged up to take part in the CEO Sleepout and support Vinnies in their quest to raise funds for the Gold Coast’s homeless.

The fundraiser took place at CBUS Stadium and was complete with cardboard boxes, a chilly breeze, and a restless night’s sleep. The next day we awoke tired, groggy and puffy eyed but as we transitioned back to our ‘normal’ lives it began to resonate that sadly, to some this is the norm.

We heard stories and learnt staggering statistics on the night such as:

• There is a significant increase in homelessness in females over 55 due to their inability to support themselves on a single pension if their partner passes away or they separate; and
• Women trying to escape domestic violence or who are in need of shelter are unable to stay in a women’s refuge if they bring with them a male child over 12 years old as it is deemed that child could be a risk to the other women in the refuge. As a result, more families are choosing to live out of their cars rather than be separated from their children.

In this day and age it is hard for many of us to fathom these scenarios being the root of, sometimes long term, homelessness and it is for this reason that McLaughlins is proud to support and be involved in an event with such a worthy cause.

Participants in the Sleepout included CEOs, industry leaders and supporters from the Gold Coast Community who have currently raised a massive $432,000 with the McLaughlins Team raising $3,081 of that total.

Funds raised will be used to expand the current Cornerstone premises in Southport (which was purchased with last year’s CEO Sleepout donations) to include additional storeys to the building to provide affordable accommodation to those in need.

Although the Sleepout is over for another year, donations are still being accepted until the end of August so it’s not too late to help us reach our $5,000 target before the cut off date.

Thank you to everyone who has already taken the time and effort to support our team!

If you would like to donate go to https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/team/mclaughlins-lawyers/.

Author: Anna Doughan

Director: Ian Kennedy

Date: 29/06/2017