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The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Sleep in the Park attracts 8,000 participants

This news post is about 7 years old
 

More than £2 million has already been raised through the event, which aims to start a movement to end homelessness

Thousands of people will brave the cold this weekend in Scotland’s biggest ever sleepout event.

More than 8,000 people will head to Princes Street Gardens on Saturday 9 December for Sleep in the Park.

The event, created by Social Bite in a bid to kick-start a campaign to end homelessness in Scotland, is estimated to have raised more than £2 million so far.

The night will feature a spectacular live concert with stripped back, acoustic performances from Liam Gallagher, Deacon Blue, Amy Macdonald and Frightened Rabbit. After the music, participants bed down for a cold night in the open.

Social Bite co-founder Josh Littlejohn said he had been taken aback by the fundraising efforts so far.

He said: "I’m blown away by the support of the people of Scotland. To have more than 8,000 people signed up to take part in the event is just incredible. Those taking part are joining a movement to end homelessness in Scotland for good.”

Comedian Rob Brydon will be hosting the event, John Cleese will be performing a special bedtime story and attendees will also hear from Sir Bob Geldof on his support for the cause. Sir Bob will also be joining participants and sleeping out with a host of other celebrities, sports personalities and figures from across Scotland’s political parties.

With temperatures forecast to drop as low as minus two, participants will be allowed to use a sleeping bag and a plastic sheet, but will not be allowed to sleep under cover. Although hot food and drinks will be available throughout the night, alcohol will not be allowed at the event.

Organiser Penny Dougherty said: “We’re asking everybody attending to wrap up well and come prepared for the weather. It’s going to be cold night for a worthy cause, but we have the biggest line-up of artists ever to perform in Princes Street Gardens to get everyone warmed-up before the sleepout challenge.”

 

Comments

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Peter Dow
about 7 years ago
The Scottish and local governments should be (but disgracefully are often not) providing sufficient finance from their own budgets to provide for the homeless and so charity has kindly to step in where government provision is absent.Thank you for charity but government really should be providing homes for the homeless as a core service.Cuts in core government services are often excused by Scottish government ministers and councillors who try to blame a UK Tory government austerity agenda and cuts in the block grant to Holyrood and cuts in Scottish government funding of local councils.Although certainly the Tories are partners in austerity crime, there is dishonest politics at work in Scotland because the Scottish government, the SNP government, have AGREED a fiscal framework deal with the UK government and therefore have effectively AGREED with the Tory austerity agenda.
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Peter Dow
about 7 years ago
The SNP government actually agrees with austerity but of course they deny it. However, the record speaks for itself.The Agreement Between the Scottish Government and the United Kingdom Government on the Scottish Government’s fiscal framework By Scottish Government, St. Andrew’s House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG Tel:0131 556 8400http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/02/3623
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Peter Dow
about 7 years ago
It therefore beggar’s belief to witness the sheer brass neck of Deputy First Minister John Swinney hypocritically supporting this charity event for the homeless when it was he who negotiated, disgracefully agreed and recommended the bad deal austerity fiscal framework agreement to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon for her final approval.The austerity agenda is John Swinney’s, Nicola Sturgeon’s and the SNP government’s austerity agenda – they signed up to the fiscal framework agreement which underpins austerity, which prevents the Scottish government from borrowing £ billions a year more every year interest-free from the central bank to invest in public services, for growth and prosperity, banishing austerity forever.Only demanding a new deal fiscal framework, which can only really be expected when the Scottish government finally disowns Swinney’s recommendation in February 2016 to accept his negotiated fiscal framework deal, when finally Swinney’s deputy leadership is exposed and recognised as utterly incompetent, hypocritical and a menace to the finances, services and prosperity of the Scots.It is no excuse for Mr Swinney to quote the rotten advice he received from the nutty professor Anton Muscatelli that the fiscal framework was allegedly “a good deal”. No it isn’t a “good deal”! Muscatelli is unreliable as an adviser. Swinney was wrong to rely on the unreliable Muscatelli.So Mr Swinney should resign or be sacked as Deputy First Minister.Other SNP cabinet government peas in the pod who share bad deal fiscal framework culpability are Derek MacKay MSP and Keith Brown MSP who have both failed to correct Mr Swinney’s mistakes regarding the fiscal framework.Therefore it falls to me to offer the high quality economics and financial advice which First Minister Sturgeon deserves so that she can put our country on a better path.
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