CEOs and entrepreneurs across the country will experience homelessness in the midst of winter first hand next week, by taking part in the annual Vinnies CEO Sleepout. CatchOfTheDay co-founder Gabby Leibovich and Ruslan Kogan are throwing their weight behind the cause, auctioning off the chance to join them for dinner.
The charity event, which is held in capital cities across the nation, has attracted just over 1000 CEOs and aims to raise money and awareness around the growing issue of homelessness.
Ace Communications managing director Dale Munckton is participating in the Sleepout in Melbourne told Dynamic Business he believes initiatives such as these provide entrepreneurs and business owners with the opportunity to get involved with their community on a personal level.
“It’s one thing to hand over 100 dollars to a charity, and that’s great, but the opportunity to actually experience first hand what people are going through is great way to get more involved,” he said.
Munckton said the event allows businesses to give back to the community and help out those less fortunate.
“If you’re in business where you have the ability to influence and spread the word about a real problem you have a responsibility to do that” he added
Over 100,000 people sleep rough each night in Australia and no-one is immune from it, including those in business, according to Munckton.
“(There are) people in business where something has gone wrong in their lives, or something has happened that has caused them to be on the streets and they end up homeless. It does just happen to normal everyday people,” he said.
To raise additional funds, Munckton has arranged an eBay auction in which people can bid for the opportunity to have dinner with two leading entrepreneurs – CatchOfTheDay co-founder Gabby Leibvoich and Kogan Technologies founder Ruslan Kogan. The winner will have dinner with the pair and be awarded a $1000 voucher for each site.
For more information on the sleepout or to make a donation, click here.