PRESENTER, author and influencer Vicky Pattison is going a whole night without sleep to raise money for homeless young people.
The Queen of the Jungle and Celebrity Masterchef finalist is hosting online fundraising event STAY:UP, organised by youth homelessness charity Centrepoint and asking fundraisers to stay awake alongside her all night from 8pm on Friday 28th May until 8am the following morning (Saturday 29th May). Vicky will be keeping herself busy and viewers entertained, with a different activity every hour, including cooking, exercising, playing games and interacting with all the participants across the country, taking part in their own STAY:UP challenges.
This isn’t the first time the Geordie lass has raised awareness for homeless young people and raised money for Centrepoint, as just over 3 years ago, she slept out in Sunderland with 100 volunteers.
Vicky explained the reasons why this is such a crucial time for the homeless young people Centrepoint supports. She said:
“This year, I wanted to raise money for homeless young people because COVID-19 has meant that more young people are losing their jobs, struggling to pay their rent and becoming devastatingly homeless.
“I’m staying up because many homeless young people have to stay awake all night on the streets, forcing them to hang out in 24-hour cafes or on night buses. That is why STAY:UP is such an important event.
“I’m staying up and keeping myself entertained with a variety of activities. I have my extremely complex Harry Potter jigsaw ready and my space hopper to keep me awake, and I want everyone to get behind me and the charity Centrepoint. There’s still time for people to get involved and stay awake with me all night to raise money for vulnerable young people and help them rebuild their lives and look forward to the future.”
For this year’s event, host Vicky is providing messages of encouragement throughout the night on @CentrepointUK YouTube channel. Participants will also be treated to an uplifting workout by long-running TV fitness instructor Mr Motivator and a cook-along with a chef.
STAY:UP raised almost £300,000 last year with participants staying awake all night and raising awareness of the challenges young people with nowhere safe to sleep face. Last year’s event saw appearances from Loose Women star Lisa Maxwell, boyband The Vamps and Olympic athlete Jade Johnson.
The 2020 event saw over 1,000 fundraisers taking part, including Australian comedian John Robertson who performed hilarious challenges on Twitch for a full 12 hours, a Yorkshire carver making wooden spoons, a late-night sewing session by Make Mee Studio and a twelve-hour quiz with competitors from the Co-operative Bank.
Before the pandemic, youth homelessness was at a crisis point. Centrepoint estimates that over 120,000 young people were facing homelessness between 2019/20, an increase of more than 10,000 in the previous year. Over the past year, Centrepoint found that calls to its Helpline from young people worried about homelessness increased by about a third and demand for urgent support, including food packages, was higher in 2020-2021 than in the previous year.
The money raised this year will go towards Centrepoint’s hostels providing homeless young people safe and stable accommodation while teaching them the skills needed to live independently, support homeless young people’s physical and mental health and will provide them access to training and education.
The virtual event is open to everyone and with content from Vicky Pattison and Mr Motivator on @CentrepointUK YouTube Channel.
To get involved in STAY:UP as a fundraiser, sign up here: https://stayup.centrepoint.org.uk/.
