All working professionals - employers, employees, business owners and entrepreneurs are all welcome. Participants must be at least 26 years of age to help ensure the confidentiality of our young people.
Participants are challenged to raise $4,000 (minimum $2,000 to Sleep Out) in critical funds and awareness for Covenant House in support of homeless youth.
All participants are required to fundraise. Fundraising is made easy by way of a personal fundraising page that includes email templates and tools to reach out to supporters.
We expect participants will approach the event with an open heart, an open mind, and a willingness to work hard for something outside of their comfort zone. On event night, we hope participants will show up ready for an experience they will not soon forget.
We ask each participant to raise $4,000 (minimum $2,000). All funds raised will go towards mental health and addictions programs. 39% of the young people living at Covenant House Vancouver suffer with a formal mental health diagnosis and 50% struggle with addictions.
The event will start with a tour of our facility and a panel discussion with some of our youth. Participants will then head outside, with a piece of cardboard and a sleeping bag, to sleep in the alley behind our Drake Street location (575 Drake St). There will be partial shelter from the rain, but no reprieve from the cold, similar to what our youth experience each night on the streets.
Safety is our first and foremost concern and Covenant House staff will be with participants throughout the night to ensure safety.
We suggest participants bring weather-appropriate layers of clothing, personal toiletries and medications, and a smartphone (use of social media during the event is highly encouraged). We will provide sleeping bags and a piece of cardboard for all participants.
The first several hours of the event will be indoors and there will be time to dress in warm layers before heading outside. Space to safely store all belongings during the night will be provided.
The best way to make donations is online.
Each participant will have their own online fundraising page where they can direct their supporters to make a donation. The online system makes collecting donations easy, receipting instantaneous, goal tracking automatic, and minimizes administration costs for Covenant House.
Cash or cheque donations can be sent to:
Covenant House Vancouver
ATTN: Sleep Out Vancouver
575 Drake Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 4K8
Cheques should be made payable to Covenant House Vancouver and include the name of the Sleep Out participant.
Tax receipts for online gifts will automatically and instantly be sent to the donor by email. Cash and cheque donations will be receipted and mailed to the donor within 4 weeks of the gift being received by Covenant House Vancouver.