University of Northampton Vice Chancellor to join Big Sleepout for Northampton Hope Centre

The University of Northampton’s Vice Chancellor, Nick Petford, will be donning his thermals next week and joining 100 other participants for this year’s sponsored Big Sleepout.

Organised by the Northampton Hope Centre, the Big Sleepout aims to raise awareness of the issues faced by homeless people while raising much needed funds for the local charity. This year, participants will be sleeping outside overnight on Friday 29 January at Northants County Cricket Ground. By sleeping outside, participants will have a taste of what the homeless experience when exposed to the elements.

Professor Petford is a Patron of the Centre, which supports over 100 people every day with food, guidance, and education and training opportunities. He commented: “I am looking forward to the Big Sleepout, and raising awareness of such an important local charity. The Northampton Hope Centre is a great example of how social impact brings communities together, to help tackle society’s most important issues. I am proud that the University of Northampton is leading the way in making a difference to the community we live in.”

Sue Wright, Fundraiser, said: “The Big Sleepout is traditionally our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we are delighted that Nick will be joining us to help raise awareness and much needed funds to support the work we do.  We have set ourselves a target of 100 sleepers, and hope the event will raise £30,000, a tough ask, but we think we can achieve this with everyone’s support.’

The Big Sleepout event will be held from Friday 29 January 2016 at 7:30pm until 7:30am the following morning, at the Northants County Cricket Ground. To take part, visit the Hope Centre website for more information. If you would rather stay warm you can still get involved by sponsoring Professor Petford and the other participants. Just visit the Big Sleepout JustGiving page  or  text NHCS16 £ ’amount’ to 70070 (eg ‘NHCS16 £10’).  It is free to donate in this way and the money will be collected via your phone bill.