Belvo’s 40th Christmas SleepOut
Students, staff, and past pupils of Belvedere College SJ will be taking part in the 40th Christmas SleepOut for the homeless, from 22-24 December 2023 in Dublin’s city centre. Transition year students who slept out overnight in their gardens on Friday 8 September have already raised €80,000 and the donations for them are still flowing in.
Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications met recently with this year’s SleepOut23 team to learn about their plans and preparations. In this interview, the students tell her that on this special year, they want to beat last year’s (recording-breaking) total of €300,000, not just because of the 40th anniversary but also because of the highest ever numbers of homeless people recorded – 13,000 people including over 3,000 children – in 2023.
They tell her about the charities they are collecting for, the celebrities supporting them (including some of the Dublin All-Ireland champion’s team), and the musicians who will be joining them. They detail all the ways people can support or donate to this traditional Christmas fundraiser for the homeless, whether they are on the streets of Dublin around Christmas or anywhere else in Ireland or around the globe. Listen above.
