Matthew’s House and Swansea City Foundation set for ‘Swans big sleep out’ fundraiser

Sleeping out for one night is no comparison to the real thing, but it does give a better understanding of what some people are dealing with every day.

The Foundation are inviting individuals and businesses to sign up to spend the night at the Swansea.com Stadium and raise crucial funds for Matthew’s House and Swansea City AFC Foundation with both charities working to tackle homelessness head on.

Going into the winter months with nights are getting longer, darker, and colder charities such as Matthew’s House are more in demand than ever. This is just the right time to give these organisations the boost they need.

Thom Lynch, Matthew’s House project leader, said: 

“This event is crucial in so many ways for us at Matthew’s House. It helps to raise awareness of some of the complicated realities of homelessness and in particular sleeping rough, and it also highlights the work we do so that more people in the city can get involved.

“We have missed taking part in the sleepout for the last three years at Swansea City Football Club and cherish the support from their team.

“We have learnt from seven years of supporting people in Swansea that working with the city is always better when it’s bringing friends and partners together. This event does exactly that.”

Paul France, head of Swansea City AFC Foundation, added:

“Swansea City AFC Foundation has a mission to use Swansea City as a force for positive change.

“This event, in partnership with a wonderful charity partner Matthew’s House, will hopefully raise much needed funds to help make a positive change in how we support homeless people in Swansea. Funds raised will also support the Foundation’s new programme which will be working with people and families affected by addiction, one of the main causes of homelessness.”  

Swansea City players Liam Cullen and Ollie Cooper recently visited homeless charity ahead of the upcoming fundraiser taking time from their schedule to take the opportunity to have a tour of the facilities, whilst reflecting on the issues surrounding homelessness in our city and wider community.

Cullen was proud to see the work that Matthew’s House have achieved in the community and encouraged fans to sign up for the sleep out.

“It’s a really incredible charity. I think it’s brilliant to come and see what they do, to hear about how many people they help, as well,” said Cullen.

“It just shows you how good the community is around Swansea, you see it every day when you are going about your day-to-day things and how friendly everyone is, and it’s great to hear how close the community are.

“I think it’s really important, I would urge anyone who does want to do it to take part and have that night experiencing what some people have to do a lot of the time. It’d be really good to see a lot of people down there.”

To donate and support the charity you can via their justgiving page via this link with further details of how to get involved in the ‘big sleep out’ available here.

[Lead image Swansea City Foundation]