Real estate agents prepare to sleep rough to benefit charity
Real estate professionals will take to the streets this weekend to sleep rough in the name of ending youth homelessness.
The second annual Cooley Auctions Real Estate Sleep Out will see real estate agents spend the night on Bondi beach on 24 July to benefit Youth Off the Streets.
The inaugural event last year raised $134,837.89 for the charity, and celebrity auctioneer Damien Cooley of Cooley Auctions said there are high hopes of topping that number in 2017.
“Last year for the inaugural Real Estate Sleep Out, we had 104 people from the real estate industry sleeping out on Bondi Beach and raised just over $134,000. This year, we would love the whole real estate community to get behind and support this event by promoting it within their networks,” Cooley said.
The charity at the centre of the event, Youth Off the Streets, offers care to young people aged 12-22 who are homeless, abused, suffering from addiction or in general need of help. According to the charity, on any given night, more than 44,000 young Australians are homeless.
“The Real Estate Sleep Out was amazing because we have been looking for something magic to raise money but have never been able to nail it,” the charity’s founder, Father Chris Riley said.
“The donations which come to us are really crucial. We keep opening new services and people believe in us because we do that. I hope the Real Estate Sleep Out will change the landscape of our fundraising.”
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