There’s just one week to go until Warwickshire County Cricket Club’s Sport Director Ashley Giles and more than 60 other fundraisers spend an evening sleeping rough in the name of charity at Birmingham’s iconic Edgbaston Stadium.
Staged on the evening of Thursday 26 April, the second Edgbaston Sleepout is being used to raise funds to help address homelessness in Birmingham and the wider county of Warwickshire. Giles, who can be sponsored now in his fundraising for the Edgbaston Foundation, will be joined on the evening by numerous members of the local community and business district, including a team from Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and Birmingham Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood.
Thirty of us did this in last year’s Edgbaston Sleepout, so it’s great to double the number of participants in this year’s event.
Ashley Giles
Bishop of Bishop of Birmingham David Urquhart will also lead a team of representatives from Church of England Birmingham, whilst Virgin Media have also entered a team of 11.
Commenting on the event, Ashley Giles, said: “Sleeping in a cardboard box on concrete for an evening, hits home exactly why we need to address homelessness. Thirty of us did this in last year’s Edgbaston Sleepout, so it’s great to double the number of participants in this year’s event.
“There was a real sense of community spirit amongst all participants, and hopefully we can recreate this next Thursday and help raise £25,000 for such a worthy cause.”
On the evening of the Edgbaston Sleepout, Ashley Giles will take part in a special cricket net session with participants and there will be a talk from a young person supported by St Basils, the Edgbaston Foundation’s Lead Charity Partner. There will also be a special visit from Birmingham-based singer, song-writer and television presenter Jamelia.
