Therapy Pro Participating in Vinnies CEO Sleepout Fundraising Event
Phil Laidlaw, Therapy Pro Co-Founder and Managing Director, will be participating in the 2023 Vinnies CEO Sleepout fundraising event.
What is the Vinnies CEO Sleepout?
The Vinnies CEO Sleepout is a one-night event held on one of the longest and coldest nights of the year. Hundreds of CEOs, and leaders sleep outdoors to support the many Australians who are experiencing homelessness and people at risk of homelessness.
On the night of June 22nd, Phil will spend the night outdoors. He has set a goal to raise more than $5000 in aid of this very worthwhile cause.
Hear from Phil about why he’s fundraising for homelessness
Phil shares, in his own words, why this fundraiser resonates with so much with him:
“My extended family is a working class one, and we grew up in Zillmere in Brisbane. We didn’t have a lot, but home was fundamentally a safe and stable place. I was still pretty naïve when I moved out at 21 to live in the inner suburbs. I very clearly remember going for a walk over the river late one night and being surprised to see that a flight of steps led directly down from the William Jolly bridge.
I bounded down them only to find that underneath that bridge more than a hundred people were sleeping rough. I was absolutely shocked. I felt like I had entered a different world. It seems ridiculous now but at the time I had no idea that there was significant homelessness in Brisbane.
After that, as I started to look and ask and learn, I realised that the scale of the problem was far bigger than I could have ever imagined.
At present more than 100,000 people are homeless in Australia on any given night. That’s a full city of people who don’t have a safe refuge at night.
Five or six years after first walking down those stairs I found myself based in the South Brisbane Disability Services Queensland office, which was about 200 metres from that spot.
In between I had grown up a lot. In that later time, I supported several people who bounced between boarding houses, temporary shelters and homelessness, including a few who often slept under that bridge.
I saw first-hand how the intersection of mental illness, disability, physical wellbeing, poverty, trauma, lack of opportunity and homelessness can create negative momentum that can sometimes only be interrupted by the practical care of well-resourced support services.”
The CEO sleepout is the definition of a good cause
Phil explains his motivations for participating in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout, which are both personal and professional:
“Therapy Pro does so much great one on one therapy that ultimately helps strengthen communities, so it will be great to meet and have a chat with leaders from other community organisations.
In personal terms, I know that I feel much more grounded when I’m doing something useful and not taking my good fortune and comfort for granted.
More than anything though, this is the definition of a good cause.
The need is so high, and the funds raised are very well used.
I know times are tight, but I would love you to contribute even just a tiny bit if you are able to, and this is something that resonates with you.”
