Anglicare WA

In WA, around 6,000 young people experience homelessness. To foster empathy in the next generation of leaders, Anglicare WA created an annual ‘School Sleep Out’ in 2016 for students to experience, for one wintery night, what some peers must endure every night. As part of the event, students peer to peer fundraise for Anglicare WA’s Youth Connect outreach service.

In 2018, Anglicare’s schools and faith officer coordinated meetings with Anglican schools, holding in-school presentations to encourage participation. Marketing communications highlighted the event’s educational value with 14 schools supportive. Staff created a highly original, immersive simulation where students experienced the complexities/frustrations of homelessness in a safe environment (Optus Stadium). Each school had a dedicated fundraising page and received a fundraising ideas tool kit.

The team/students conducted pre, during and post-event promotion across social media and shared content live from the event to their followers to encourage donations. Local media held interviews, and a producer filmed the Sleep Out gratis for future promotions.

For its third year, Anglicare WA wanted to increase attendance from 71 to 150 students (216 participated) and boost funds from $13,301 to $40,000 ($82,431 raised!). Staff firmly believe those participants will continue to promote social reform far beyond the Sleep Out.