Nursery workers from Buckingham ‘slept rough’ during one of the coldest nights of the year, helping raise thousands of pounds for a children’s charity.
Claire Nicholls and Fay Damms, from Field House Day Nursery, on Tingewick Road, joined other childcare workers from the Childbase Partnership in a sleepout outside the company’s Newport Pagnell headquarters.
Along with 100 other staff from nurseries throughout the south of England, Claire and Fay swapped their warm beds for an uncomfortable night in sleeping bags on flattened cardboard boxes in the firm’s car park.
So far, the staff’s sacrifice has raised over £12,000 for Children Today, a charity that supports young people with disabilities. Childbase has adopted the charity for a year-long fundraising drive.
Fay said: “We are surrounded by happy, healthy and confident children every day and were all really shocked to learn that young people who need specialised equipment to improve the quality of their lives are dependent on this charity.
“The equipment they need, like ventilation machines for cystic fibrosis sufferers, is not always provided by the NHS.”
She said the experience also highlighted the plight of the homeless at this time of the year.
Children Today fundraiser Tom Williams, who joined in the sleepout with colleague Jessica Chiverton-Stanway, said: “We would like to thank the whole Childbase team for their amazing efforts.”
To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Region-Three-Childbase-Partnership