Care UK colleagues camp out for charity

Three colleagues from Oat Hill Mews, Care UK's home in Market Harborough, spent the night camping outside their workplace, raising £1,400 for charity in the process.

Business Administrator Emma Poyser, Receptionist Dani Rust, and Head Chef Harry Underwood all took part in 'The Great Tommy Sleepout', as well as organising a raffle and bake sale, raising money for the Royal British Veterans Enterprise.

The Royal British Veterans Enterprise is a charity that helps veterans and people with disabilities find meaningful work, tackles veteran homelessness by providing tailored housing for veterans, and so much more.

The trio chose to take part in the initiative due to some familial ties to the charity and in support of veterans at the home.

Emma said: "We've now got our Veteran Friendly Framework accreditation and host a veteran's fish and chips event once a month on a Friday, so I thought it would be a really good charity to fundraise for. My granddad was also a Desert Rat, so I wanted to do it for him, too."

"I always love giving something back, so I decided to take part as well," Dani says, "I'm the daughter of an RAF veteran and I have so much respect for everybody in the forces. I'm grateful for what they do, and I wanted to do something for them."

As for Harry, he wanted to give back to the community: "We do our fish and chips veteran's event once a month and I've had a good chat with a lot of the people there. I go up and see them and they're all really nice guys! I'm always into getting involved in stuff like this and it's good to give back to people that have done a lot for this country."

The team had already completed their bake sale and raffle before they prepared for their overnight stay, with residents helping to sell the cakes, too.

When the day came for the group's camp-out, the home organised a mini faux-campfire sing-along in the evening with the residents, as well as sharing campfire snacks like marshmallows.

The group then headed out into the gardens of the home with tents and sleeping bags, ready to take on the challenge.

"Harry made us dinner then we went outside and had a real fire to toast marshmallows," Emma says, "We had a song on the radio to get us through and Sydney - the neighbour's cat who visits every day. He came and slept with us in the tent! It was lots of fun."

When asked what they felt after taking part, Dani said: "Euphoria. You're pleased you've done it and it makes you realise what some people go through when they are facing homelessness, especially after giving for a service like the army or the RAF."

Emma added "We had the security of being in the garden, though it was noisy with the road, but I've joined an online group for people that are doing it throughout the UK and there are people who have slept on the streets with no tent, just a sleeping bag."

The group raised £700 altogether, with Care UK matching their donation and raising the final total to £1,400, and all three said they are looking forwards to the next fundraising opportunity that comes their way!

If you want to work alongside caring, passionate team members like Emma, Dani and Harry, visit Care UK's careers page here: https://www.careuk.com/careers